they attracted not only disillusionedrnSocial Democrats, but also disillusionedrnChristian Democrats. When I readrnGreen Politics by Charlene Spretnak, Irnwas excited by the idea of a populist partyrnwhich could transcend the old and oftenrnempty ideological divisions (divisionsrnwhich are used by the power elite to dividernand conquer the common people).rnWith the advent of the Nader campaign,rnother Greens are realizing the potentialrnof a grand populist coalition.rnWhen he appeared on Donahue beforernthe New Hampshire primary, Naderrnhimself praised Buchanan as the onlyrnpresidential candidate willing to challengernthe political power of big corporations.rnThe July/August issue of Motherrn]ones has an article entitled “Nobody’srnNader: The Tough Activist Has SomernKind Words for Buchanan, But None forrnClinton.” In turn, populist conservativesrnhave begun to recognize that Nader is arnfriend rather than an enemy.rn—Jeff TaylorrnColumbia, MOrnOn Sex and the GOPrnOn a Sunday morning I sat down with arncup of black coffee and my July issue ofrnChronicles to enjoy my leisure time. EnjoyrnI did until I came to “Sex, Drugs, andrna Republican Party” by Mare Morano.rnMy reaction was first disgust, then anger,rnand finally a flashback to a day in historyrnclass 60 years ago.rnThe teacher was a petite lady. Shernwalked slowly down the aisle among thernstudents and in a very quiet yet seriousrnvoice she spoke these words: “When arnsociety goes into a decline it will neverrnstop midway. It will never stop until itrnhits the bottom and nothing you can dornwill stop it; so don’t try!” That was whenrnschools were still educating instead ofrnindoctrinating students.rnI ask myself every day how near we arernto the bottom. Incidentally, was it Mr.rnMorano’s intent to infer that such scandalousrnbehavior as described in his articlernis peculiar to the Republican Party? Ifrnso, shame on hmi.rn—Virginia RindererrnGreenville, ILrnCULTURAL REVOLUTIONSrnSADDAM HUSSEIN has proved,rnonce again, hov’ easy it is to make fools ofrnthe American leadership. Five years agornPresident Bush, after bombing much ofrnIraq into the Stone Age, decided thatrndiscretion was the better part of valorrnand pulled our troops out before theyrnhad accomplished the only objectivernthat would have justified our invasion.rnFormer National Security Advisor BrentrnScowcroft, still nursing a grudge, wantsrnto send in a hit squad to terminate thisrnstanding affront to our dignity, but thatrnis not the sort of thing the State Departmentrnor the CIA can discuss in public.rnWhat they also cannot discuss in publicrnis their plot to overthrow SaddamrnHussein. The plot—or at least this phasernof it—was foiled by the entry of the Iraqirnarmy into Erbil. All the busy little scorpions,rnbeetles, and slugs—once theirrnprotective rock was lifted up—scuttledrnacross the border into Turkey.rnThe Turks have their own quarrelsrnwith the Kurds, and while we respondedrnto Saddam’s attempt to recover controlrnover one of his own cities by launchingrnCruise missiles, we gave the Turks a greenrnlight to cross the Iraqi border and killrnKurds. In case you missed the logic, letrnme repeat: if Saddam tries to put down arnKurdish rebellion in his own country, wernrain death upon Iraq, but if the Turks actuallyrninvade Iraq to kill more or less thernsame Kurds, we applaud their contributionrnto world peace.rnThe Turks are key players in this game.rnIf it were not for them, the United Statesrnmight support the creation of an independentrnKurdistan—a development thernTurks would never permit. As a result,rnwe have reiterated our commitment tornmaintaining the territorial integrity ofrnIraq. Territorial integrity, apparently,rndoes not exclude an air attack.rnPartly because of the inherent absurdityrnof America’s position, and partlyrnbecause of the ineptitude of the hamhandedrnWirren Christopher and thernClinton State Department, our alliesrnhave refused to follow the Wonderlandrnlogic used to justify what would havernbeen described in years past as unprovokedrnaggression. The fact that mostrnAmericans have expressed approval forrnthese missile attacks is one more bit ofrnproof that the American people arernworse than stupid: Americans combinernthe moral toughness of the jellyfish withrnthe sturdy individualism of the sheep.rnOur national bird should not be therneagle (or even the turkey, as Franklinrnadvised) but the goose: noisy, selfimportant,rnsubservient.rn—Thomas FlemingrnBASQUE nationalists are on the move.rnDespite the vigilance of the French andrnSpanish authorities, the Basques haverncarried out a fierce summer offensive,rnthe latest stage in a clash between nationalismrnand federal police power. Butrnthere is no sign that Europe’s leaders canrncope with this latest nationalist upsurge.rnFollowing a couple of precisionrnstrikes—the car-bombing of Army MajorrnLuciano Cortizo Alonso in Leon and thernmurder of Socialist Party leader FernandornMugica Herzog in Madrid (reportedrnin Current History)—the summer warrngot into gear. According to the journalrnLiberation on July 25, the militantrnBasque organization, the ETA, set off arntotal of 12 bombs at various sites inrnFrance and Spain, including the ReusrnAirport in Catalonia, where 35 touristsrnwere injured.rnRocked by the series of bombings,rnwhich threatened the tourist trade, thernFrench police launched the biggest manhuntrnsince the dragnet that pulled in severalrnETA leaders in 1992. Near the townrnof Pau, the police nabbed Julian AtxurrarnEgurola, the third most powerful figurernin the ETA. Only a few days later, policernin Paris arrested Daniel Derguy, a FrenchrnBasque who had done time in his countryrnfor his nationalist ties and whomrnSpanish authorities know as the manrnwho directed several terrorist attacksrnagainst tourist spots and railway lines inrnrural areas in the summer of 1993.rnThe prisoners have been deported tornSpain, where they await prosecution.rnNOVEMBER 1996/5rnrnrn