As the present issue of Logos is being released, we hover on the brink of war. It is by no means an overly-moralistic proposition to claim that American politics is seeing, in the current Bush Administration, one of its lowest points in decades. Indeed, this may ostensibly resonate with partisan overtones, but the moral as well as the political critique of the present political situation calls for further rational dialogue and action in order to make any democratic impulses concrete. Even more, as events change day by day, there is a clear realization that the present administration in the United States is less interested in political dialogue and peace than in aggression and control. In this sense, a distinction must be made between imperium and dominium--the former is a political logic of control whereas the latter is one of  direct ownership. The current logic has been driven not by dominium by by imperium--oil is certainly a factor, but also a world image of political harmony with American interests serving as the guiding principles of this imperium over the Middle East. This harmony is not one of democracy and free markets as its apologists would claim, but of the control of political legacies for the future interests of domestic American political and economic interests.

In this sense, the politics of the present may seem to divide along a simplistic division of left and right--but this is not the case. The left has not been vocal enough concerning its opposition to the leadership of Saddam Hussein as well as leaders such as Kim Jung Il. The Enlightenment discourse has been obfuscated and the result has been a veritable field day for right-wing pundits and commentators. The current issue of Logos presents critical views on the current debacle in Iraq as well as other views on American foreign policy by Dick Howard, the media by Doug Kellner as well as a critical reading of the work of Dinesh D'Souza, a well-known right-wing commentator and writer. 

What these critical views attempt to open is nothing more than a critical discourse on contemporary political and social consciousness. One may reject some of the political assertions or disagree wither this or that political fact; but it would be difficult to argue that a rational analysis of present events has been the order of the day. To this end, the present issue of Logos contains a special section on Iraq with contributions by Irene Gendzier, Keith Watenpuagh, Wadood Hamad, Stephen Eric Bronner and James Jennings. There is also a conversation with Iraqi political scientists conducted when I and others were visiting Baghdad on a fact-finding mission in January.

This issue also contains culture with photographs by Robert Haller, a play by Ilja Richter and one of the first English translations by the Romanian writer Carmen Francesca Banciu. There are also original poems by Adrienne Rich and Jim Cohn among so many other items. We hope that this issue of Logos will be able to stimulate thought and reflection and enhance the moral outlook of its readers.

M. J. T.
New York City
March 1, 2003