THIS ISSUE of the ISR appears at a time when the face of U.S. politics, both internationally and domestically, is going through important changes, both of which have as their root the drastic failure of the Iraq occupation. A number of articles revolve broadly around this theme.
Joel Geier’s “Crisis of U.S. imperialism” argues that though the U.S. entered the new century as the dominant world power both economically and militarily, the quagmire in Iraq is beginning to create serious problems that will have long-term consequences for its position. In response to its failures in both Iraq and Lebanon, the U.S. and its regional allies are attempting to isolate Iran by promoting Sunni vs. Shiite animosity, and setting the state for possible military action against Iran. This is the topic of Saman Sepehri’s analysis, “The pressure is on.” Gilbert Achcar, in an interview with the ISR’s Paul D’Amato, discusses the unfolding crisis in Lebanon and how these regional developments are impacting the confrontation between the Hezbollah-dominated opposition and the predominantly Sunni-backed Siniora government. David Whitehouse analyses Bush’s new nuclear deal with North Korea, which he argues is an attempt by the administration to dial back the Asian nuclear crisis in order to direct Washington’s focus toward solving its Middle East problems.
Deepa Kumar debunks the myths peddled in the Western media about Islam and shows how Islamophobia has been used both now and in the past to justify imperialism and colonialism. Acclaimed Israeli journalist Amira Hass offers a chilling list of the severe travel and movement restrictions placed on Palestinians in the West Bank. Sherry Wolf takes on the now-widespread view that U.S. policy toward Israel is determined by the “Israel lobby,” arguing that the Israeli tail does not wag the American dog.
On a related cultural theme, Scott Johnson presents a history of Pablo Picasso’s now iconic antiwar painting, Guernica, which reemerged in the news in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq when a reproduction of the painting at UN headquarters was covered over during Colin Powell’s presentation of the Bush Administration’s case for invasion in February 2003.
The domestic dimensions of the Bush Administration’s crisis and the new political situation following the 2006 midterm election voter rejection of Bush’s Iraq policy are taken up by Lance Selfa in an article entitled “The new face of U.S. politics.” Selfa argues that the fact that millions now expect something to be done to withdraw from Iraq, and that the ruling class itself is split over the question, has opened up a political space for debate and the growth of the left.
The shifting political climate in the United States comes out clearly also in Marlene Martin’s analysis of the death penalty, whose popularity and use has been declining in recent years. The crisis over lethal injection, she argues, may be the wedge that throws the whole machinery of death into question. In an article that complements Martin’s, Phil Gasper, in his regular column “Critical Thinking,” shows how longstanding “get-tough” approach to criminal justice in the United States is beginning to unravel.
In “Is the U.S. becoming post-industrial?” Adam Turl offers an extensive and well-researched critique of the notion, now quite fashionable in Left and mainstream circles, that we now live in a society where industrial production is shrinking and that, along with it, the power of the working class. “The working class,” argues Turl, “though its structure has changed dramatically over time, still possesses the centrality and power attributed to it by Marx when he wrote the Communist Manifesto.”
Readers may have opened our last issue and wondered what happened to part two of Todd Chretien’s detailed review of Pierre Broué’s masterful history of the German Revolution. Look no further—you’ll find it on page 64 of this issue.
