RE: [Marxism] David Corn on Zarqawi. A gene-carrying member of the "civilized world" speaks out for assassination and occupation

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Over the long run, the US is undermining its own arguments by removing
characters like Zarqawi from the scene.  The more of these out of the
picture, the more clearly the war in Iraq becomes a war of an occupied
people against the occupier, untinted by religiously inspired executions
and
barbarities."

So US targetted assassinations will get rid of the Zarqawis for us, thus
making the Iraq war clearly "a war of an occupied people against the
occupier, untinted by religiously inspired executions and barbarities."
Thus the US is nominated to do clean up, paint up, fix up of the
resistance, leaving a purified one "untinted by religiously inspired
executions and barbarities."  What makes you think that if the Iraqi
peoples have been unable to solve this problem, the US will,
unintentionally of course, do it for them.

What evidence does Mark have that Zarqawi's murder is a blow,
intentional or not, to "religously inspired executions and barbarities."
What reason do you have to believe that this constitutes an  advance --
even if not intended by the perpetrators -- for the liberation struggle.
How will it contribute to the resolution of any of the political and
social problems that have given rise to Zarqawi and Bin Laden.  Aside
from the victory statements of the administration, can you show any
indication that such "religiously inspired executions and barbarities"
will now go into a tailspin or even decline slightly as a consequence of
his death.  How does the death of Zarqawi undermine support for such
actions or convince those who are drawn toward them to "seek another
road."

I don't see how this will have any positive impact at all on clarifying
the problems with beheadings, etc., and will most likely lead to more of
them.  From the standpoint of a fair number of people in Iraq, probably
including some people, as a commentator on Bolshevik guerrillaism and
bank robberies once wrote, "with hearts as pure as crystal" Zarqawi has
earned his status of martyr.  Even some of those who hated some of his
actions will tend to defend his memory against the occupier now.

I also think we need to clear our heads and understand more firmly that
Iraq really is nothing but "a war of an occupied -people against the
occupier," one that -- like many wars against occupation include such
manifestations.  Since imperialism is the cause of them, it is hard to
imagine how it could remove them even if it was inclined to do so.

I don't think the assassination of Zarqawi is a step toward defeating
his current within the resistance any more than exposures that he was
once a "video store clerk" prove that this reactionary current is not a
factor in the resistance. (Stuff like this always remind me of the snobs
who used to think that the worst thing you could say about Hitler was
that he had once allegedly been a "house painter."

Does Mark think that targeted assassinations in Israel can have the same
clarifying effect by blowing away those who sponsor suicide bombings
that target civilians?

Really, I have come to expect much clearer thinking from Mark.

FRred


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