I’m still waiting for that damned television to be delivered. In the absence of East Enders I’m forced to search the web to entertain myself. Here’s a particularly entertaining article by Tariq Ali I found earlier. I swear he’s turning into Dave Spart.
Tariq’s first point is that “The Republican Administration has utilized the national trauma of 9.11 to pursue an audacious imperial agenda”
Hmm. If an audacious imperial agenda was Bush’s goal all along why was his stated aim prior to 9.11 to pursue a humble foreign policy. It must surely be another example of American duplicity. The US was no doubt planning to take over the world all along but needed the excuse of 9.11 to justify it. I’m surprised Tariq doesn’t hint that the real organisers of 9.11 was the CIA.
Well actually he gets pretty close to doing so “The 2001 assault on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon was thus a gift from heaven for the Administration” Yes, I can just see it now – as the body count rose at the twin towers the US administration rubbed its collective hands with glee – now this gives us the excuse of ruling the world ha ha haaaaaa!
But who should they attack first ? How about Iraq ? But why Iraq ? According to Tariq the Iraqi government were intent on causing economic confusion by deciding in 2000 to “invoice its exports in euros rather than dollars” Oh my God. Such a decision could lead to lots of bits of paper having to be retyped. Baghdad must be bombed immediately. Tariq explains that “Economics, after all, is only a concentrated form of politics, and war a continuation of both by other means” Well I’m not sure about that but what do I know, I’ve only got an economics O Level. Perhaps Oliver Kamm can help out in the comments box, I think he posted something about how enough invoicing amendments could eventually destroy capitalism (scroll down to the heading I Know Nothing About Economics)
But who will carry out the bombing of Iraq? “Crusader armies” says Tariq commanded by US Colonels “in the spirit of any Panzer commander in 1940” I can just see Donald Rumsfeld running around before the war began screaming for more officers who manage to bring off that difficult Richard the Lionheart/Rommel hybrid look.
The article concludes, echoing Lenin, with a section entitled “What is to be done ?” Comrade Ali lets us know that he prefers the forces of Baathism and Islamic fundamentalism to the democrats of Iraq “It is to be hoped that the invaders of Iraq will eventually be harried out of the country by a growing national reaction to the occupation regime they install, and that the collaborators may meet the fate of Nuri Said before them” Gosh, that doesn’t sound very nice Tariq, are you sure ? Apparantly so. “The immediate tasks that face an anti-imperialist movement are support for Iraqi resistance to the Anglo-American occupation” All right then I’ll see you down the High Street on Saturday with a collecting tin for the Saddam Loyalist Appeal.
You’ll have to read the whole article to get the benefit of Tariq’s interesting views on world politics but I’ll give you another couple of tasters. He thinks Kofi Annan is “Africa’s Waldheim” and that “Pyongyang would do well to step up its military preparations”
Phew !