Most American commentators (including many rigid and limited thinkers over at net benefits) tend to discuss the occupation of Iraq in extreme either-or terms. If you don't support the occupation, you must support the terrorist "resistance." If you can't come up with an alternative, you aren't allowed to protest the war (or even complain about the process which led to the invasion). If you complain about how the Iraqis have it now, you must think they were better off under Saddam Hussein. And, of course, if you protest without a feasible alternative (meaning, presumably, an alternative the U.S. will accept, which is none), then you are merely an America-Basher, a member of the amorphous but presumably monolithic "Left" that is on the repugnant and losing side of history.

The problem is, it just isn't that simple, and any thinking person knows that. But posturing and trying very hard to look like you're on the winning side of history is very important these days--for academics as well as wannabee pundits. Those who are in Iraq have a different idea of things, of course, which brings me to the point of this post:

In December, Thomas Schmidlinger conducted an interview with Aso Jabbar of the Iraqi Worker-Communist Party, which was published in the German left newspaper Jungle World. Alex LoCascio translated it into English.

In my mind, this is the most important part of the interview, and speaks to what I have been trying to express about the "Occupiers or Terrorists" false dichotomy:

"The conflict in Iraq cannot be reduced to a conflict between occupiers and resistance. Just because people are against the occupation, does not mean that they represent a progressive movement. The resistance of Arab nationalists or of political Islamists is extremely reactionary and contemptuous of human life. These groups have nothing to contribute to the liberation of the Iraqi population. The traditional left in Europe commits a serious mistake, when they view the military and terrorist attacks of Islamist and nationalist groups as legitimate attacks on US-Imperialism. Obviously, after decades of the Baathist dictatorship and the gruesome embargo against the Iraqi population, there is a mood of discouragement in Iraq, which the Baathists and Islamists want to make use of. These attacks, which are regularly committed against civilian targets and civilian infrastructure, cannot make an emanzipatory contribution, and we condemn them. We are against the occupation, but
our efforts for an independent Iraq have nothing to do with the terrorist methods of this 'resistance.'"

Jabbar is a member of the Worker-Communist Party of Iraq, a coordinator of the unemployed trade union in Iraq and the "Organization for Woman's Liberation in Iraq" in Switzerland as well as editor-in-chief of the newsletter "Forward Brief," a German-language publication of the Worker-Communist Party. The Worker-Communist Party is a Council Communist group active in the Northern Iraqi city of Sulemaniya, which predominantly consists of young Kurds. Although it won only 300 votes from the almost one million residents of Sulemaniya in the elections for city council, the Worker-Communist Party is, after the Communist Party (which is represented on the City Council), the only regionally active Communist group.

He also says:

"What we are seeing today in Iraq is the continuation of a terrorist contest between the United States and political Islam, which began after the events of September 11. The USA wants to impose its hegemony and military dominance on the world. Political Islam wants to impose its goals and inhuman politics with violence."