GREAT HYPOCRISY

EDITOR—Israel has long had a beef with Iran, the only nation in the Gulf capable and willing to stand up to its crimes and provocations. The events of 10/7, which some regard as a false flag designed to allow Israel to carry out a systematic genocide of Palestinians  (with open encouragement and support by the US empire), have also sharpened the conflict with Tehran, triggering a dangerous cycle of Israeli aggressions and Iranian well-measured escalatory responses, which have now put the two nations on the brink of an all-out war. Some analysts suggest that the US, despite its “pro-peace” mask, and using “plausible deniability”, is actually pushing Israel to lead the way in the military conquest of Lebanon, Hezbollah, Iran and other parties of the “Axis of Resistance”. The panel is however dubious about the seriousness of Tel-Aviv’s thirst for a major war with Iran, and so is Iran for that matter. Everyone has much to lose in this confrontation, which could easily get out of hand and escalate to WW3 dimensions and complete economic collapse. Israel—despite its bellicosity, born of a sense of impunity given its close connection with the US and Britain—is extremely vulnerable to an Iranian attack on its infrastructure, as Iran could easily destroy its desalination plants, electricity stations and other vital resources. While the US is clearly the main force behind the Palestinians’ genocide and the expansion of Israeli territorial ambitions, the US ruling class, itself pathetically led at this point, and fractured into several factions with different priorities and imperialist approaches, seems unsure about the consequences of a regional and possibly global war with the multipolar alliance. 

BRUCE LERRO—At the same time, the Eurocentrists had no problem imagining war with the East if it was profitable. But when it came to the civilized states of Europe, war was seen as unprofitable. Also, as we shall see later, racist theories bemoaned Europeans fighting because this would result in the depletion of the white race. Colonial annexation was entirely appropriate when it came to Europe’s relation with the East. The East has  conditional agency, such as Japan during World War II. However, the East cannot take the lead in historical development without being predator (as in the Yellow Peril).

As for the Global South, (Africa) for it  to be a respectable civilized state, Western core countries took a page out of Calvinism and insisted that these “savage societies” have a duty to develop their land productivity (meaning agriculturally) and abandon their primitivism (hunting and gathering). Non-Western politics, whether they be monarchies without constitutions or the egalitarian political consensus societies of hunting and gathering, are not recognized as sovereign.

MARTIN C FREDERICKS IV—It’s true that a year and two days ago Hamas fighters killed Israelis in an attack. It’s equally true that even at the low end of death estimates, and using the inaccurate figure of 1,200 Israelis killed by Hamas on that day, in the past year Israel has visited 35 October 7ths upon the people of Palestine. Factor in estimates of people trapped under the rubble and otherwise missing, and it’s more like 167 October 7ths. Finally, it’s true that Israel has been murdering Palestinians for 76 years now…Meanwhile, much of what we’ve been fed since Oct. 7, 2023 by the governments of Israel and the USA has been untrue.

MAIN EDITORS—10/4/2024 Episode 114 of Blowback: Exposing Imperial Decline with special guests Christopher Black and Max Parry.
The panel debates the question of who is actually setting global foreign policy in the US, especially in the Middle East, where many believe the Zionist lobby wields disproportionate influence. Is the Israeli lobby actually the most important factor in US foreign policy? Can it be said that this is a case of the tail wagging the dog? 

EDITORS—HIGHLIGHT: Given the huge size and number of the “bunker busters” used to flatten a whole residential area in Beirut to kill Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah, the general supposition is now that this attack was made possible by the participation of  US/NATO warplanes. The Western media has kept almost totally mum about this story. 

Garland and Laith dissect the literally explosive situation in the Middle East, and how the rise of an increasingly well armed resistance impacts and complicates the global politics of US imperialism. Laith and Garland concur that this will likely be a long war, similar to the Algerian war of liberation, or the Vietnam War. Liberation wars don’t come cheap in terms of lives and infrastructure lost. As well, the team discusses how a Mideast war may affect the politics throughout the West, precipitating huge economic and political shifts in Europe, the US and Japan. As a result of a war in the ME pushing oil prices sky-high, Laith and Garland visualise the possibility of enormous disruptions in the imperial core itself, obligating (or providing the opportunity to) the ruling establishment to declare Martial Law, suspend elections, assassinate Trump, or implement other shifts and extreme policies across the globe.