[Marxism] petras and finkelstein

[Gregory Meyerson <gmeyerson@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

important debate Louis:


http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=107&ItemID=12607



I think Finkelstein is right but he could have hit Petras harder.



at one point, petras, arguing for the israel lobby has hijacked  
american foreign policy thesis, points to the sinking of the liberty  
in '67 with Israel paying no price for this as evidence for his  
hijacking thesis: but that's like saying that the saudis have  
hijacked american foreign policy--giving as evidence the 9/11  
hijackers saudi origins, along with the fact that  u.s. did not hit  
the saudis.


petras cites the pro israel neocons, specifically feith's setting up  
of the osp (office of special plans) as further evidence of this  
hijacking:

but, as Karen Kwiatkowski has informed us and who worked in the osp,  
the main reason for the invasion was control over oil, in great part  
to halt switch to euro, military bases, distrust of saudis.  so the  
very organization petras cites to make his case actually undermines  
his case:  note also petras' really inadequate discussion of the oil  
thesis.


He doesn't discuss cheney's energy group: which had nothing to do  
with the israeli lobby--and obviously had something to do with oil!


btw, what I say above indicates real elite ambivalence with the  
saudis--perhaps as F suggests, the u.s. elites are beginning to show  
a similar ambivalence with respect to Israel (one hypothesis offered  
for the hi profile of walt/mearsheimer).


gm




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