|
He was wrong about the war in Iraq but his real value (along with Cohen and Henri-Levi) was in questioning the Liberal-Left intelligentsia's all too easy opposition to it, and what the 'Left' might now mean as a consequence of the logic behind that opposition. Admittedly, Hitchens (along with Henri-Levi) could be a bit sensationalist in that critique but certainly a book like Cohen's 'What's Left?' asked some very poignant questions regarding the liberal ideology behind newspapers like the Guardian and broadcasters like the BBC. What's important is that none of them were attacking the Left in an effort to justify the actions and logic of the Right but were instead questioning (from their own Leftist standpoint) what they perceived as a liberal turn within a Left which they feel has betrayed a number of fundamental Leftist ideals in its knee jerk anti-Americanism as well as in its support (or more often refusal to criticise) any group (however reactionary or indeed ultra-Right wing) that also happens to share their anti-Americanism.
|