From: "contracorriente" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2001 07:32:28 +0100
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Challenge, March 14, 2001
Contracorriente: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
COMUNISTES de CATALUNYA diffuse from PLP http://www.plp.org/
Continuing the Line of Bush Senior and Clinton
Dubya Bush Bombs Iraq and Makes Plans for Oil War
Bush's increased bombing raids over Iraq show U.S. rulers will stop at
nothing to restore their dwindling influence over the Persian Gulf and its
oil.
These air raids are nothing new. U.S. and British warplanes have been
terrorizing Iraqi civilians for years. But Bush's latest round represents an
enlargement in both frequency and intensity. It coincides with growing U.S.
isolation in the face of tactical victories by Saddam Hussein and U.S. oil
rivals Russia and France.
U.S. Policy Is A Flop
The U.S. policy of using sanctions to force Hussein from power is a flop.
The sanctions' only "success" has been the wholesale murder of Iraqi workers
and children. U.S. pals and foes alike violate the sanctions every day.
Iraqi oil has returned to the market. Exxon Mobil, the power behind the
bombings, ironically, is its biggest customer, because Iraqi oil is the
region's cheapest, and controlling the cheapest oil is crucial to market
domination.
Another irony leaves U.S. bosses with egg on their faces. According to the
London Times (2/21), Iraq's oil barons are smuggling their cheap oil in
tankers into Turkey, tankers which the U.S. could easily bomb because
they're breaking the sanctions. But since the U.S. is using the Turkish air
base at Incirlik as a launching pad for U.S. and British war planes
patrolling the northern no-fly zone over Iraq, they're allowing Turkish
rulers to break the sanctions in exchange for use of that base. Thus Iraq is
reaping oil profits growing out of the very bombing campaign that's aimed at
weakening Saddam Hussein. Profits drive all capitalists, whether U.S., Iraqi
or Turkish.
Bush's bombing occurs in a setting that reveals significant gains by Saddam
Hussein. Despite U.S. threats, contact between Iraq and the outside world is
increasing. Technicians and businessmen fly into Baghdad regularly from
Western Europe and Russia, thumbing their noses at U.S. policy. Their visits
aim at launching the multi-billion dollar deals for Iraqi oil and gas that
await only the formal lifting of sanctions. Only days after Bush had taken
office, Iraqi rulers signed free trade pacts with Syria, Jordan and Egypt.
Daddy Bush's New World Order Didn't Last Long
This situation is a far cry from the so-called "New World Order," of which
Bush's father boasted after slaughtering hundreds of thousands of Iraqi
workers in the 1991 Desert Storm. In that war, U.S. imperialism had managed
to arm-twist and/or bribe the Europeans, Arabs and Russians into a supposed
"coalition" which, even if it did very little fighting, at least didn't
stand in Washington's way. But current Russian rulers are regrouping around
a long-range plan to challenge the U.S. for world domination.
In 1991, French oil bosses came on board, however reluctantly. Now, with
dreams of using Iraqi oil as leverage in the race against Exxon Mobil for
maximum profit, they have a huge stake in opposing U.S. policy. And the
Iraqi trade deals with former Arab enemies could spell further big trouble
for the U.S., which so far has also failed to impose a "peace" deal between
Israeli and Palestinian bosses on the crucial western flank of the Middle
East.
So the stakes are climbing. Arab rulers will have to choose between the U.S.
and Iraq. As usual, oil lies at the heart of the struggle. The big Persian
Gulf producers, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, face a
profit squeeze related to the current worldwide economic slump, a regular
feature of the capitalist system. Growing amounts of Iraqi oil on a
depressed market will lower prices. If Bush can convince these bosses that
military force and sanctions against Iraq can stabilize the price of oil,
then U.S. influence in the Persian Gulf may make a comeback. That was
undoubtedly a key goal of U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's recent
Mid-East jaunt.
However, relying on the profit greed of wobbly oil princes isn't a recipe
for long-term stability, peace or unchallenged U.S. supremacy. Nor is a
failed policy of unenforceable sanctions or a military strategy that relies
on bombing to resolve a situation that can be settled only on the ground.
Although U.S. imperialism continues to sit on the horns of a dilemma, we
must not make the deadly error of believing that because launching war for
Iraqi oil is difficult, the rulers won't do it. This is the isolation of a
caged, untamed tiger. They must try everything to control and profit from
the oil. Sooner or later this competition will lead to ever-widening armed
struggle. We can't predict the timetable, but we must prepare our Party and
our class for this inevitability. Imperialism and war are inseparable. Our
job now and for the future remains mustering the determination and skill to
build our revolutionary movement under all conditions.
U.S. Bosses' Plans For Land War: Easier Said Than Done
Everyone, from the Bush administration to U.S. foes, knows that control of
Iraqi oil can be determined, as the London Times (2/21) puts it, "by the
only means possible, a land war." However, U.S. rulers are unprepared both
internally and externally for ground war in Iraq.
Internally, as CHALLENGE has often pointed out, the rulers have little
confidence in the political will of the working-class soldiers and sailors
in their military machine. Ground war means many casualties. Since Vietnam,
no U.S. government has managed to convince workers to die in droves for the
profits and power of the U.S. ruling class. This situation is unlikely to
change.
Externally, the sanctions and bombing raids against Iraq generate sharper
international contradictions with every passing day. Bush blamed and
threatened the Chinese for giving Saddam Hussein improved radar defenses. In
Russia, the February 16 raids--with no prior U.S. notification--will
strengthen the rulers who "argue that the only way for Russia to avoid being
ignored, marginalized and eventually dismembered is to win respect through
strength." (Stratfor Global Intelligence Update, 02/21.)
_________________________________________________
KOMINFORM
P.O. Box 66
00841 Helsinki
Phone +358-40-7177941
Fax +358-9-7591081
http://www.kominf.pp.fi
General class struggle news:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Geopolitical news:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
__________________________________________________
Image6.gif
Image6.gif