On Mon, 3 May 2004 16:38:49 +0100 "Chris Burford" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > And BTW Patrick Cockburn likewise argues that the US > > has essentially lost the war in Iraq. > > > The Independent on Sunday, 02 May 2004 > > > It may be one of the most extraordinary defeats in history. > > > > Yes. My intuition too. > > And of world historical significance perhaps even greater than the > defeat in Vietnam. > > Is is too early to ask why, in marxist terms?
I would think that the stakes for the US in Iraq are far higher than what they were in Vietnam. Vietnam had rubber plantations which had been of interest to the French but I don't think were of any great value to the US, and there was talk of oil off the Vietnamese coast but I don't think that at that time, US oil companies were that eager to go out and pump it. To a large extent the Vietnam War had been over the US trying to save face in a situation where it committed itself militarily, far in excess to its real economic or geopolitical interests in Indochina. It was in Richard Nixon's words over trying to avoid the US appearing to be a "pitiful, helpless giant". In the end while the defeat of the US in Vietnam was quite demoralizing, the US did recover within a few years. However, the situation in Iraq seem to be quite different. Here the stakes are much greater. Iraq is itself a major oil producer, and it sits adjacent to other countries that are even greater oil producers. While the United States, itself, is only partially dependent on Mideast oil, most of Europe and Japan are greatly dependent on oil from that region, and if they were to be suddenly deprived of that oil, their economies would quickly grind to a halt. So for the US the economic and geopolitical stakes are far higher than they were in Vietnam. A defeat here would, I think, be far more devastating than was the defeat in Vietnam. > > Chris Burford > > > > _______________________________________________ > Marxism-Thaxis mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To change your options or unsubscribe go to: > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis > ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
