We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

The Iranian Threat

by Noam Chomsky from Z Communications. 

This well-known author, long blacklisted by mainstream media, describes the ominous indications for an attack on Iran by the US. This, of course, has been on the Empire's agenda for several years, but recent developments look like it may be going into its operational phase. He attempts to get inside the imperial "head"of the Empire, and what he see does not bode well for the prospects for peace. 
Though the Iranian threat is not military, that does not mean that it might be tolerable to Washington. Iranian deterrent capacity is an illegitimate exercise of sovereignty that interferes with US global designs. Specifically, it threatens US control of Middle East energy resources, a high priority of planners since World War II, which yields “substantial control of the world,” one influential figure advised (A. A. Berle).

But Iran’s threat goes beyond deterrence. It is also seeking to expand its influence.

I can think of other reasons also for this dire outlook. What is always the solution for capitalist powers when domestic concerns become so worrisome that the citizens get edgy? War. The ruling class may see a quick victory in Iran as the necessary antidote to citizens' growing anger about public spending cutbacks, unemployment, and the Gulf oil disaster.