Stephen, I read the Ignatieff article but wasn't quite sure of how to comment on it. His dichotomy of republic and empire didn't quite seem right to me. In the case of America, is there really a difference? As a republic by constitution, it has always expanded its interests by empire, if not militaristically then by economic means. The question that Ignatieff leaves out is that of purpose and whose interests this has served.
I do agree with him that there can be no solution to the problems of the Middle East without a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue. What is going on in Palestine can only feed and breed Islamic radicalism. My deepest fear is not that this lead to more hi-jacked flights and blown up buildings, but to a repression of rights that people living in democratic republics or quasi-republics (like Canada) have come to regard as sacred. Ed Ed Weick 577 Melbourne Ave. Ottawa, ON, K2A 1W7 Canada Phone (613) 728 4630 Fax (613) 728 9382 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stephen Straker" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2003 2:30 AM Subject: [Futurework] Buruma on Iraq plans > Here is something to put beside Ignatieff's eloquent paper > > ... > > speaking of which ... I am just speechless that NO ONE > (except Karen and Ray) had anything at all to say about > Ignatieff's piece (which puts everybody in their place). If > you're inclined to give it another try, > http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/05/magazine/05EMPIRE.html > > > > Meanwhile, Buruma lets us know in no uncertain terms that > the old labels just don't work. You need a score-card to > keep track of who's who. Even then, I find it impossible to > convince myself that I have any idea what's really going on > here. > > +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > ... A few days in the US capital are enough to reveal the > splits, not just between Democrats and Republicans, but also > the various factions on the right, squabbling for the > president's fickle attention. Much depends on the outcome of > these struggles. > > Several people I met, none of them even vaguely on the left, > were convinced there would be no war. The president, they > assured me, was backtracking. Others told me, with equal > conviction, that Bush certainly would go to war. > > Then there are those who talk as if the war is already > over. > > I was invited to take part in a discussion at the American > Enterprise Institute about Iraq after Saddam. The AEI is a > neo-conservative outfit, whose members are imbued with a > revolutionary mission to bring democracy to the world, > backed by American force. Our discussion, in which several > prominent Arab liberals took part, was on the whole > reasonable and interesting. We argued about the future role, > if any, of the Baathist party, of the Iraqi armed forces, of > the Sunnis, and of the Kurds. We talked about possible > lessons to be drawn from the US role in postwar Germany and > Japan. > > ... > > My point is that the neo-conservatives today, as far as Iraq > is concerned, are the idealists, and if their revolutionary > ideals have any chance of succeeding, they will have to > prevail over the realists, the oil men and the country-club > Republicans, who will surely stand in their way. The irony > here is that what is left of the left, on the whole, shares > the views of the old right. Few believe in a democratic > revolution in the Middle East, and even fewer think it is up > to America to enforce it... > > see: > "A squeamish namby-pamby European wimp joins the Washington > war debate," The Guardian, (14 January 2003) > by Ian Buruma > http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,874256,00.html > > > all best wishes, > > Stephen Straker > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Vancouver, B.C. > [Outgoing mail scanned by Norton AntiVirus] > > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
