Re: M-TH: Russian 'intervention' in Afghanistan

2000-05-25 Thread Chris Burford

At 06:44 23/05/00 +1000, Rob wrote:

I see Moscow is threatening to drop some bombs on Afghanistan because the
Taliban is allegedly (and unsurprisingly) helping out the Chechen
separatists.

This is consistent with 100 years of imperial assumptions by Russia towards 
Afghanistan. It is no accident that Putin had himself inaugurated in the 
throne room of the Czars.

(British imperial history makes the contested nature of Afghanistan between 
different empries quite clear. At least Britain got a thrashing early on.)

Policy towards Afghanistan has been one of the big crunches on the left, 
with certain allegedly marxist groups supporting the Russian invasion of 
1970 and the Brezhnev doctrine of limited sovereignty.

Unfortunately a large section of the left in the USA and in Europe will 
once again feel indulgent towards Russia because Afghanistan has 
undemocratic practices towards women.



  the
hegemons du jour prefer their foreign radicals to be of the right - as
Trotsky warned when the boy Hitler first came under notice

Can you explain this reference?


  - and as Caspian
oil projections might recommend).


Can you explain again.

Too eliptical.

Chris Burford

London



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Re: M-TH: Russian 'intervention' in Afghanistan

2000-05-25 Thread Michael Pugliese

  Yup, what was the line that Alex Cockburn had after the '79 invasion?
Think it was, "If ever a country deserved to be raped, it was Afghanistan."
Then he said something about fucking goats!
  Michael Pugliese

- Original Message -
From: Chris Burford [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Wednesday, May 24, 2000 11:25 PM
Subject: Re: M-TH: Russian 'intervention' in Afghanistan


 At 06:44 23/05/00 +1000, Rob wrote:

 I see Moscow is threatening to drop some bombs on Afghanistan because the
 Taliban is allegedly (and unsurprisingly) helping out the Chechen
 separatists.

 This is consistent with 100 years of imperial assumptions by Russia
towards
 Afghanistan. It is no accident that Putin had himself inaugurated in the
 throne room of the Czars.

 (British imperial history makes the contested nature of Afghanistan
between
 different empries quite clear. At least Britain got a thrashing early on.)

 Policy towards Afghanistan has been one of the big crunches on the left,
 with certain allegedly marxist groups supporting the Russian invasion of
 1970 and the Brezhnev doctrine of limited sovereignty.

 Unfortunately a large section of the left in the USA and in Europe will
 once again feel indulgent towards Russia because Afghanistan has
 undemocratic practices towards women.



   the
 hegemons du jour prefer their foreign radicals to be of the right - as
 Trotsky warned when the boy Hitler first came under notice

 Can you explain this reference?


   - and as Caspian
 oil projections might recommend).


 Can you explain again.

 Too eliptical.

 Chris Burford

 London



  --- from list [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---




 --- from list [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---