Friday, August 9, 2002

Dick Armey=Saddam Hussein Apologist..right, Dave?

Although Comrade Horowitz's daily squawking can usually be ridiculed from a safe distance, today's post hits close to home. One of DH's favorite strategies is to slander anybody who deviates even slightly from his Manichean worldview as a "fascist" or "Communist". Today, however, Comrade Dave has decided to take a somewhat different tack. In attacking Phyllis Bennis for her outspoken opposition to a U.S. invasion of Iraq, David the ex-Red labels her a "mouthpiece for the Iraqi dictator." Now, aside from the sheer ridiculousness of this accusation, the reason why this libel hits close to home is because I had the pleasure of working with Phyllis over the summer at the Institute for Policy Studies. Therefore, I can say, with the utmost conviction, that Phyllis is in NO way an apologist nor an admirer for Saddam's brutal regime. Phyllis's primary concern is for the Iraqi people, which is why she has been such a vocal opponent of the UN's crippling sanctions on Iraq, which have devastated the civilian population while doing nothing to weaken Hussein.

Of course, the real purpose of today's post is for Dave the de-Nazifier to take some shots at that old right-wing bugaboo, IPS. As the most prominent progressive think-tank in Washington for almost forty years, IPS has long been an obsession for the reactionary right. There was even a laughable book published in the early 80s, entitled "Covert Cadre", which accused IPS staffers of being KGB agents. I had the pleasure of leafing through this wonderful "tome" while working at IPS, and all I can say is that it gives the phrase "hack job" a bad name. Interestingly, Rep. Dick Armey (R-Insanity) announced today his opposition to a U.S. invasion of Iraq. So Dave, what choice epithet have you got lined up for the House majority leader? Fifth-columnist? Communist? Hussein apologist? I'm waiting...

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