I disagree with Big Jimmy that there is no "third way" between Islamic fundamentalism and military elites. Turkey, Iran, and to a much lesser extent Pakistan all have democratic elements in their systems. These are big countries. Young Iranians have made great strides to scale back the influence of the mullahs, and Ataturk, back in the day, was smart enough to follow the US model and keep religion the hell out of goverment. The gains made are fragile, though, and are not served by US attempts to remake the region through military force. As I've said, we're uniting not just pan-Arabists and Islamists but ancient tribal rivalries that would otherwise keep the region in chaos.
Ellen Willis reviews Berman's book in Salon today, and also says he's wrongheaded to support Bush's war--she calls him "naive." Berman treats Bush as a mere instrument to bring Enlightenment to spiritual-but-ignorant Arabs, but Willis reminds us that Bush has a fundamentalist agenda of his own. Berman is doing Bush's intellectual spadework: in his research and exegesis on Qutb, he's trying to forge a link between Iraq and al-Qaeda that Bush has so far been unable to prove. Berman says the antiwar movement is making fascism abroad possible, but by giving Bush philosophical legitimacy, I'd say he's abetting its spread here at home.
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Ellen Willis reviews Berman's book in Salon today, and also says he's wrongheaded to support Bush's war--she calls him "naive." Berman treats Bush as a mere instrument to bring Enlightenment to spiritual-but-ignorant Arabs, but Willis reminds us that Bush has a fundamentalist agenda of his own. Berman is doing Bush's intellectual spadework: in his research and exegesis on Qutb, he's trying to forge a link between Iraq and al-Qaeda that Bush has so far been unable to prove. Berman says the antiwar movement is making fascism abroad possible, but by giving Bush philosophical legitimacy, I'd say he's abetting its spread here at home.
- tom moody 3-25-2003 11:23 am