George Galloway

[molly bloom]

Originally posted by BeBro


So this Galloway guy is "the left"

This is what he is:

[Cort Haus]

Galloway is a former UK Labour MP of the 'old-labour' stock. He is now MP for his own Respect Party, which is a sort-of parliamentary wing of the Stop The War Coalition, which is itself an alliance between the Socialist Workers Party and the Muslim Association of Britain - two groups with diametrically opposed objectives.

I didn't say Galloway was 'The Left' - I said he symbolises it - specifically it's position on the middle east.

Molly - I'm aware that Western Governments have themselves used Jihadists - in fact they've used them more often than most people realise as local storm troops in a wider policy.

[molly bloom]

Originally posted by Cort Haus

I didn't say Galloway was 'The Left' - I said he symbolises it - specifically it's position on the middle east.

He hardly symbolizes Labour Friends For Israel does he ?


Or the policy of Blair's Labour Party. He is characteristic of one strand of opinion on the Left- as on the Right are the libertarian element in the Tory Party, for instance.

[Cort Haus]

Originally posted by molly bloom
He hardly symbolizes Labour Friends For Israel does he ?

No, but then the Labour party itself is often described as not very left wing these days. Most labour MPs are in favour of creating a (second) Palestinian State, and it was Blair's offer of delivering this to them that persuaded them to vote for war in Iraq, believing that the road to Jerusalem went through Baghdad.

Or the policy of Blair's Labour Party. He is characteristic of one strand of opinion on the Left- as on the Right are the libertarian element in the Tory Party, for instance.

OK, I could have been more explicit and referred to Galloway as representing a strand of left-wing thought, however ....

Generally, the Left in Britain do support the PLO, which they originally did for Cold War reasons of supporting '3rd world national liberation struggles'. My view is that the PLO were never fighting for self-determination - that was just a ploy to generate support amongst European leftists. The Arab Nationalist / PLO's aim is the destruction of Israel. Always has been.

Now, in the post-cold war period, there's no excuse for the old "Imperialist Israel" analysis, and IMV the Left (broadly) need to look again at one of their Sacred Cows.

[Ted Striker]

Galloway is on the left

<------- see ?


ps Excellent posts by joncha.

[joncha]

Ted Striker

[DinoDoc]

Re: George Galloway

Originally posted by Whaleboy
Does anyone else find him to be acting really, really poorly as of late?

How is he any more loathesome than before?

[Whaleboy]

How is he any more loathesome than before?

Because i've stopped being a pr!ck and liking him.

[Datajack Franit]

Galloway symbolises the Left's Big Mistake in allying itself with militant islamic and arabic forces, on the erroneous belief that the Jihadists are fighting a legitimate ant-imperialist struggle. What the Fundies are actually trying to do is destroy the state of Israel (and presumably its non-muslim inhabitants), and establish Islamic states wherever muslims live. The Left are flirting with the Ring of Power. Having failed to mobilise support in their own consituencies, they think they can exploit the anti-western feelings held by many Muslims to boost their own profile and relevance. What is actually happening is that the Islamists are using the Left to give respectability to a set of political-religious beliefs that are, frankly, directly adjacent to National Socialism.

No, THIS is an excellent post

[Winston]

Oh, Galway plays the flute beautifully.

Never mind if he's a bit on the loony side, he's The Man With The Golden Flute!!

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Whaleboy
Because i've stopped being a pr!ck and liking him.

Any reason in particular?

[Ecthy]

Just why does the left HATE America so much?

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Cort Haus
Galloway symbolises the Left's Big Mistake in allying itself with militant islamic and arabic forces, on the erroneous belief that the Jihadists are fighting a legitimate ant-imperialist struggle.

That's news to most lefties I reckon, since they weren't allied to "militant islamic and arabic forces" but rather against the actions of the "coalition of the willing."

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Datajack Franit
No, THIS is an excellent post

You like bald assertions it appears...

[chequita guevara]

Actually, UR, I think Cort Haus is correct in his essestials, if wrong about his reasons. It's not opportunisitc gasping on the part of the Left, but rather the natural impusle to support anti-imperialist struggles. This is an anti-imperialist struggle, to be sure, but it is a reactionary one, and is every bit as much an enemy to the left as it is an enemy to the right.

I would really like to see the Left disengage from the Islamicists. We need to fight our own struggle, not ally with fascists.