[Marxism] UFPJ/ ANSWER redux

[Amaral1871@xxxxxxx]

I knew everyone coulddn't wait to restart this discussion, so....

Have comrades read the two counterpunch pieces dealing - more or less
tangentially with the announcement by UFPJ that the left (in the organisational 
form
of ANSWER) can go fuck themselves...

http://counterpunch.com/jw01142006.html   ; JoAnn Wypijewski

http://counterpunch.com/brenner01102006.html ; Lenni Brenner

I thought Brenner made a convoluted but necessary argument that the pull of
zionism viz. the democratic party is driving UFPJ in their desire to divorce
themselves from the anti-imperialist anti-war forces. Wypijewski's argument
consisted of setting up a straw-man argument i.e. that Brenner was looking to
bathe the anti-war movement in the idealistic, pure waters of serial
anti-imperialism and that UFPJ was doing the 'real world' work of building a 
broad-based
single issue anti-Iraq War movement

OK....I assure you my desire to vent represents only a secondary purpose. I
am interested in comrades' assesment of the strategic terrain currently faced
by the broader anti-imperialist left (forces beyond ANSWER/TONC). This is not a
defence of ANSWER for, if anything , they have made it much easier for the
liberals to distance themselves from the anti-imperialist forces. This is true
both by their (the WWP descendants) related   internal organisational regimes
and their tactical tendency towards negotiation by fiat. but doesn't the left
needs to encircle UFPJ so that no move can be made without the active
(critical) participation of the left...don't we need to be speaking, forcefully 
and
clearly, to their constituencies?

This summer very important work was done by US Labour Against the War (USLAW)
and the Campus Antiwar Network (CAN) in forcing UFPJ into the successful
joint action in September. Has the terrain shifted that much that our strategic
interest allow us to now by-pass UFPJ. ( I am thinking concretely about the
possible March actions...) ...No doubt the growth of CAN(/SAW) (as witness by
Louis post about Santa Cruz) and the successful mobilisations of the World Can't
Wait/ RCP show the obvious space for broadening the bases of mobilisation...but
has quantity turned into quality, as the vulgar dialectician might ask?

My vision is narrowly on NYC (though I am now in Caracas where comrades are
either incredulous at our weakness and division or surprised a left even exists
in the US) so my motivation is largely to canvas comrades in other parts
about the relevance of the assessment or whether events and organising have
overtaken/ over-ridden the maneouvers of Cagan et.al.

In struggle,

-Aaron
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