------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Oct. 31, 2002 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
"NO FORCE IS MIGHTIER THAN STRUGGLE FOR LIBERATION" By Teresa Gutierrez [From a speech to the Sept. 21-22 Workers World Party conference. Gutierrez, a member of WWP's Secretariat, was part of an Inter national Action Center delegation to an anti-war conference in Iraq in mid-September.] This past May, speaking about events in the U.S. since 9/11, President Fidel Castro of Cuba said, "As a leader in a country that has had to defend itself for more than four decades from thousands of terrorist actions, I can assure you that the constant stirring up of panic is not the right way to proceed--since it can psychologically affect the people and turn life in that immense country into an unbearable nightmare." Cuba has much experience with terrorist attacks. Over 3,000 Cubans have died as a result of U.S.-sponsored terrorism. In proportion to the population, that would be as though 88,434 people had died in the U.S. Cuba's leader knows what he's talking about when he says that it's wrong to instill panic. But how else could the U.S. government--a regime built on slavery, genocide and theft--handle the 9/11 attacks? The Bush administration aimed to take full advantage of the attacks to launch the boldest war program imperialism could muster. To do this it had to justify its agenda to the people of this country. A wave of racial profiling and violations of civil rights followed. Another insidious tactic was to constantly warn of more attacks. Here in New York, announcements of possible "terrorist attacks" have become as commonplace as the weather forecast. Reporters go to Grand Central Station and ask people if they are afraid to ride the trains. Now think about this. If you're an average worker, not politically conscious, what kind of effect would this have on you? You have no choice but to ride the subway. Instilling this kind of fear is reckless and irresponsible. But it's not surprising. It's just one of the ways the ruling class has manipulated events for its capitalist agenda since 9/11. GOV'T PUTS THE PEOPLE IN HARM'S WAY As communists, we were and remain shocked and saddened by the deaths of nearly 3,000 people at the World Trade Center, mainly civilians. We care about the plight of the survivors and others who were directly affected: people who lost housing, jobs and whose physical and mental health suffered. We care about the immigrant workers who suffer triple exploitation. But what distinguishes us from the incredible hype around the tragedy is that we say it is the U.S. government and ruling class that put the people here in harm's way. It is their sanctions on Iraq, their funding and arming of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, their lust for domination and control that put the people of this country in imminent danger. Not that the Iraqis or Palestinians were responsible for the attacks. All the efforts of the Bush administration to use 9/11 as an excuse for its war plans in the Middle East have turned up not a shred of evidence for that. But U.S. efforts to totally dominate the Middle East have enraged and alienated even forces that once worked with the CIA, as in Afghanistan. We pointed out that the nearly 3,000 lives lost at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, are no more valuable than the lives lost in Chile on Sept. 11, 1973, or anywhere else that the U.S. has led massacres of one kind or another. I have traveled to many places in the world where U.S. imperialism has inflicted terrible tragedy: Korea, Panama, Vieques, Palestine, Sudan, Colombia, Iraq. So many oppressed people open up their lives and their hearts to visitors and ask, "Why?" The Iraqi people were no different. When I was there, they shared their condolences with us on the losses of 9/11. But they also asked, "Why? Why does the U.S. hate us so much?" If we were not class conscious, it would be difficult to meet their eyes. Is it any wonder that as passengers de-board the plane in Baghdad, the words "Down with the USA" welcome you? The Iraqi people have great reason to hate the U.S. government. U.S. WORKERS WILL RESIST During the International Solidarity Conference in Baghdad, one of the points that Larry Holmes and I made in our presentations was to urge everyone not to give up on us. There is a certain level of skepticism and pessimism about the people of the United States. But we were confident and optimistic and spoke of the great capacity of the movement and the people in this country. We said this was not based on wishful thinking but based on a clear Marxist analysis of history and the class struggle. This is the time to remind the world that it was on this land that rich working-class struggles gave birth to two glorious workers' celebrations: May Day and International Women's Day. During the 1930s, the struggle of the workers here produced many committed fighters against the capitalist system. Just 30 years ago, millions protested and did everything in their power to join the people of Vietnam in stopping U.S. terror in Southeast Asia. Countless solidarity campaigns have been carried out for the people of Central America. We fought to stop apartheid in South Africa. Hundreds of thousands here have defied the U.S. blockade of Cuba. This is a country rich with lessons of building multinational unity. Many a white worker has sacrificed to join people of African descent in the struggles to abolish slavery, win civil rights and end racism. Even the World Trade Center crisis showed how workers are instinctively inclined to pull together, to work for peace, rather than to be at war. Pitching in and solace and comfort were the order of the day. We all heard stories of people traveling here to help from many places across the U.S. and other countries. The conditions workers and oppressed people face here are exactly why we are confident that the vast majority of people can be pulled away from the camp of the bourgeoisie to the other side of the class struggle. ARMY OF OCCUPATION CAN'T WIN When six women were killed by their soldier husbands/partners on a military base in North Carolina this summer, it told us the terrible truth about the vile culture of the Pentagon. But it also told us that it's possible to talk to service people and family members, and to recruit anti-war activists from their ranks. An army built on the slaughter of innocent Iraqis is an army that cannot win. Armies built on the occupation of Palestine or Vieques or on the backs of millions around the world are armies that will surely be defeated. There is no mightier force than the righteous struggle for liberation. The people of Vietnam, like many others, proved that imperialism can be defeated. Bush's arrogant doctrine for war and domination, "The National Security Strategy of the United States," may have a chilling effect on some here and abroad. But Workers World Party is prepared to face this doctrine head-on. When the anti-war movement marched on Washington last April 20, it was a sign that, as Malcolm X once said, the chickens have come home to roost. On April 20--just seven months after 9/11--100,000 people in the U.S. marched for Palestine and against racial profiling and repression. Over half were people from the Middle East and South Asia. Our party was instrumental in supporting this event. And we are confident that April 20 was just the beginning of a massive struggle against the capitalist class. We want socialism in the U.S. We won't stop until we get it. One day Ground Zero will be dedicated to the people of Iraq and Palestine, to all the people of the Middle East. We will not just pay tribute, we will make the occupiers, oppressors and exploiters pay reparations for their crimes. - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Support the voice of resistance http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php) ------------------ This message is sent to you by Workers World News Service. To subscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
