Our Al Qaeda Problem.Thanks for the invitation to discuss the left's response to Al Qaeda ("Our Al Qaeda Problem," by Sasha Abramsky, October issue). First, I would applaud the initiative to direct attention toward the crafting of a progressive plan for rolling back and resisting the harm done by religious and other fundamentalists, whether through bombs or repressive social structures. However, I fear that Abramsky, having been too close to the explosions, may have been spooked into losing faith in the appeal of a free and open society. He often seems to assume that if we do not respond to Al Qaeda with military force, Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden: see bin Laden, Osama. will likely become the dictator of the world. In his group criticism of several prominent liberal writers, he points out that they have "missed the central point: that ... Al Qaeda is classically imperialist ... looking to craft the next chapter of human history in its own image." That is the central point only if we accept that failure to militarize mil·i·ta·rize tr.v. mil·i·ta·rized, mil·i·ta·riz·ing, mil·i·ta·riz·es 1. To equip or train for war. 2. To imbue with militarism. 3. To adopt for use by or in the military. our society will enable Al Qaeda to subjugate sub·ju·gate tr.v. sub·ju·gat·ed, sub·ju·gat·ing, sub·ju·gates 1. To bring under control; conquer. See Synonyms at defeat. 2. To make subservient; enslave. us with their occasional anonymous blast. Abramsky exhorts his fellow progressives to "uphold the values of pluralism, rationalism, skepticism, women's rights The effort to secure equal rights for women and to remove gender discrimination from laws, institutions, and behavioral patterns. The women's rights movement began in the nineteenth century with the demand by some women reformers for the right to vote, known as suffrage, and , and individual liberty" in opposition to the values of the fundamentalist Islamist terrorists. Mr. Abramsky, we are. We happen not to believe that these things "These Things" is an EP by She Wants Revenge, released in 2005 by Perfect Kiss, a subsidiary of Geffen Records. Music Video The music video stars Shirley Manson, lead singer of the band Garbage. Track Listing 1. "These Things [Radio Edit]" - 3:17 2. can be accomplished using bombs. We also don't believe in preemptively becoming a totalitarian state Noun 1. totalitarian state - a government that subordinates the individual to the state and strictly controls all aspects of life by coercive measures totalitation regime in order to resist totalitarianism. We believe that a free and open society can survive international terrorism Noun 1. international terrorism - terrorism practiced in a foreign country by terrorists who are not native to that country act of terrorism, terrorism, terrorist act - the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain because it has broad appeal throughout the world, and does itself great harm whenever it uses excessive force. Adam Scotera Northampton, Massachusetts Sasha Abramsky's essay ignored the root causes of Islamist hatred of the United States and some of its allies, not including Sweden, of course. Karl Popper's Open Society has lost the high ground to rampant consumerism, materialism, hedonism hedonism (hē`dənĭz'əm) [Gr.,=pleasure], the doctrine that holds that pleasure is the highest good. Ancient hedonism expressed itself in two ways: the cruder form was that proposed by Aristippus and the early Cyrenaics, who believed , fraud, chicanery, and avarice av·a·rice n. Immoderate desire for wealth; cupidity. [Middle English, from Old French, from Latin av , just to name a few things. For decades, U.S. corporations have been forcibly injecting themselves into Islamist countries and cultures, and they don't like it, especially the Wahhabis, mysteriously omitted from the essay. Abramsky implies that the Western values progressives hold so dear are somehow superior to Islam. This is arrogant and combative. However, I personally believe that the road to world peace lies in secular humanism and the repudiation of all things metaphysical. We must back off and work patiently to bring about a second Enlightenment because the first one didn't take. Roger Steed steed see nag. Dayton, Ohio Progressives must not lose sight of the fact that U.S policy is the engine that has fueled Osama bin Laden's brand of Islamic fundamentalism. We have a history in the Middle East that includes the Eisenhower-Dulles overthrow of the secular Mossadegh government of Iran in 1953. Our puppet shah despot paved the way for Islamic fundamentalism in that nation. At the same time we have been unwavering in our support of the Saudi Wahhabi fundamentalists. Our encouragement of the Afghan mujahadeen, including Osama bin Laden, was the key factor in the overthrow of the short-lived secular government there, and as brutal as he was, Saddam Hussein kept the clerics at bay in Iraq. History demonstrates that every "friendly" Middle Eastern despot has been strengthened by U.S. support. Progressives here in the U.S. should not lose sight of the major culprit in the fight for peace and democracy. Perhaps The Progressive might consider a poll among its readers to identify this planet's principal danger to world peace--Osama bin Laden or George W. Bush. Alvin Levie Bradenton, Florida I just read "Our Al Qaeda Problem," and I found it very annoying. Why put up straw men? No one on the left thinks bin Laden is a good guy. We know he is our enemy. I am certain even Ward Churchill would agree. But it is the rightwingers that are in charge, not bin Laden. It is the right-wingers who are threatening the world, not bin Laden. We have to give notice to bin Laden that he is our enemy, but we have to fight our main enemy first. Lewis Beyman Port Jervis, New York Port Jervis is an American city in Orange County, New York. The population was 8,860 at the 2000 census. The city of Port Jervis neighbors the point where the states of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania adjoin. Port Jervis was a port on the Delaware and Hudson Canal. |
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