Table Of Content

Christopher hit Chens and his CritiC s Christopher Hitchens and His Critics te r r o r, ir a q, a n d t h e L e f t d Edited by simon Cottee and thomas Cushman With an Afterword by Christopher hit Chens a new York u niversitY p ress New York and London New York UNiversit Y Press New York and London www.nyupress.org © 2008 by New York University All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Christopher Hitchens and his critics : terror, Iraq, and the left / edited by Simon Cottee and Thomas Cushman ; with an afterword by Christopher Hitchens. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN–13: 978-0-8147-1686-1 (cl : alk. paper) ISBN–10: 0-8147-1686-5 (cl : alk. paper) ISBN–13: 978-0-8147-1687-8 (pb : alk. paper) ISBN–10: 0-8147-1687-3 (pb : alk. paper) 1. War and society. 2. Terrorism. 3. Liberalism. 4. Hitchens, Christopher. I. Cottee, Simon. II. Cushman, Thomas, 1959– HM554.C475 2008 303.6'6—dc22 2007049414 New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability. Manufactured in the United States of America c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 p 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The real test of a radical or a revolutionary is not the willingness to confront the orthodoxy and arrogance of the rulers but the readiness to contest illusions and falsehoods among close friends and allies. —Christopher hit Chens, For the Sake of Argument, 325–26 C o n t e n t s Acknowledgments xiii Introduction: Terror, Iraq, and the Left 1 Simon Cottee and Thomas Cushman part i: hit Chens on terror 1 American Society Can Outlast or Absorb Practically Anything 39 Independent, September 16, 2001 2 The Pursuit of Happiness Is at an End 42 London Evening Standard, September 19, 2001 3 Against Rationalization 44 Nation, September 20, 2001 4 Of Sin, the Left, and Islamic Fascism 47 Nation (Online), October 8, 2001 5 Ha Ha Ha to the Pacifists 52 Guardian, November 14, 2001 6 Stranger in a Strange Land 54 Atlantic Monthly, December 2001 7 Saving Islam from bin Laden 59 The Age, September 5, 2002 8 It’s a Good Time for War 62 Boston Globe (Online), September 8, 2002 5 vii 6 Contents 9 Inside the Islamic Mafia 70 Slate, September 25, 2003 10 Al Qaeda’s Latest Target 73 Slate, November 18, 2003 11 To Die in Madrid 77 Slate, March 15, 2004 12 Murder by Any Other Name 79 Slate, September 7, 2004 13 Bush’s Secularist Triumph 82 Slate, November 9, 2004 14 Jihad in the Netherlands 85 Free Inquiry, February/March 2005 15 We Cannot Surrender 87 Mirror, July 8, 2005 16 Yes, London Can Take It 90 Weekly Standard, July 18, 2005 17 Why Ask Why? 93 Slate, October 3, 2005 part ii: hit Chens on iraq 18 Appointment in Samarra? 99 Nation, September 30, 2002 19 Taking Sides 101 Nation, October 14, 2002 20 So Long, Fellow Travelers 104 Washington Post, October 20, 2002 21 I Wanted It to Rain on Their Parade 108 Mirror, February 18, 2003 22 Weapons and Terror 112 Slate, May 20, 2003 5 viii 6 Contents 23 Restating the Case for War 114 Slate, November 5, 2003 24 The Literal Left 120 Slate, December 4, 2003 25 Guerrillas in the Mist 122 Slate, January 2, 2004 26 Fallujah 125 Wall Street Journal, April 2, 2004 27 Vietnam? 128 Slate, April 12, 2004 28 Second Thinking 131 Slate, April 19, 2004 29 Abu Ghraib Isn’t Guernica 134 Slate, May 9, 2005 30 History and Mystery 137 Slate, May 16, 2005 31 Unmitigated Galloway 140 Weekly Standard, May 30, 2005 32 Losing the Iraq War 150 Slate, August 8, 2005 33 A War to Be Proud Of 152 Weekly Standard, September 5, 2005 34 Anti-War, My Foot 160 Slate, September 26, 2005 part iii: hit Chens on the Left 35 An Interview with Christopher Hitchens, Part I: Radicalism, Liberty, and the Post-Socialist World 167 Reason Online, November 2001 5 ix 6 Contents 36 Don’t. Be. Silly. An Open Letter to Martin Amis 177 Guardian, September 4, 2002 37 Europe’s Status Quo Left: A Review of Language, Politics, and Writing: Stolentelling in Western Europe by Patrick McCarthy 184 Foreign Policy, July/August 2003 38 Left-Leaving, Left-Leaning: A Review of Left Illusions by David Horowitz and Not Without Love by Constance Webb 189 Los Angeles Times, November 16, 2003 39 Polymath with a Cause: A Review of From Oslo to Iraq and the Road Map by Edward W. Said 193 Washington Post, August 15, 2004 40 Susan Sontag: An Obituary 197 Slate, December 29, 2004 41 An Interview with Christopher Hitchens, Part II: Anti-Fascism, Reactionary Conservatism, and the Post–September 11 World 201 Frontpage, December 10, 2003 part iV: CritiCaL responses and e xChanges 42 Letter to the Nation, October 1, 2001 221 Noam Chomsky, Nation (Online), October 1, 2001 hitChens responds 222 Nation (Online), October 4, 2001 43 Letter to the Nation, January 10, 2002 228 Edward S. Herman, Nation (Online), January 10, 2002 5 x 6

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Christopher Hitchens—political journalist, cultural critic, public intellectual and self-described contrarian—is one of the most controversial and prolific writers of his generation. His most recent book, God Is Not Great, was on the New York Times bestseller list in 2007 for months. Like his he