The following Editorial was published in "The Guardian", newspaper
of the Communist Party of Australia in its issue of Wednesday,
January 23rd, 2002. Contact address: 65 Campbell Street, Surry Hills.
Sydney. 2010 Australia. Phone: (612) 9212 6855 Fax: (612) 9281 5795.
CPA Central Committee: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
"The Guardian": <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Webpage: http://www.cpa.org.au>
Subscription rates on request.
******************************
Editorial: "Year of War"
Just before Christmas, and as though to give a bizarre festive season's
gift to the world, US President Bush declared that the coming year would
be "a war year".
We are now only just into the first month of the New Year and the US
military colossus is spreading its evil tentacles in many directions.
American troops are landing in the Philippines. All the old lies are
being pedalled to hoodwink those who do not care or who, naively, are
prepared to swallow the media hype.
The "Sydney Morning Herald" declared that "the US forces are expected to
assist and train Philippine troops ... they will also join them on
patrol in rebel areas and they ... could become involved in offensive
military actions if Manila requested it". The compliant quisling
government of President Gloria Arroyo will undoubtedly do whatever her
US masters demand.
Some years ago the mass protest actions of the Philippino people force
the US navy to evacuate its naval and air base at Subic Bay. This
successful struggle is now being betrayed in the name of the so-called
"war against terrorism".
The real objective is the reimposition of US colonialism over the
Philippines. It is timely to recall that the Philippines was once a US
colony.
The Australian Government is getting ready to become involved in the
Philippines should the US decide that compliant nations, such as
Australia, should contribute men, money and military machines to help
the US task of re-colonisation.
The same scenario is being hatched for Indonesia. Indonesia is the
world's largest Muslim country but it will not be difficult to arrange
for some "incidents" to justify military intervention to "restore order"
and bring about "security and stability".
In such an operation the US can count on the former imperialist European
countries that have never forgiven the "natives" for defeating the
former colonialist regimes. The national liberation movements of the
1950s and '60s threw out the European occupiers.
In these plans, the Australian government is a very willing participant.
Well before the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon on
September 11, Howard had outlined his "Defence Doctrine"."The Bulletin"
(28/9/99) wrote: "The Howard Doctrine sees Australia acting in a sort of
'deputy' peacekeeping capacity in our region to the global policeman
role of the US".
Howard declared at the time: "One of the errors we have made is that we
have operated on the basis that we cannot afford to be offside [with our
Asian neighbours]". But, said Howard, Australia "has a particular
responsibility to do things above and beyond in this part of the world".
In criticising the former Keating Government Howard declared, "We looked
as though we were knocking on their door saying, 'Please, let us in',
instead of realising we were always somebody they would want to have in
because of our particular strength, and that [now] has been demonstrated."
This is the arrogance of power that is behind Bush's "year of war" and =
the fact that the US is prepared to list a number of countries that are =
being lined up for military intervention, bombing and occupation.
A "Sydney Morning Herald" article (7/1/02) reported Pentagon sources as
saying that military tent cities have sprung up at 13 locations in nine
countries neighbouring Afghanistan, substantially extending the network
of bases in the region. "From Bulgaria and Uzbekistan to Turkey, Kuwait
and beyond, more than 60,000 US military personnel are stationed in
these forward bases", says the "SMH" article.
Forward bases for what purpose?
To subjugate the entire world the US has to conquer both Russia and
China and that is the real objective of the "war against terrorism", the
real aim of the war against Afghanistan and all the bases that the US is
constructing with the complicity of a whole string of governments which
have treacherously bent the knee before American power and money.
It is these objectives to which the Australian Government willingly and
enthusiastically subscribes. It does not have to be bought. It warmly
welcomes the unlimited war plans of the criminal Bush administration.
--
--
Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/
Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop
Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink
Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
