This is an archive of the former website of the Maoist Internationalist Movement, which was run by the now defunct Maoist Internationalist Party - Amerika. The MIM now consists of many independent cells, many of which have their own indendendent organs both online and off. MIM(Prisons) serves these documents as a service to and reference for the anti-imperialist movement worldwide.
Maoist Internationalist Movement

"The Arab American News"

www.arabamericannews.com

April 29 2007

In a review of dozens of English-language articles, with the exception of an apolitical culture review for a children's ballet, MIM would say Amerikans should find "Arab American News" useful as a consistent source of news. "Arab American News" can serve either as a source of "diversity" in Liberal terminology or a source of knowledge of oppression.

The paper's stance on Palestine recognizes the problems in the PLO and claims that it has descended into clan activity. At the same time, the paper criticizes Hamas:

"The advent of Hamas, a well regarded and anti-corruption group, changed nothing; it in fact precipitated the political fragmentation that has defined the Palestinian struggle since the Oslo accords in 1993, and even before. Israel's active military onslaughts since then, killing hundreds, and the U.S. political and economic embargoes, have weakened the Palestinian front like never before. But the truth must be told: political cohesion was hardly a quality that Palestinians had ever enjoyed."
On Iraq, the paper points out the U.$. u-turn on "de-Ba'athification," the purges of Saddam Hussein's followers as if they were followers of Hitler in Germany after World War II. There is also an excellent IPS article about the U.$. puppet regime's attempt to put through a law for oil production-sharing to favor non-Iraqi multinational oil giants. Another article correctly points out for Amerikans that "honor killings" are a regional thing, not a specifically Islamic thing. Honor killings occur when a daughter and perhaps other relatives die at the hands of their own relatives in connection to sexual infidelity or activity. "Honor killings" happen among people of all religions. In addition to an article about Farrakhan and his followers in Islam, there are regular articles in defense of Arab charities and indicted individuals now caught up in the post-911 craze.

The line in the paper appears to be hard-core liberal Democrat. There is use of the IPS news service and positive mentions for Kucinich's attempt to impeach Cheney as well as the breakdown of the Bush regime. "Arab American News" takes a clear cut-stand against the U.$. war on Iraq, unlike some other lackey publications of "Arab-Amerikans": "Estimates of Janjaweed and Sudani government violence against Darfur's rebels and civilians run as high as 300,000. Since 1990, the United States has killed more than four times that many Iraqis through invasions, bombing and sanctions." Thus, the "Arab American News" says that the Amerikans should attend to stopping their own oppressiveness instead of worrying about Darfur.

Despite being Amerikan and very liberal, articles also attack "progressive Jews" and Bill Maher for defending Zionism. So we start to get a sense of what a hard-core liberal and Islamo-friendly Arab-Amerikan would be like by reading this periodical.

The worst of Islamic bourgeois flabbiness can be found in this publication. Ramzy Baroud writes: "While proxy relations are part and parcel of Middle East politics, even arrogant superpowers can find themselves exploited, wittingly or not," in reference to the United $tates's supposedly being used by I$rael against Iran. The weak Islamic bourgeoisie uses this sort of political line in order that it need not mobilize its people for all-the-way revolution. The Islamic bourgeoisie often fears its own people and taking on U.$. imperialism would unquestionably require an all-out mobilization, which the Islamic bourgeoisie fears. It is so much nicer to talk about lobbying here and there just like AIPAC. So MIM has said repeatedly to beware of false friends of the oppressed Arab and Persian peoples repeatedly talking about a "Zionist lobby" and the united $tates as the tail to the i$raeli dog. It is wishful thinking appropriate to a blinded bourgeoisie, jealous of I$rael's junior partner status to u.$. imperialism.

One article criticizes I$rael in the name of seeking a multicultural constitution for I$rael, while pointing out that Arab governments have constitutions that are worthless. So there is a sense that I$rael's claim to be a "democracy" is dubious, while admitting that no Arab country can claim to be "democratic." The "Arab American News" makes a good point about there being no constitutional rights in I$rael. The underlying problem seems to be about the creation of I$raeli identity and citizenship, that it is not possible for I$rael to tell the world what that is in a constitution, because it would look bad. Thus, the "Arab American News" succeeds in translating issues to Amerikan reference points. If there were such a thing as very liberal Arab-Amerikans, these writers would be them. The community behind this paper is not that well-known to Amerikans, but its culture is genuinely Amerikan. Unfortunately the paper takes ads from the worst of the imperialists, so an ad for the National Guard features prominently on the web page--typical of the confusions of the liberal hyphenated Amerikans in general. At the same time, there is enough fermentation there that the paper is still of interest to MIM. We would say that discussion of the oppression of Arabs shines through in this paper, despite some of its political missteps.