RW ONLINE: A Time for Resistance! U.S. Rush Towards War A Time for Resistance!

Revolutionary Worker #1191, March 16, 2003, posted at rwor.org

On the ground in the Middle East and at the conference tables of the United Nations, the U.S. and British spokesmen left little doubt that they intend to start the bombing and invasion of Iraq. British troops were reportedly told to expect attack orders in mid-March. Even as millions of people all over the world urgently took to the streets to stop this unjust war--the U.S. continued to zero in on Iraq.

Pentagon officials revealed their monstrous plans: A massive aerial attack of over 3,000 massive bombs and cruise missiles called "Shock and Awe," planned for the first 48 hours of war. Pentagon General Richard Meyers warned that the intense bombardment of Baghdad would make it too dangerous for journalists to stay and report what happens to the people. Meyers added that people in the U.S. must accept the suffering of Iraqi people. "We can't forget that war is inherently violent. People are going to die," he said. "We need to condition people that that is war."

Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld has tried to claim, repeatedly, that the U.S. is working to avoid civilian casualties. He argues that destruction of Iraq's massive dams or its oil facilities during the U.S. bombardment should be blamed on Iraqi government agents.

In a call for media self-censorship, Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer argued that the U.S. media should not publish reports accusing the U.S. of causing civilian casualties. According to him, the U.S. media should simply assume that deaths of civilians were caused by the Iraqi government--and report them that way.

These are the grim political preparations for a major war of injustice. As the bombs are prepared, so are the official lies.

The Real Motives of a Conquest

"What they are doing is not primarily or essentially in response to September 11 but is part of a whole program they have--what we call their wild ambitions for recasting the whole world and taking down the Iraqi regime as one part of that."

Bob Avakian, "The New Situation and the `War on Terrorism' "

In the last few months, the leaders of the U.S. government have practically gloried in their willingness to pursue this war on Iraq-- regardless of what anyone else thinks or does.

Iraq allows in inspectors. Inspectors can't find banned weapons. Millions of people all over the world oppose the war. Other major powers, France, Germany, Russia, China, oppose the attack. The UN Security Council is deeply split on approving a war. Iraq publicly destroys missiles. None of this matters--the U.S. government insists over and over that it is going to war anyway.

U.S. Secretary of State Powell threatened that countries who don't support the war (like France) may not get oil from Iraq after the war. Russia is threatened with rejection from the World Trade Organization. A top Rumsfeld adviser calls for the removal of Germany's chancellor for opposing the U.S. war.

All this relentless war-mongering makes people all over the world wonder "Why?" Is it the simple-minded macho of a reckless cowboy? Is it a reckless revenge trip against "the man who tried to kill my daddy"? These theories all miss the real method-to-the-madness here.

For the ruling clique in Washington, the goal is to impose the U.S. will on everyone in the world--on the masses of people and on their allies. Conquering Iraq is openly called "Phase 2" of a larger campaign to ensure U.S. domination far into the future.

The rulers of France and Germany oppose this war precisely because direct U.S. control over the Persian Gulf would give the U.S. a stranglehold over them and their economies--and a much tighter grip on third world economies.

This war for domination over Iraq was conceived and planned years ago in the mid-1990s by Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and their top war-planner Paul Wolfowitz--years before September 11 gave them an excuse. In their view, "junior partners" like France and Germany were useful against the Soviet Union in the 1980s--but don't "deserve" a veto power over the U.S. today. They think "old Europe" needs a historic demotion in this new "unipolar" world.

This explains why all the U.S. talk about "weapons of mass destruction" and "links to terrorism" is so unconvincing: These public justifications for this war are not the real deal.

The U.S. "sole superpower" intends to use its "military superiority" to radically recast world relations, with itself on top. "With us or against us" is their motto for imposing long-lasting world domination.

Powerful Resistance, Great Potential

The U.S. finds itself opposing and defying the people of the world because this war is fundamentally not in their interests. It finds itself isolated from its own allies because this war would strengthen U.S. domination even over other major powers.

In the face of the intensifying threat of war, millions and millions of people around the world have stood together, determined to stop the bombing of Iraq.

Months of international protest have helped isolate the U.S. and its "coalition of the bought and bullied." The protests have exposed the total illegitimacy of the U.S. war plans and exposed the endless lies used to justify the attack.

The U.S. warmakers hope their naked determination will drive everyone to resignation and collaboration. But in fact, as the U.S. has become more exposed, the anti-war movement has grown by leaps and bounds.

The people have been determined, knowing that continuing resistance makes it harder for the U.S. to launch war. The anti-war movement has been building muscles--so that if the U.S. ruthlessly presses ahead with their war plans, resistance can be intensified and spread even more--to make it harder for the U.S. to carry out whatever next "phase" of bullying and intervention they are already planning.

The U.S. warmakers say they are acting because they are responsible for the "safety of the American people." They want us to shut up and "support the troops" because their armies are supposedly fighting for our defense. This makes it all the more urgent for more and more people here in the U.S. to cut through these lies--and say "NO! Not in our name!"

It will have a huge impact on this war -- if millions in the U.S. stand up against this war, in solidarity with the Iraqi people, and with millions more worldwide.

It is a time for consciousness, firmness, and a courageous wave of resistance.

It is a time to go all out, to burst our hearts for the people and for a radically different future.

 

Apparently Bush has not gotten the message...

We do not want this war...

And we mean it.

---

This article is posted in English and Spanish on Revolutionary Worker Online
rwor.org
Write: Box 3486, Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL 60654
Phone: 773-227-4066 Fax: 773-227-4497