the point about pan-arab secularism is really interesting and I do agree that Islamism largely replacing pan-arabism has been hugely detrimental towards Palestinians. I really do agree there’s a lot of truth we don’t know about Saddam and it’s going to be very difficult to dissect what was actually going on - I guess I just feel very icky trying to approach the topic
ye I don’t blame you comrade. I admit to only knowing very little, a lot of it from William Blum and a lot of the history unfortunately from the previously quasi-Nazbol “Flame of Liberation” who to his credit gave a very detailed breakdown of Saddam’s legacy that I think was very well researched and presented. To Nick’s further credit, he seems to have distanced himself from his previous homophobic and overtly bourgeois nationalist sentiments and has become more of a scientific socialist, especially with his recent split with Maupin. This is a long video but if you are interested in Saddam and Ba’athism more generally I do recommend it.
I also understand the personal conflict w/ having a Kurdish friend and probably their distaste for Saddam. It is not comparable as it’s just a hypothetical in my case, but I often wonder what would happen if I had a Ukrainian friend when the war started. Unless they happened to totally agree with me on everything, it would probably be very ugly and difficult to discuss – especially with the feeling that I was speaking from a position of no experience, being “laned” as it were. It’s a touchy situation and I definitely understand your hesitation to care about Saddam at all.
interesting excerpt, source admittedly unknown by me:
the point about pan-arab secularism is really interesting and I do agree that Islamism largely replacing pan-arabism has been hugely detrimental towards Palestinians. I really do agree there’s a lot of truth we don’t know about Saddam and it’s going to be very difficult to dissect what was actually going on - I guess I just feel very icky trying to approach the topic
ye I don’t blame you comrade. I admit to only knowing very little, a lot of it from William Blum and a lot of the history unfortunately from the previously quasi-Nazbol “Flame of Liberation” who to his credit gave a very detailed breakdown of Saddam’s legacy that I think was very well researched and presented. To Nick’s further credit, he seems to have distanced himself from his previous homophobic and overtly bourgeois nationalist sentiments and has become more of a scientific socialist, especially with his recent split with Maupin. This is a long video but if you are interested in Saddam and Ba’athism more generally I do recommend it.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ufJzwzdM8sE
I also understand the personal conflict w/ having a Kurdish friend and probably their distaste for Saddam. It is not comparable as it’s just a hypothetical in my case, but I often wonder what would happen if I had a Ukrainian friend when the war started. Unless they happened to totally agree with me on everything, it would probably be very ugly and difficult to discuss – especially with the feeling that I was speaking from a position of no experience, being “laned” as it were. It’s a touchy situation and I definitely understand your hesitation to care about Saddam at all.
interesting excerpt, source admittedly unknown by me: