America's Fascists Call for “Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week”

[quirk]

by Reggie Dylan

“The Left controls the labeling machines in our culture—universities, virtually the entire press, network broadcasting, the schools… I want to scream every time one of my conservative friends uses the term ‘liberal’ or ‘progressive’ to describe totalitarian reactionaries who would send them all to gulags if they had a chance…A Noam Chomsky, a Howard Zinn, an Ibrahim Hooper—these are Nazis, or fellow-travelers of Nazis…

“This October 22-26 I am declaring Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week. I will hold demonstrations and protests, teach-ins and sit-ins on more than 100 college campuses. Our theme will be the Oppression of Women in Islam and the threat posed by the Islamic crusade against the West.”

David Horowitz, August 28th, 2007 interview at Frontpagemag.com

This declaration by David Horowitz can’t just be dismissed as the rantings of a reactionary meglomaniac. Horowitz is a major figure in Republican and Christian Fascist political circles. He has been a major spearhead of the assault on dissent and critical thinking in the universities, with the aim of transforming them into servile sites of indoctrination. Over the summer we saw the purging of two prominent scholars at the top of Horowitz’ hit list for scholarship and public statements that challenged official “truths” vital to mobilizing the country behind the Bush regime’s global war for empire: Norman Finkelstein from DePaul University and Ward Churchill from the University of Colorado. And Horowitz and others have made it clear that this is only the beginning.

“Islamo-fascism Awareness Week” is his call for a major fall campus offensive, a concentrated effort to combine racist bullying with insidious deceit to recast this country’s global war for empire as an historic defense of freedom against the threat from Islamic fundamentalism in alliance with the “radical left.” And through it to further harden the dangerous polarization that sees the only choices in the world as between Jihad and McWorld/McCrusade—between Islamic fundamentalism on the one hand and capitalist-imperialist domination led by the U.S. on the other. This fall campus offensive needs to be met by a Fascism Awareness counter-offensive that focuses on the threat represented by this country’s Christian Fascists and the Bush Regime, and at the same time brings forward an alternative vision of the future that is tied neither to the imperialists nor to the Islamic fundamentalist states and movements.

We must both take on and defeat this—and see the real opportunities this poses to flip the script on Horowitz and his ilk. In other words, the negative polarization that Horowitz is driving for must be and can be re-polarized.

Behind “Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week”

In March of this year Horowitz brought former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum and other right-wing politicians to Washington D.C. to huddle with his campus brownshirts—Students for Academic Freedom—at their annual conference. (Santorum, among other things, is the Senator that attempted to insert into the “No Child Left Behind” Act the teaching of Intelligent Design creationism in the country’s science classes.) There they began laying plans for this fascist offensive on the college and university campuses this fall. In his keynote speech, Santorum told the campus Republicans “Words matter. How you define things matter, particularly in this war.” He explained "You see, they [Shia Muslims] are not interested in conquering the world; they are interested in destroying the world … But it's not just radical Islam; it is also the radical left … They fight us on college campuses, and they fight us in the streets of Central and South American countries, in North Korea … They see the soft underbelly of America, just like the Soviet Union did. And they're going after it…. What must we do to win? We must educate, engage, evangelize and eradicate … We need to do more…to spread the ideas throughout your campuses."

Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week is planned as a national effort “to rally American students to defend their country.” It will feature “memorial services for the victims of Islamic terror both in America and around the globe.” It will include sit-ins at the offices of Women’s Studies Departments and campus Women’s Centers “to protest their silence about the oppression of women in Islam.” According to the Anti-Racist Blog, “The stated goals of Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week are:

TO EXPLAIN WHO THE ENEMY IS—not ‘terror,’ but a fanatical religious movement associated with … the sponsors of the Muslim Student Association (MSA)…
TO COUNTER THE LEFT’S BIG LIE – that ‘George Bush created the war on terror…’
TO PROTEST THE VIOLENT OPPRESSION OF WOMEN IN ISLAM;
TO STRENGTHEN THOSE ON CAMPUS WHO REJECT THE ANTI-AMERICAN CURRICULUM OF THE TENURED LEFT;
TO TEACH AN ALTERNATIVE CURRICULUM THAT WILL ARM AMERICA AGAINST THE RADICAL JIHAD.”

Horowitz envisions this the “biggest conservative campus protest ever” that will tell the truth about “the greatest danger Americans have ever confronted.” Campus speakers will include David Horowitz, Christopher Hitchens, Rick Santorum, Daniel Pipes, and more. Senator John Kyl and Santorum will be among those hosting showings of “Obsession,” a controversial “documentary” on the threat of radical Islam, marketed by a self-described pro-Israel group—HonestReporting—and promoted by Fox News and CNN.

A particularly racist component of this week is the targeting of the Muslim Student Association (MSA) around the country. Claiming it ise sponsored by fanatical religious movements, MSA is already being “baited” by these brownshirts—insisting that it sign on to their “Islamo-Fascism Petition” to prove that it “reject[s] the hateful agendas of its sponsors, the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.” This vilification of immigrants from the Middle East and Muslims of all countries is meant to appeal to and inflame the most ugly, nativist passions. In his speech to the SAF in March Santorum explained: “What losing looks like is pretty easy, in my mind. Look at Europe….The most popular male name in Belgium—Mohammad. It’s the fifth most popular name in France among boys. They [native Europeans] are losing because they are not having children, they have no faith, they have nothing to counteract it.”

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

If this weren’t so deadly dangerous, it would be laughable. Stop and think for a minute about who these people are that are portraying themselves as the opponents of fascism:

They are the staunchest champions of the Bush Regime, which has legalized torture on an industrial scale. That claims the right to declare any U.S. citizen an enemy combatant and strip them of all legal rights—and did just that with Jose Padilla. That has declared its right to spy on anyone, and is doing so on an unprecedented basis. That is continuing the war in Iraq—an ongoing and outrageous war crime launched on the basis of complete lies. And that is now threatening and preparing for a pre-emptive strike on Iran—launched either by the U.S. or Israel—with potentially disastrous consequences for the world. And these campus brownshirts are planning to shove this whole program down the throats of college students by telling them “you’re either with U.S., or you’re with the Islamo-Fascists.”

These forces also claim to be the champions of the rights of women and opponents of fundamentalist religious fascism. Meanwhile they work hand in glove with the Christian version of fundamentalist religious fascism in this country—forces who are determined to deny women not only access to abortions, but to birth control as well; to reinforce the subjugation and degradation of women in all its imperialist forms; to blur and overwhelm the boundary between science and religion; and to knock down the wall between religion and the state and establish a theocracy. How can we let them pose as opponents of the oppression of women? Or as “champions of religious tolerance?”

The Two Outmodeds

The world is a complex and dangerous place at this time in history – and we cannot allow these reactionary forces to define the future.

Bob Avakian has brought forward a crucial analysis of the present situation and the road forward in Bringing Forward Another Way (available online at revcom.us/avakian/anotherway and also as a pamphlet). In it he elaborates on his characterization of the two forces contending in the world at this time—McWorld / McCrusade or Jihad—as representing “the two outmodeds,” and he argues that there is no future in the interests of the people of the world in allowing our vision to be reduced to choosing between them:

“What we see in contention here with Jihad on the one hand and McWorld/McCrusade on the other hand, are historically outmoded strata among colonized and oppressed humanity up against historically outmoded ruling strata of the imperialist system. These two reactionary poles reinforce each other, even while opposing each other. If you side with either of these ‘outmodeds,’ you end up strengthening both.” (From the talk, “Why We’re in the Situation We’re in Today…And What to Do About It: A Thoroughly Rotten System and the Need for Revolution. ”)

This analysis must be deeply grappled with. As we wrote in our article on line last week: “Islamic fundamentalism is not a progressive force for the world. It, or any kind of religious literalism, is a program full of outmoded and oppressive content: vicious patriarchy and bigotry, religious warfare, “honor killings,” and the promotion of unscientific, superstitious ignorance. But the U.S. is a much more powerful and more dangerous reactionary force. Overall, it is the far greater threat to humanity. It is in no way the "answer" to the genuinely oppressive nature of Islamic fundamentalism…. Every progressive-minded student and teacher should begin preparing now to politically – and ideologically take on these hypocritical fascists.”

Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week must be met by a determined counteroffensive. The “two outmodeds” – either Islamic fundamentalism or capitalist-imperialist domination—must be repudiated as choices that represent any road to the future. And we need to be collectively grappling with the road to a future that genuinely represents the interests of the people of the world.

http://www.rwor.org/a/101/americas-fascists-en.html

[BunyipDude]

I dunno, I have read about radical Islam and its connections to more orthodox forms of Islam, and I must say that what I've read is discomforting. The radical Islamists are, in my opinion, much WORSE than even the most fundamentalist Christians. I think we just need to acknowledge that all fundamentalists are not the kinds of people we should consider our allies and distance ourselves from them. It bothers me to see, for instance, Hugo Chavez supporting the Iranian government but NOT the People's Mujahedin of Iran? I think it is true that there is an odd sort of sympathy felt by Leftists for the Islamists even though the Islamists are not only the equal but worse than the most religious American neo-cons. That needs to end. All fascist religious ideologies are bad, m'kay?

That being said, it is clear that there are alternatives, and supporting imperialism and the supposed "right to exist" of Israel aren't amongst them. I believe the Republican movement needs to remain firmly aligned with its old allies in the secular Islamic nationalist community - groups like the PFLP, for instance.

[quirk]

Fundamentalist Islam need's to be opposed but the form which it takes today such as terrorist attacks are in many ways a reply to Imperialism in the only way these people know how.

If I lived in the USA I would be alot more concerned however about the Christian fundamentalists who would themselves tell you that they want to make the US a Christian state i.e a religious theocracy and they are organising to do so. These people are not a small minority with no say but have real access to the halls of power and punch well above their weight. Take Pat Robertson for instance. When he stood in the Republican primaries he actually did quite well and that was almost 2 decades ago before we witnessed the rise of the religious right to the extent it exists today. This is a man who in my opinion is just as bad as these Islamists after all he has said that hurricane Katrina was deserved retribution and recently he has called for the abolition of all prisons in the United States and their replacement with biblical law. Now really think about that. Here is a man who ran for the highest office in the land and was quite successful, has the ear of many at the top of the ruling class and is calling for the implementation of law which would among other things mean the execution of homosexuals, Sabbath breakers and adulterers. That in my opinion is very scary.

Also look at the assault on scientific thought which is happening in the USA today and this can be seen in a very concentrated way around the issue of evolution. Do you not think it is extremely dangerous that many American children are today being thought that the earth is only 6000 years old and dinosaurs walked with man. In the official government bookshop at the grand canyon they sell books which say that it was formed by Noahs flood.

And if the republicans want to keep winning elections they will have to give more and more concessions to these people which in my opinion places them as one of the biggest threats to the people of the US today.

[broche]

You have the evangelicals who are israels biggest supporters , they also believe the the apocalypse will come in the middle east so they are probabley trying to bring it about

[quirk]

Of course. The only reason they support Isreal is because the book of revelation says that the Isreal has to exist before the second coming of Christ and the apocalypse. At the same time these christian fundamentalists believe that when that happens the Jews will be going to hell. Its a strange situation.

[broche]

lunatics

[BunyipDude]

But the Christian fascists aren't blowing themselves up and killing lots of innocent people.

[Puddies]

But the Christian fascists aren't blowing themselves up and killing lots of innocent people.They voted in Bush, him and his people are responsible for more innocent deaths and more damage to humanity than any Islamic group.

[BunyipDude]

They voted in Bush, him and his people are responsible for more innocent deaths and more damage to humanity than any Islamic group.

If you consider history, radical Islamists have caused even more innocent deaths prior to 9/11 and other recent events. Not to mention the oppression of non-believers under Islamic societies who lived as dhimmi, their involvement in slavery, and their general rejection of freedom. Have you not noticed the intolerance of Islamists towards apostasy? ****, even people who are critical of Islam are threatened with death. Killing in the name of imperialism is certainly bad, but as Irish Republicans, I figured we all agreed that killing in the name of religion is just as bad. And make no mistake about it...these people HAVE killed and continue to kill in the name of Allah, not because of nationalist or imperialist grievances. They've been doing it since long before Israel or Iraq, and they'll continue to do it even if America's empire does fall apart.

Trying to appeal to Bush is not sufficient for letting these Islamists off the hook. We must view them for what they are - another group of fascists who are no friend to us and who do not deserve our sympathy. The fact that they claim to be fighting for a certain group of oppressed people does not justify their beliefs or their actions, and the fact that they are fighting American imperialism does not make us worthy of our support. Sympathize with the Palestinians, but distrust Hamas, which has manipulated them for its own radical agenda.

[Puddies]

If you consider history, radical Islamists have caused even more innocent deaths prior to 9/11 and other recent events. Not to mention the oppression of non-believers under Islamic societies who lived as dhimmi, their involvement in slavery, and their general rejection of freedom. Have you not noticed the intolerance of Islamists towards apostasy? ****, even people who are critical of Islam are threatened with death. Killing in the name of imperialism is certainly bad, but as Irish Republicans, I figured we all agreed that killing in the name of religion is just as bad. And make no mistake about it...these people HAVE killed and continue to kill in the name of Allah, not because of nationalist or imperialist grievances. They've been doing it since long before Israel or Iraq, and they'll continue to do it even if America's empire does fall apart.

Trying to appeal to Bush is not sufficient for letting these Islamists off the hook. We must view them for what they are - another group of fascists who are no friend to us and who do not deserve our sympathy. The fact that they claim to be fighting for a certain group of oppressed people does not justify their beliefs or their actions, and the fact that they are fighting American imperialism does not make us worthy of our support. Sympathize with the Palestinians, but distrust Hamas, which has manipulated them for its own radical agenda.I wasn't in any way trying to let fundamentalist Muslim fanatics off the hook, I was responding to you implying that Christian fanatics aren't responsible for killing innocent people. The fact is that fundamentalists here in the US, through their elected terrorists, are a much greater danger to humanity than any Islamic threat. Both sides are evil, but the Christians have much more power in their hands.

I personally think religion in general is wrong, "opiate of the masses" if you will, but obviously killing in the name of religion is wrong in any case.

[quirk]

But the Christian fascists aren't blowing themselves up and killing lots of innocent people.

No but their potential to have an impact especially on the people of the US is massive compared to Islamic fundamentalists who despite the media propaganda are very little threat to you at all.

[broche]

look at what fundamentalist evangelicals hav done in this country. remember billy wright was an evangelical lay preacher

[BunyipDude]

Sorry, but as long as the Evangelicals are working through democracy (which, BTW, some Islamist groups are, too, like CAIR) and not force, I do not seem them the same way. They are simply not rational; they are religious fanatics, cultists, if you will, the most dangerous kinds of religious zealots of all.

The fact is, it's far more likely I'd get killed on a train by Al-Qaeda's bombs than by a military police force sent to my house by Dubya. And if he tries that...well, my AK will stay loaded, then.

look at what fundamentalist evangelicals hav done in this country. remember billy wright was an evangelical lay preacher

Look at what fundamentalist Muslims have done in their OWN countries. I honestly hope you're not going to tell me you'd rather live in Iran under Sharia law than in America or the U.K. or Ireland?

Evangelicals have some power in this country because they've formed interest groups, and there are just so damn many of them. It does not follow, however, that they have imposed some sort of Christian theocracy upon us. At the end of the day, if Americans get ****ed off about having a leader who is giving them too much, we can vote him out of office. Or, better yet, make his party pay for their sins in Congressional elections (as we did in 2006).

[quirk]

Because they are working through "democracy" does not make them any less dangerous. Hitler worked through the same democracy. I know at the moment you might think that there is no threat from these people but the potential is certainly there and I would be very concerned about the attacks being carried out on critical thinking in the US by not only them but also other sections of the right.

Also you talk about voting them out as if the people really have a say. One of the reasons that the democrats won in the last election is because of Iraq but have they really done anything to change it?

[BunyipDude]

Because they are working through "democracy" does not make them any less dangerous. Hitler worked through the same democracy. I know at the moment you might think that there is no threat from these people but the potential is certainly there and I would be very concerned about the attacks being carried out on critical thinking in the US by not only them but also other sections of the right.

Also you talk about voting them out as if the people really have a say. One of the reasons that the democrats won in the last election is because of Iraq but have they really done anything to change it?

Hitler came to power through democracy at a time when Germany was suffering from the Great Depression and dealing with the baggage of the 1st World War. He appealed to a large part of the population. If you were to compare circumstances in America right now, it would appear to be a recipe for the Democrats to make their gains. The vast majority of Americans are upset with the situation in Iraq and want us to start looking for an exit (or at least start reducing our involvement)...Bush and the neocons talking about "finishing the job" is precisely what most Americans do NOT want to hear right now. Cue Democratic landslide victories in Senate and House.

Right-wing evangelicals simply don't carry the kind of appeal to Americans that Hitler would have had in the 1930s. Although Americans are still somewhat economically conservative (that is, pro-capitalism and resistant to social democratic reform), America is still by and large a secular nation. Completely the opposite, I'm afraid, of many Islamist-dominated countries, though from what I've read, most of the Muslims in those countries would also prefer secular reform.

As far as the Democrats go, time will tell. While I don't expect the Democrats to just pull the troops out instantly, I do expect gradual reductions in spending and troop strength in Iraq, and I also expect any considerations of action against Iran will disappear from the agenda.

[quirk]

Hitler came to power through democracy at a time when Germany was suffering from the Great Depression and dealing with the baggage of the 1st World War. He appealed to a large part of the population. If you were to compare circumstances in America right now, it would appear to be a recipe for the Democrats to make their gains.

I wasn't trying to suggest that the situation in the USA was like that in 1930's Germany (though there is some parallels) but merely responding to your suggestion that the Christian fascists are not a problem as they are working through the bourgeois democratic process. These people have their eye on power , maybe not today or tomorrow but at some time in the not too distant future and they are planning for this with alot of dedication and determination. Good examples of this are the documentaries Jesus Camp and God's Next Army. You should watch them both if you haven't yet seen them.

The vast majority of Americans are upset with the situation in Iraq and want us to start looking for an exit (or at least start reducing our involvement)...Bush and the neocons talking about "finishing the job" is precisely what most Americans do NOT want to hear right now. Cue Democratic landslide victories in Senate and House.

Yes the vast majority of Americans are upset and that is why they wrongly voted for the democrats who despite their control of the house and Senate have done nothing to meet the concerns of the people. Have they tried to withhold money for the occupation? Have they called for an end to the occupation? Have they even spoken up on the assault on civil liberties and the removal of habeas corpus? To all these questions you will find the answer is no. The democratic system is certainly not about implementing the will of the people and the democrats are as much an Imperialist party as the Republicans are.

Right-wing evangelicals simply don't carry the kind of appeal to Americans that Hitler would have had in the 1930s. Although Americans are still somewhat economically conservative (that is, pro-capitalism and resistant to social democratic reform), America is still by and large a secular nation. Completely the opposite, I'm afraid, of many Islamist-dominated countries, though from what I've read, most of the Muslims in those countries would also prefer secular reform.

Look you are getting mixed up with what my point is. I am not saying America is not a secular nation but rather that this secularism is being eroded and the potential that these Christian fundamentalists have to assert their agenda, even if indirectly is a serious concern. If the Republicans want to win in the next election they will need the support of the evangelicals and this is not support that will be given for free. Pointing to problems in Islamic countries (of which their is many) does not negate the problems within your own. These things are not just relative.

As far as the Democrats go, time will tell. While I don't expect the Democrats to just pull the troops out instantly, I do expect gradual reductions in spending and troop strength in Iraq, and I also expect any considerations of action against Iran will disappear from the agenda.

The Democrats will do what they think is best for US imperialism and nothing else. So far they have shown by their actions that they support the war despite what some of them might say to the contrary. As for Iran they have merely tailed the lies of the Bush regime so far so what makes you think this will change.

http://revcom.us/i/087/iran-options-m-en.jpg

[Puddies]

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g161/Puddies87/OBB.jpg

[quirk]

Puddies I was just wondering do you see the potential of these fundamentalists as worrying and dangerous?

[quirk]

Resist “Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week”
Confront the Horowitz Fascists with Real Facts and Truth

There is an ice sheet spreading across the campuses of America. Well-known professors have lost their jobs due to their political views. Scores, perhaps hundreds, of other professors, less well-known, have been fired, denied tenure, harassed and silenced. Critical thinking is under assault; the universities are being transformed into uncontested centers of indoctrination.

This October 22-26, America’s fascists will attempt to make a further major step in this repressive process. They have declared an “Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week.” They are planning programs and protests at over 100 campuses, supposedly against the oppression of women under Islam and “the threat posed by the Islamic crusade against the West.” In fact, their aim is to rally people behind the U.S. “crusade” against the people of the world and to shut down dissent against this crusade on the campus and, by extension, more broadly throughout society. Coming as it does at the time of continued escalation of the Iraq war and the distinct possibility of war against Iran, the danger of this cannot be underestimated. A particular objective of “Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week” is to whip up reactionary sentiment and hysteria on campuses, and to provide a rallying point to further organize a fascist student movement – spreading racism, chauvinism, and intellectual conformity to reaction; hounding progressive professors and student organizations; and creating a more repressive climate on campus.

This must be confronted and opposed on every campus where it rears its head. Indeed, all people who care anything about critical thinking and academic freedom and about the issues of war, repression, racism and the oppression of women must rally together, and seek out, confront and put this whole effort on the political defensive. Horowitz’s project has to be opposed and taken as an opportunity to raise awareness of the growing danger of U.S. fascism and the reality of the fascist direction and measures being taken by those in the highest reaches of power.

What Is “Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week”?

The very term “Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week” is an attempt to frame discussion and debate in a way that forces people to choose between U.S. imperialism’s bloody crusade on the one hand, or Islamic fundamentalism on the other. Posing these as the only choices traps people in a deadly framework and logic. It ends up strengthening both of these reactionary forces, when neither represents liberation for the people.

Islamic fundamentalism is a reactionary force. Like other brands of religious literalism, it is a program full of oppressive and outmoded content: patriarchy, bigotry, religious warfare and the all-round promotion of superstition and ignorance.

But the U.S. is the far, far more aggressive, and dangerous reactionary force in the world. And those who live inside the U.S. have the particular responsibility to oppose this power. What is needed right now, on campuses and around the country (and the world) is to bring forward a movement, and critical thinking that opposes the crimes of U.S. imperialism, and, in the process, brings forward a whole different alternative—both in the imperialist countries and in the nations oppressed by imperialism.

Horowitz is threatening sit-ins against Women’s Studies departments “to protest their silence about the oppression of women in Islam.” Coming from someone who does not only support, but helps strategize with the Bush regime, this is grotesque, galling and shameless hypocrisy. This regime has taken major steps to ban not just abortion but birth control as well. And the Bush regime, and Horowitz himself, is deeply connected to their own brand of reactionary, theocratic religion: the Christian Fascist movement, which commands women to subordinate themselves to their husbands and to see their main role as breeders of children, and which has committed violence and murder against abortion providers.

Horowitz is threatening to go after “the anti-American curriculum of the tenured left” and to “teach an alternative curriculum that will arm America against the radical Jihad.” In fact, Horowitz has already led attacks on professors like Ward Churchill, known mainly for his work on exposing the U.S. genocide against Native Americans, and Norman Finkelstein, known mainly for his exposure of Israel’s crimes and its hypocritical use of the Nazi Holocaust of the Jews to justify those crimes. He has published a book listing 101 “dangerous professors”—almost all of whom research and teach about the real nature of American society and whose work and views don’t “fit into” the crusade now being carried out by the U.S. government.

He is branding the Muslim Student Associations as “the enemy,” and is aiming to stir up hatred and suppression against these students. He is going after the environmentalists for supposedly raising too much concern over global warming in a way that Horowitz feels detracts from the so-called “war on terror.”

If this goes down unopposed, it will be very bad—it will mark a major new degree of chill on the ice age now descending on the universities. Instead, something different must emerge. This “week” must be confronted and opposed, and out of that must emerge a greatly heightened understanding of, and resistance to, the real fascist danger in this society.

People need to prepare to plunge into the coming controversy, seeking out these fascists and confronting them with the real facts and the truth, and in the process winning over many others. Students must step forward now, on every campus, and organize to politically confront and expose Horowitz’ campus fascists—and to change the tone and tenor on these campuses, unleashing ferment and activism, and organized resistance.


Who Is David Horowitz?

Horowitz is a self-described “battering ram” against any thinking in academia that challenges a whole range of lies this system has perpetrated. As the accompanying article points out, he’s played a major role in slandering, hounding, and even ending the careers of progressive teachers.

Horowitz established his credentials with the ruling class by renouncing his involvement in the 1960s movements for social change in a series of slanderous articles, books and conferences. He “made his bones” in the ’90s, by waging a high-profile campaign against reparations for African-Americans, with the theme that Black people should be grateful for slavery! Horowitz took out huge ads in campus newspapers proclaiming this vicious lie and to this day makes it a major part of his attack.

He wrote a book on the “art of political war” that Karl Rove distributed to key Republican campaign operatives. He is a vitriolic defender of everything from the extermination of the Native Americans and the enslavement of Black people, to the savage and criminal wars against Iraq and Afghanistan and the torture of those whom this regime deems to be terrorists. He has set up a website that clamors for the arrest and imprisonment of revolutionaries, radicals, dissenters and liberals and reports every slander, rumor, lie and innuendo that comes his way. And, bankrolled from the ruling class, he has organized the falsely named “Students for Academic Freedom,” which literally takes notes on lectures and rips things out of context in an attempt to get professors who do not sufficiently bow down to the Bush agenda fired. The modern-day Nazi-type student groups inspired by Horowitz organize so-called “games” like “Catch an Illegal Immigrant” on campus.

In short, Horowitz defends every crime that this system has ever committed and is now preparing to justify even more, and to intimidate and silence any who would question or resist this.

Conservative My Ass—These People Are Nazis!


http://www.rwor.org/a/102/resist-fascist-en.html

[Puddies]

Puddies I was just wondering do you see the potential of these fundamentalists as worrying and dangerous?Yes very much. I'd be much more worried about the rise of fascism in America with a flag in one hand and a bible in the other than I would be about the extremely small possibility of being killed in some kind of terrorist attack.

[BunyipDude]

I wasn't trying to suggest that the situation in the USA was like that in 1930's Germany (though there is some parallels) but merely responding to your suggestion that the Christian fascists are not a problem as they are working through the bourgeois democratic process. These people have their eye on power , maybe not today or tomorrow but at some time in the not too distant future and they are planning for this with alot of dedication and determination. Good examples of this are the documentaries Jesus Camp and God's Next Army. You should watch them both if you haven't yet seen them.

Problem is, will they ever GET power? There's a lot of crazy people that want power and who aren't likely to get it. The only question is, are they killing ****loads of people in their struggle to the top?


Yes the vast majority of Americans are upset and that is why they wrongly voted for the democrats who despite their control of the house and Senate have done nothing to meet the concerns of the people. Have they tried to withhold money for the occupation? Have they called for an end to the occupation? Have they even spoken up on the assault on civil liberties and the removal of habeas corpus? To all these questions you will find the answer is no. The democratic system is certainly not about implementing the will of the people and the democrats are as much an Imperialist party as the Republicans are.

First of all, I do not consider my government at all imperialist. I think that, due to short-sighted views of IR, America has carried out policies that border on imperialism, but I'm not a Marxist (or even a revolutionary socialist), so I don't share that viewpoint. My perspective is that while the Democrats are relatively spineless (I don't expect them to "end" the occupation, as you've said), I do expect they will face significant pressure from their constituencies, many of whom do vehemently oppose our involvement in Iraq, to start taking us in that direction.


Look you are getting mixed up with what my point is. I am not saying America is not a secular nation but rather that this secularism is being eroded and the potential that these Christian fundamentalists have to assert their agenda, even if indirectly is a serious concern.

America is far more secular now than it was 25-30 years ago. That's what they hate. Secularism is hardly "eroding".


If the Republicans want to win in the next election they will need the support of the evangelicals and this is not support that will be given for free. Pointing to problems in Islamic countries (of which their is many) does not negate the problems within your own. These things are not just relative.

So I don't understand. On the other hand, you admit that the Democrats, whose constituency is largely anti-war, aren't going to start thinking about Iraq withdrawal even though they need our support, but at the same time, the evangelicals have some sort of death-grip on the Republican agenda that they require to maintain power? You can't have it both ways, lad.


As for Iran they have merely tailed the lies of the Bush regime so far so what makes you think this will change.

The fact that our entire ****ing country will be brought to the brink if we even consider tying ourselves up in another war.

[BunyipDude]

Yes very much. I'd be much more worried about the rise of fascism in America with a flag in one hand and a bible in the other than I would be about the extremely small possibility of being killed in some kind of terrorist attack.

I really don't. I worry more about the Islamist leaderships who are killing their own people, as well as ours, in their attempts to impose their own brand of fascism. I don't want to see Hugo Chavez on friendly terms with Iran when it hates what he stands for. It makes as much sense as the Palestinians finding common ground with the white nationalists in America due to their mutual hatred of the Jews.

[quirk]

Problem is, will they ever GET power? There's a lot of crazy people that want power and who aren't likely to get it. The only question is, are they killing ****loads of people in their struggle to the top?

Of course no one can know if they will ever get power but it is certainly within the realms of possibility. In the early 1930's should people have only been concerned about how many people the Nazi's were killing at that time or should they have taken a more long term view of it and tried to understand the potential within the Nazi party and organised to prevent this becoming a reality? As for killing people they may not be doing so at present but many of them certainly incite hatred against those seen to be "sinners" so as homosexuals and abortion clinics.

First of all, I do not consider my government at all imperialist. I think that, due to short-sighted views of IR, America has carried out policies that border on imperialism, but I'm not a Marxist (or even a revolutionary socialist), so I don't share that viewpoint. My perspective is that while the Democrats are relatively spineless (I don't expect them to "end" the occupation, as you've said), I do expect they will face significant pressure from their constituencies, many of whom do vehemently oppose our involvement in Iraq, to start taking us in that direction.

The US is certainly an Imperialist nation. Lenin defines Imperialism as :

(1) the concentration of production and capital has developed to such a high stage that it has created monopolies which play a decisive role in economic life; (2) the merging of bank capital with industrial capital, and the creation on the basis of this “finance capital”, of a financial oligarchy; (3) the export of capital as distinguished from the export of commodities acquires exceptional importance; (4) the formation of international monopoly capitalist associations which share the world among themselves, and (5) the territorial division of the whole world among the biggest capitalist powers is completed. Imperialism is capitalism at that stage of development at which the dominance of monopolies and finance capital is established; in which the export of capital has acquired pronounced importance; in which the division of the world among the international trusts has begun, in which the division of all territories of the globe among the biggest capitalist powers has been completed.
[Lenin, Imperialism the Highest Stage of Capitalism, LCW Volume 22, p. 266-7.]

This is the Marxist definition and the one with which I would agree with. However even a more narrow view of Imperialism from the dictionary is one which would certainly apply to the US. www.dictionary.com defines imperialism as:

1. the policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or of acquiring and holding colonies and dependencies.
2. advocacy of imperial interests.
3. an imperial system of government.
4. imperial government.
5. British. the policy of so uniting the separate parts of an empire with separate governments as to secure for certain purposes a single state.

The United States have certainly followed an Imperialist agenda since the end of the second world war. A very good book in illustrating this is Killing Hope by William Blum. Parts of it can be read online here (http://thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/KillingHope_page.html).

If the Democrats win the next presidential election and don't end the occupation of Iraq then they are going along with it as they have been doing so up until now. It is almost a year since they won in both the house and senate, so tell me what have they done so far to suggest to you that they will indeed end US involvement in Iraq? You say they will face pressure from those who elected them but does that pressure not exist now? I think you put too much faith in what they are saying rather than judging them by their actions. And to tell you the truth what they are saying is not even a whole lot different than what is coming from the Republicans.

In an article last week entitled Pigs of War (http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18367.htm) Cindy Sheehan summed up perfectly the real interests of the Democratic party:

Why are they so miserly with democracy, but generous with our treasury and with our dear human treasure?

I got two very overt answers to this question one day in Congress this past spring when I was on the Hill. In one of my meetings with Congressman Conyers, he told me that it was more important to put a Democrat back in the White House in ‘08 than it was to “end the war.” After I recovered from my shock, I knew it was confirmed that partisan politics is exactly what is killing our children and the innocent civilians in Iraq. My next stop was in a Congresswoman’s office who has always been 100% correct about the war. She is a lovely woman with a lovely heart and does not in anyway qualify (and there are a few dozen others who do not) as a blue pig. She had tears in her eyes when she told me: “Cindy, when I go to Speaker’s meetings and we talk about the war, all the talk is about politics and not one of them mentions the heartbreak that will occur if we don’t pull our troops out, now.” People are dying for two diverse but equally deadly political agendas. The red pigs want to keep the war going because they feed out of the trough of carnage and the blue pigs want to keep it going for votes! Either way is reprehensible.

America is far more secular now than it was 25-30 years ago. That's what they hate. Secularism is hardly "eroding".

Christian fundamentalists are waging a concerted campaign to restore America to being a Christian Nation which is how they see it. Remember the news a few years ago about the ten commandments being displayed on federal property? They are also pushing to have religious myth taught as Science in the schools and their has been a massive battle over this especially within the bible belt itself. Bush and many at the top of his administration are evangelicals and although that should not matter if it was a private matter it certainly should do when you get the president claiming that "God told me to liberate Iraq" and that "The jury is still out on evolution". And also "One Nation under God" is certainly not a secular statement. I would also be slightly worried about Bush's appointments to the supreme court and the effects this could have over the coming years.

So I don't understand. On the other hand, you admit that the Democrats, whose constituency is largely anti-war, aren't going to start thinking about Iraq withdrawal even though they need our support, but at the same time, the evangelicals have some sort of death-grip on the Republican agenda that they require to maintain power? You can't have it both ways, lad.

I don't see what is the problem with what I said and i'm not sure of the point you making. However if it is how can the Christian Fascists exert power on the Republicans and the average man not assert power on the Democrats then the answer is simple. These Christian Fascist leaders are members of the ruling class and are organised to implement their agenda through the ruling class structures.

The fact that our entire ****ing country will be brought to the brink if we even consider tying ourselves up in another war.

I would certainly hope so and indeed this may not be a bad thing. But this does not mean their will be no war with Iran and certainly the logic of these Imperialists is not the same as you or I. But again has their been anything in the actions of the democrats to suggest that they would oppose Bush if he launched such a war? I think the opposite seems to be the case as they are involved in saber rattling just as much as the Republicans these days. And whether they will even have a say until after the event is another question. Why do you think Bush plans to declare the Iranian guard as a terrorist organisation? Might it not just be that by doing so this enables him to launch an attack on them by Presidential decree bypassing congress under laws enacted for the "war on terror" which does not require him to seek approval to attack a "terrorist" organisation?

[Saoirse]

But the Christian fascists aren't blowing themselves up and killing lots of innocent people.

Because they don't have to. They have the U.S. army to do the job for them: "Journalist: M. Ben M'Hidi, don't you think it's a bit cowardly to use women's baskets and handbags to carry explosive devices that kill so many innocent people?
Ben M'Hidi: And doesn't it seem to you even more cowardly to drop napalm bombs on defenseless villages, so that there are a thousand times more innocent victims? Of course, if we had your airplanes it would be a lot easier for us. Give us your bombers, and you can have our baskets."

If you consider history, radical Islamists have caused even more innocent deaths prior to 9/11 and other recent events. Not to mention the oppression of non-believers under Islamic societies who lived as dhimmi, their involvement in slavery, and their general rejection of freedom.

All of which Christians have done only by far greater degrees.

Have you not noticed the intolerance of Islamists towards apostasy? ****, even people who are critical of Islam are threatened with death.

That's because they are under direct threat as a group and people who reject the group are seen as traitors. But most of it is just blowhards extremists who won't do anything and are merely looking to drawn attention to themselves. They could have easily killed those Danish cartoonists if they really wanted to.


Killing in the name of imperialism is certainly bad, but as Irish Republicans, I figured we all agreed that killing in the name of religion is just as bad. And make no mistake about it...these people HAVE killed and continue to kill in the name of Allah, not because of nationalist or imperialist grievances. They've been doing it since long before Israel or Iraq, and they'll continue to do it even if America's empire does fall apart.

Al Qaeda are an extreme minority but they use real grievances to call on the majority of Muslim public opinion. The vast majority of the Muslims who take up arms do so because of imperialist aggression at which point wahhabisim/Salfisim welcomes them with open arms. If some Iraqi Muslim who's parents were killed in the war detonates a dirty bomb in the U.S. it won't be because of X amount of virgins or his love for Allah even though he may have become a radical Islamist.

Trying to appeal to Bush is not sufficient for letting these Islamists off the hook. We must view them for what they are - another group of fascists who are no friend to us and who do not deserve our sympathy. The fact that they claim to be fighting for a certain group of oppressed people does not justify their beliefs or their actions, and the fact that they are fighting American imperialism does not make us worthy of our support. Sympathize with the Palestinians, but distrust Hamas, which has manipulated them for its own radical agenda.

I don't support Al Qaeda or the Taliban (although I believe the Taliban were the better of two evils). But that doesn't mean all the resistance groups that are Muslim are tarnished with the same brush. HAMAS will have nothing to do with Al Qaeda and Zawahiri is reduced to chastising them. The HAMAS extremist mentality is almost a necessity for Palestinian survival. Even the Israelis admit HAMAS is honest with it's charities and funds for the Palestinian people, especially in comparison to the corruption of the PLO. A soft form of Sharia law under HAMAS in Palestine is a lot better than the anarchy of a refugee camp in Lebanon under the PLO.

[BunyipDude]

Of course no one can know if they will ever get power but it is certainly within the realms of possibility. In the early 1930's should people have only been concerned about how many people the Nazi's were killing at that time or should they have taken a more long term view of it and tried to understand the potential within the Nazi party and organised to prevent this becoming a reality? As for killing people they may not be doing so at present but many of them certainly incite hatred against those seen to be "sinners" so as homosexuals and abortion clinics.

Hate crimes against homosexuals and abortion clinics are far less common than Islamist-related violence in the Middle East or elsewhere.

Why is it that you dismiss the potential of the Islamists to gain power but not the evangelicals? And before you say it won't happen, look at Iran. Better yet, look at Hamas' success in the Palestinian elections in 2005. I think these Islamist theocratic regimes are in fact coming to power the same way Hitler did - by taking advantage of vacuums and legitimate disparity felt by their respective peoples.


The US is certainly an Imperialist nation. Lenin defines Imperialism as :

(1) the concentration of production and capital has developed to such a high stage that it has created monopolies which play a decisive role in economic life; (2) the merging of bank capital with industrial capital, and the creation on the basis of this “finance capital”, of a financial oligarchy; (3) the export of capital as distinguished from the export of commodities acquires exceptional importance; (4) the formation of international monopoly capitalist associations which share the world among themselves, and (5) the territorial division of the whole world among the biggest capitalist powers is completed. Imperialism is capitalism at that stage of development at which the dominance of monopolies and finance capital is established; in which the export of capital has acquired pronounced importance; in which the division of the world among the international trusts has begun, in which the division of all territories of the globe among the biggest capitalist powers has been completed.
[Lenin, Imperialism the Highest Stage of Capitalism, LCW Volume 22, p. 266-7.]

This is the Marxist definition and the one with which I would agree with. However even a more narrow view of Imperialism from the dictionary is one which would certainly apply to the US. www.dictionary.com defines imperialism as:

1. the policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or of acquiring and holding colonies and dependencies.
2. advocacy of imperial interests.
3. an imperial system of government.
4. imperial government.
5. British. the policy of so uniting the separate parts of an empire with separate governments as to secure for certain purposes a single state.

The United States have certainly followed an Imperialist agenda since the end of the second world war. A very good book in illustrating this is Killing Hope by William Blum. Parts of it can be read online here (http://thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/KillingHope_page.html).

Sorry lad, but I've told you, I'm simply not a Marxist. I don't want to get drawn into a philosophical discussion, I simply don't want you to go so easy on these Islamofascists.


If the Democrats win the next presidential election and don't end the occupation of Iraq then they are going along with it as they have been doing so up until now. It is almost a year since they won in both the house and senate, so tell me what have they done so far to suggest to you that they will indeed end US involvement in Iraq? You say they will face pressure from those who elected them but does that pressure not exist now? I think you put too much faith in what they are saying rather than judging them by their actions. And to tell you the truth what they are saying is not even a whole lot different than what is coming from the Republicans.

As I have said, I do expect to see (at the very least) curtailing of spending and troop deployments, and (hopefully) gradual reductions, which is not what I want ideally (like you, I'd rather we weren't in Iraq at all), but it is certainly better than the Republicans' plans. I will admit that the defeat of the troop withdrawal bill in the Senate this past July is not good, but I expect the issue will take some time to reach a settlement that will satisfy both parties (and unfortunately, the Republicans still have half the seats in the Senate as well as the White House).

I think it really is too early to tell, but I don't think you need to be allowing your Marxist politics to cloud your judgment on this.

Because they don't have to. They have the U.S. army to do the job for them:

LOL. No, seriously, I don't believe you Marxists sometimes...


All of which Christians have done only by far greater degrees.

True, but not so recently. Christianity does not have the same kind of relationship with its fundamentalists that Islam has with its own right now.


That's because they are under direct threat as a group and people who reject the group are seen as traitors. But most of it is just blowhards extremists who won't do anything and are merely looking to drawn attention to themselves. They could have easily killed those Danish cartoonists if they really wanted to.

So that makes it OK? Even if Muslims think they are being discriminated against, that's not the same thing as outright oppression. You don't get to kill people for insulting you, that's simply bull****.


Al Qaeda are an extreme minority but they use real grievances to call on the majority of Muslim public opinion. The vast majority of the Muslims who take up arms do so because of imperialist aggression at which point wahhabisim/Salfisim welcomes them with open arms. If some Iraqi Muslim who's parents were killed in the war detonates a dirty bomb in the U.S. it won't be because of X amount of virgins or his love for Allah even though he may have become a radical Islamist.

I don't just mean Al-Qaeda, I mean Hamas, Hezbollah, etc. You must understand I am talking about the leaderships of these organizations, not the uneducated, ****ed-off Muslims who they recruit. I have said before I sympathize with the Palestinians, but that doesn't change my perception that Hamas is an Islamofascist organization which is using their misery for its own ends.


The HAMAS extremist mentality is almost a necessity for Palestinian survival. Even the Israelis admit HAMAS is honest with it's charities and funds for the Palestinian people, especially in comparison to the corruption of the PLO. A soft form of Sharia law under HAMAS in Palestine is a lot better than the anarchy of a refugee camp in Lebanon under the PLO.

Sharia Law in ANY form = not good. It will lead to an Iranian- or Taliban-style regime which will be no better for the Palestinians. Hamas does its "charity work" to win the Palestinians over. Their ultimate agenda is not good.

I think it sucks that the PLO sold out and has proven to be so corrupt, but I still do not support Islamist organizations, only those that are secular and nationalistic.

[quirk]

Hate crimes against homosexuals and abortion clinics are far less common than Islamist-related violence in the Middle East or elsewhere.

I agree. However what I was saying was that the Christian fundamentalists pose a bigger thread within the US itself.

Why is it that you dismiss the potential of the Islamists to gain power but not the evangelicals? And before you say it won't happen, look at Iran. Better yet, look at Hamas' success in the Palestinian elections in 2005. I think these Islamist theocratic regimes are in fact coming to power the same way Hitler did - by taking advantage of vacuums and legitimate disparity felt by their respective peoples.

I don't dismiss the potential for Islamists to gain power in Islamic countries in the same way I don't dismiss the possibility of Christian fundamentalists doing it within the US. So why do you believe then the opposite that religious fundamentalists have a chance to gain power in Islamic countries but are no threat in the US?

I see the Islamic fundamentalists as extremely reactionary and I am completely opposed to the whole world outlook.

Sorry lad, but I've told you, I'm simply not a Marxist. I don't want to get drawn into a philosophical discussion, I simply don't want you to go so easy on these Islamofascists.

I quoted you a standard definition of imperialism from a dictionary so what has you not being a Marxist got to do with it? You stated that the US is not Imperialist so can you define what you see as Imperialism if you do not agree with the definition that I gave. Again I don't go easy on Islamic fundamentalists but pointing to their reactionary ideology and ambitions does not negate that of the fundamentalists within the USA which I believe should be a bigger concern for the people of the US. That is the point I was making. Also I don't think these Islamists could be labeled as Fascists even though many of their beliefs are similar.

As I have said, I do expect to see (at the very least) curtailing of spending and troop deployments, and (hopefully) gradual reductions, which is not what I want ideally (like you, I'd rather we weren't in Iraq at all), but it is certainly better than the Republicans' plans. I will admit that the defeat of the troop withdrawal bill in the Senate this past July is not good, but I expect the issue will take some time to reach a settlement that will satisfy both parties (and unfortunately, the Republicans still have half the seats in the Senate as well as the White House).

But what do you base these expectations on? Again I would be of the opinion that their actions so far would suggest otherwise.

I think it really is too early to tell, but I don't think you need to be allowing your Marxist politics to cloud your judgment on this.

How do you figure my judgment is being clouded? Is it that I am basing my judgments on their actions rather than believing their propaganda?