Jim Kavanagh

JIM KAVANAGH—Color me cantankerous, but I can’t think of anything better for Venezuela to do than to ignore all of Trump’s delusions and demands. You’re still in control of the Venezuelan polity. Act like it! Make clear that if they want to take control from you, they will have to fight for it. Refuse any discussions until and unless Maduro and Flores are released; keep yourself, them, and the world focused on the illegitimacy and inadmissibility of their abduction; maintain the unity of the country as a force of armed resistance; increase military preparedness as much as possible; ask for help from all countries interested in joining your front-line defense of “international niceties” like, you know, Westphalian Sovereignty, that have been in place since the 17th century; continue to develop your economy any way you want and trade and do business with anyone you want.

What’s Trump going to do? Abduct someone else? Assassinate someone? Presumably—you had better!—you’ve increased your security. Besides, you can fight back against that.

JIM KAVANAGH—Because the ultimate political power of the capitalist oligarchy—the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie—was never eliminated, the oligarchy is always capable of reversing any gains the working class might make from progressive reforms like the high marginal tax rates mentioned above. The period of aggressive belt whipping and belt-tightening of the working class we are entering with the Trump administration is the culmination of a ruling-class program laid out in the Powell Memo of 1971 for relentless attack on any “socialist” tendencies that encroached on the American “free enterprise system.”

JIM KAVANAGH—You can see how important Turkey is by how little it’s mentioned in Iran’s or Russia’s critical statements about the jihadi offensive. Iran calls it an “Israeli” action, ignoring the elephantine pasha who’s been feeding arms and fighters into Idlib, while Russia, which has been frustrated by Assad’s refusal to talk with Erdogan, emphasizes in its statements that a resolution of the situation must take Turkey’s concerns into account. All of which is to say that Turkey is a respected ancient civilization, firmly occupying a crucial geopolitical corner, that nobody wants a fight with. But when does avoiding a fight become losing the fight?

JIM KAVANAGH—Please note another important element of the different proposals that will be put forth in this situation: The most difficult demand from the Russian side, which almost requires them to move on Kiev, is the call for “de-Nazification.” It’s the demand that will be most resisted as “political interference,” since it does, indeed, require “regime change” in the deepest sense.  I’ve said before how nearly impossible it will be in western Ukraine, where fascistic, Banderite ideology is entwined in Ukrainian nationalism, has deep historical roots, and has become ascendant since 2014. But here’s the thing: No matter how impossible it is, it’s necessary—for the American ceasefire plan as well as for the Russian project.

JIM KAVANAGH (Quoting Trump)—TRUMP: You better believe it… I will tell you that our system is broken. I gave to many people. Before this, before two months ago, I was a businessman. I give to everybody. When they call, I give. And you know what? When I need something from them, two years later, three years later, I call them. They are there for me. And that’s a broken system.