Eastern Cauldron : Islam, Afghanistan, Palestine, and Iraq in a Marxist mirror

The route to any coherent understanding of our time runs through the issues addressed in this collection of essays: the political meaning of Islam, the relation of the West to the Islamic world, the new form of imperialism signaled by the Soviet and U.S. occupations of Afghanistan, the intractable conflict over Palestine. In confronting these inescapable issues, global power is being reshaped and the ends for which it will be used are being decided. This volume brings together Gilbert Achcar's major writings on these issues over the past decades. The essays collected in Eastern Cauldron describe and explain the resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism, the fate of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and its aftermath, and above all the Palestinian conflict—in which the regional stakes are so dramatically embodied and contested. Achcar analyzes the social bases, strategies and tactics of PLO, Hezbollah, Israel and the United States from the establishment of the state of Israel to the second Intifada. He pinpoints the contradictions of the Israeli state—seeking at the same time to be Jewish and yet democratic—and the impact of these contradictions on all parties to the conflict. Eastern Cauldron is primarily aimed at producing a better understanding of the conflicts of the region. Achcar's work is informed by strong moral and political commitments but is never limited to polemic. His work demonstrates the immense capacities of Marxism to illuminate economic, political, and ideological developments without losing sight of their concrete singularity and their complex interconnection. His analyses are supple and inventive, and consistently informed by reflection on rival traditions of political thought and a deep knowledge of the region. Eleven theses on the resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism The swan song of Khomeinism The absence of democracy Afghanistan : the dilemma of the super powers The Soviet intervention Afghanistan : eight years on from Soviet intervention The implications of the Soviet troop withdrawal After the fall of Najibullah : the Lebanonization of Afghanistan Palestine : another uprising Self-determination of the Palestinian people Four months of uprising : rebellion continues against Israel's "apartheid" The PLO : the long march backwards The PLO : questions of practical politics The dynamic of the Intifada Washington accords : a retreat under pressure Zionism and peace : from the Allon plan to the Washington accords The Hizbollah victory Israel's military onslaught and U.S. interests in the Middle East Iraq : from one war to another The tragedy of the Iraqi people Operation oil : why the United States wants war War drive : against the machine Washington and London : the problems have only just begun The war in Iraq and the establishment of a new imperial order Letter to a slightly depressed antiwar activist.

the 22 Essays Assembled Here Were Written Between 1980 And 2003; Most Were Published After Ashcar (politics And International Relations, U. Of Paris—viii) Moved From Lebanon To France In 1983, When He Became A Regular Contributor To The Marxist Magazines inprecor And international Viewpoint. Several Have Never Been Previously Translated Into English (from The French), And A New Article Is Included Tracing The Development Of Us Strategy In The Middle East. Arrangement Is In Sections On The Resurgence Of Islamic Fundamentalism, Afghanistan, Palestine, And Iraq. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, Or

These "theses" have been circulated widely and translated into many languages since their first publication in 1981.