Posted February 7, 2002

Dissing Arafat

Just as Israel and United States look to replace Yasser Arafat as head of the Palestinian Authority, Edward Said and his Westernized cronies proclaim themselves a new, "independent" movement and call for elections in Palestine. What a fortuitous coincidence! Hey, Edward, you've sworn an oath of loyalty to the United States, you live in America, why don't you concentrate your efforts on critiquing your own government's policies instead of dissing President Arafat all the time.

~ Ken Meyercord

Bankruptcy

[Regarding "Never Mind Osama / Let's conquer the world instead":]

Justin Raimondo is at his frightening best. But what I want to know is what do we do? The country is brain-dead, all right – but it doesn't follow that it isn't worth saving. As in any bankruptcy, the sharks will move in to scoop up the remains. What form will that take? A revolution? Should we start one now, or wait to see who gets it going? How do I cash in on the collapse?

~ T. Duncan, Astoria, Oregon

Nice Saudis

[Regarding Justin Raimondo's column of January 23, "The War Against the Saudis":]

...You're describing a vast left/right-wing conspiracy against those nice Saudis that comprises just about every nook and cranny of the American political spectrum (probably including Noam Chomsky as well), with the very curious exception of the Bush family. In fact, the Bushes are the prime domestic target of this evil plot – by the oil companies, no less. (I have to wonder why W., with all of his family's resources and connections, and his 90% approval rating, isn't coming after these troublemakers with both guns. I guess he's just too polite.) And this sinister cabal has as its chief spokesman, of all people, Jeff Jacoby (who we all know has always had oh, so much influence on government policy). Hell, I guess Ron Paul must also be complicit, since he has the same view of the Saudis as everyone else. And yet, in all this, it never seems to once occur to you that maybe, just maybe, there's a conspiracy between Saudi Arabia and al-Qa'eda, and that their publicly professed mutual hostility is just for show. But let's see, though – could a corrupt, hermetic, despotic dictatorship ever be involved in a conspiracy with a shadowy terrorist gang? Nahhh.

~ Daniel Basken

Justin Raimondo Replies:

I think the term “conspiracy” is a little overwrought: it’s only natural that certain political and corporate factions would act to advance their own interests, and it just so happens that the Saudis have managed to get in the sights of two of the most powerful.

You are confusing several issues.

1) The old Standard oil trust, newly reconstituted, is facing increasing competition coming from abroad, specifically from Saudi Aramco, which is penetrating the US market and selling its oil directly to American consumers. Naturally, the American oil execs want to stop this “invasion” – and certainly the seizure of the Saudi oil fields my the US military would accomplish that aim, wouldn’t you say? So Jeff Jacoby, whether he knows it or not, is objectively the voice of the Oil Trust: if he isn’t in their pay – and I have no knowledge that he is – then he certainly ought to be.

2) There’s already a lot of pressure for Bush to invade Iraq, and that looks increasingly likely: it doesn’t seem beyond the pale that US troops would also “have” to secure the Arabian peninsula to forestall a general rebellion. So it looks like Bush is going along with the Jacoby scenario, but that doesn’t mean that he hasn’t been pressured to move faster and more decisively.

3) I never said I approved of the Saudi regime – or Mugabe‘s Zimbabwe, Saddam Hussein‘s Iraq, or Tony Blair‘s England – that doesn‘t mean I want to send in the troops and engage in a little “regime change,” as our policymakers like to put it.

4) Do you have evidence that agencies of the Saudi government collaborated with Al Qaeda to bring downt the World Trade Center and the Pentagon? If so, you should share it with the world: if not, then quit talking through your hat.

Vital Read

Just a short note to thank you all for your hard work – it's a great site and has been a vital daily read for me post-9/11. Good luck in the future....

~ Matthew H., United Kingdom

Foreigners

Regarding "Gucci Goes to War" by Justin Raimondo, January 21:

The ideas expressed on Damien Penny's website Daimnation are ... logically weak and strident because it's stylish these days to be a tough right wing wannabe libertarian, and Penny is one of many cashing in on this. I do not believe the arguments are of such poor quality because Penny is Canadian and we "don't have a lot up in Canada, including a sense of ... national identity". Canadians, like most other people in the world, are watching this "internal American debate over foreign policy", and commenting on it and trying to influence it, because they will be dramatically affected by the results. I've always considered the libertarian ideal to include free speech for everyone. It came as a shock to read that "When it comes to deciding whether [we Americans are] going to stay a republic, or become an empire, I'd rather foreigners stayed out of it, or at least had the tact to keep their voices reasonably low and their tone civil." As to your first preference, in a free world you will be disappointed. As for tact, there are times when a point can be more clearly made when it is made bluntly. I refer you, for example, to your own fine work in Behind the Headlines. There are many good articles where tact is not used and the arguments are very effective. You certainly felt free to critique India's policies in "India's Amen Corner" and "India's Terrorist Minister," though you are the foreigner in this instance.

I really like the ... [Antiwar.com]. My present critique notwithstanding, please keep up the good work.

(FYI – A transvestite was trying to run for the leadership of the Canadian Alliance Party. I don't know about any homosexuals who support them.)

~ Doug Barrett, Edmonton, Canada

Corporate Sack

Nice to see some truth in this world that has become a corporate sack of sh*t. Keep up the good work.

~ Carlo M.

Manufacturing Dissent

[Regarding Justin Raimondo's column of January 18, "Manufacturing Dissent":]

• The U.S. government kills thousands, if not millions of people around the world every year. Americans, like you, don't hear about this and probably don't care. 3,000 Americans dead in an attack isn't interesting if you look at history and unless you're American, which would mean that you ... have a very short memory and believe that Americans are the only people worth anything on this planet.
• Chomsky very often talks about "blowback" in his other discourses.
• Chomsky very often talks about "OBL and Saudi Arabia" in his other discourses.
• The US ... should have set an example to the world by doing as the Sandinistas did and followed proper legal procedures. It wouldn't have hurt us and we would not have had anything to lose as did the Sandinistas.
• America is not under attack. There was an attack. There was one attack. It's been months since American has been attacked!
• I'm an American, but I'm lucky enough to have traveled a lot in my lifetime. I also now live most of the time outside of America. I can tell you this: America is not as free as a lot of the countries in the world.

~ Victor M., France