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Just for a Laugh

ageing hack | 14.08.2003 11:02

Found this on the internet; sorry it's not really news (and a bit out of date now) but it made me laugh till I was rolling round on the ground...

So who, objectively, is to blame for the fall of Baghdad? Clearly the bulk of responsibility falls on to the shoulders of the Stop the War Coalition. After the brilliant, massive, inspiring, five million strong march in February, the Coalition had a golden opportunity to actually do what it claimed to exist for and STOP THE WAR! Yet instead of taking the logical next step of calling for a nationwide general strike, (as genuine marxists such as myself were demanding), the unholy alliance of the SWP and CPB bureaucrats running the coalition instead held back the struggle by limiting protest to more futile demonstrations and the implicitly reformist and decidedly Stalinist-sounding People’s Parliament.

In doing so they betrayed the Iraqi people and played into the hands of the war-mongers. Yes, they kept their new found friends at the Guardian, Independent and Daily Mirror happy by playing along in this game of lets-pretend pacifist protest, but they did so at a price. In effect STWC was incorporated by the capitalist state and became the acceptable ‘left’ face of the war. Instead of calling for the creation of an International Brigade, which could have united with the Republican Guard in a heroic defence of Baghdad, the STWC clung to its pacifist, neutral non-interventionist position in order to keep fatcats like Charles Kennedy and Robin Cook happy. The left should learn the lesson of this betrayal. In the short term STWC should now be demanding the nationalisation of the top 200 monopolies in Iraq and the creation of a workers militia to defend the remaining statues. But don’t hold your breath comrades…..


ageing hack

Comments

Hide the following 4 comments

I wish I didn't believe this is a real article

14.08.2003 11:38

But I do. [sigh]

Ageing hack, you simply must tell us where this piece of headbangery sprang from - what's the source?

But yeah, it did make me "lol", as young people say these days. The very idea of a ragbag of European lefties and peaceniks joining Saddam's stormtroopers for a "last ditch" defence of Baghdad is hilarious.

Clearly the nutter who wrote this wants us all to die at the hands of US Marines and Cruide Missiles!

And the idea that the STWC could call a general strike - well it could *call* one, but seeing as the ever wussy TUC couldn't even bring itself to support the STW demos - well I leave it up to IMC readers to do the sums.

And now, apparently, we should be calling for a Workers Militia to defend Saddam's statues (!) and the nationalisation of the Iraqi 'top 200'!!!

Yeah I can really see Paul Bremer and Dubya going for that one.

Jeez, I'm as Marxist as the next man (apart from being an anarchist, obv.), but some of our M/L mates are really off the scale.

Too much dialectical materialism on their cornflakes in the morning, I shouldn't wonder.

DO, DO, DO TELL US WHERE THIS ARTICLE IS FROM! PLEAAAASE.

Mad Monk


Source

15.08.2003 14:11

Sonic


Dammit

15.08.2003 14:59

It's just a satirical blog. Darn. Mind you, that's quite a relief, I s'pose.

Annoying, however, that the "Dave Dudley blogspot" is praised to the heavens by "Conservative Commentary", my cursory investigations have revealed.

If only so many on the left weren't actually like this. [sigh]

Mad Monk


Finding sources

15.08.2003 16:19

If you download the google toolbar at www.google.com you can then just highlight text right click and do a search.

Sonic


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