Arguing over who's better to have in the administration is like arguing
over who's better to have in the leadership of any other organized crime
family or terrorist gang. It confers a legitimacy on gangsters and
diverts us from the real problem, which is their existence in the first
place.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Martin W. Smith" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Monday, February 4, 2002 11:04 am
Subject: Re: [CHOMSKY] How the White House chose the membership
ofthe'axis of evil'

> Jonathan Julius Dobkin wrote:
> >
> > "He must do that to remain in the administration"
> >
> > And why "must" he remain in the administration, anymore than anyone
> > "must" remain in the leadership of al-Qaeda, or any other murderous
> > gang?
>
> Maybe you'd rather have Richard Perl as Secretary of State?  Good
> heavens, Powell is the only person in the administration who has
> demonstrated real leadership, and is apparently the only one who has
> objected to the lawless precedent the hawks are trying to establish.
> What good does absolute pessimism do?  These people aren't going away
> for at least three more years, probably not for seven more years.  If
> you're going to give up until you can have everything your way, you're
> out of the game forever.
>
> martin
>
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Martin W. Smith" <[log in to unmask]>
> > Date: Monday, February 4, 2002 4:42 am
> > Subject: Re: [CHOMSKY] How the White House chose the membership of
> > the'axis of evil'
> >
> > > alister air wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Hi Bill,
> > > >
> > > > Unsurprisingly, it shows appalling stupidity to have included
> > > Iran (I know
> > > > little about North Korea, so won't comment).  Iran is in the
> > > middle of a
> > > > long-running, massive reform movement.  The President is
> > > elected, and is
> > > > engaging in reform far beyond the religious leaders, and has had
> > > some> meaningful wins recently.  With the US now calling Iran
> > > "evil", the
> > > > hardliners have received a huge boost.
> > > >
> > > > I find it frightening that Colin Powell is considered a dove
> in this
> > > > administration.
> > >
> > > That's only using dove as a relative term, of course.  But Powell
> > > isn'ta hawk in the abolute sense, IMO.  I disagree with a view
> > > that he
> > > belongs in the same category as Kissinger, Cheney, Rumsfeld,
> Perl, et
> > > al.  He is a soldier, and he is accepting and following the
> orders of
> > > his commander.  He must do that to remain in the
> administration, and,
> > > given the rest of the current crew, I would much rather have
> him there
> > > than not there.
> > >
> > > martin
> > >
> > > --
> > > Martin Smith               email: [log in to unmask]
> > > Vollsveien 9               tel. : +47 6783 1188
> > > P.O. Box 482               mob. : +47 932 48 303
> > > 1327 Lysaker, Norway
> > >
>
> --
> Martin Smith               email: [log in to unmask]
> Vollsveien 9               tel. : +47 6783 1188
> P.O. Box 482               mob. : +47 932 48 303
> 1327 Lysaker, Norway
>