The following article was published in "The Guardian", newspaper
of the Communist Party of Australia in its issue of Wednesday,
October 31st, 2001. 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>
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Howard's uncivilised war
It is a sure sign that all is not well with George Bush's "war against
terrorism". Last week Prime Minister Howard gave a talk to the Australian
Defence Association that he described as an "intellectual" contribution to
keep the Australian people behind the war. This week Tony Blair is going to
give the British people a similar pep talk.
by Peter Symon
Far from Howard's talk exhibiting his "intellectual" powers it showed his
intellectual poverty and dishonesty.
He immediately claimed that "no one now doubts that the Al Qaida network,
led by Osama bin Laden, was responsible for the attacks" on the WTC. The
fact of the matter is that half the world has serious doubts and many say
so openly. The skepticism is added to by the fact that the Americans have
not published any conclusive evidence to prove their assertions.
The persons who have been arrested by the Americans come from Saudi Arabia
and Egypt. Not a single one of those named so far is a citizen of
Afghanistan. Some are citizens of the US. Naming persons and making
assertions is not proof and is not grounds for waging a war against a country.
Indicating that he is on the defensive about what is happening, Howard
immediately jumped to defend the role of the US in Israel's war on the
Palestinian people. He claimed that it is "a monstrous falsehood" to blame
the conflict on the US which he says, has done so much to bring about a
peaceful resolution.
However, Howard fails to mention the many UN resolutions which call upon
Israel to withdraw to its previous borders and the billions of dollars
worth of armaments that the US has pumped into Israel for decades and which
continue to fuel the war.
Howard, even now, cannot bring himself to support the creation of a
Palestinian State although he vaguely mentioned "self-determination". Both
Bush and Blair now talk about a separate Palestinian State although they
have only done so in an attempt to keep Arab countries on side in the
present situation when their anti-terrorism coalition shows many signs of
being exceedingly shaky.
Again when it comes to the ANZUS treaty, which has been used to justify
Australia's commitment, Howard does not mention the specific clauses which
have been invoked and limits himself to the vague reference to "relevant
provisions". Anyone who takes the trouble to read the ANZUS treaty will see
that the first obligation of the parties is to refer matters to the UN
Security Council in the event of a conflict. This has not been done.
Howard, more than once, talks about the "civilised countries" of the world.
In view of the fact that the war is said to be against a particular group
and not against a country, one is entitled to ask which countries, in
Howard's mind, are the uncivilised ones.
To back up his assertion about being "civilised" he mentions the fact that
the Australian government has "committed over $23 million to assist
refugees and other victims since the crisis began". A bomb in one hand and
a loaf of bread in the other! It ill becomes the Prime Minister to even
talk about assistance to refugees when his government is engaged in the
most despicable attempts to prevent refugees from Afghanistan and other
Middle East countries from even landing on Australian territory.
When it comes to the aims of the conflict he says: "Whilst the destruction
of the Al Qaida network must be our first priority, the long-term aim of
this war is to demonstrate that organised, international, state-sanctioned
terrorism will not be tolerated by the world community".
It is in this context that we have the "infinite war" that the Pentagon has
projected and which Howard obviously supports. He said, "should the nature
or scale of this conflict change substantially, requests for further
contributions may be made and they would be carefully considered". It was
also in this context that Howard ruled out conscription but only "in the
present strategic circumstances".
In mentioning the Vietnam war Howard shows again his dishonesty. He claimed
that the Vietnam war "was a Cold War conflict with two states, each backed
by super powers, competing for territory..."
The truth is that a war in Vietnam only arose because of the machinations
of the French colonialists in the first place and then because the US
poured hundreds of thousands of troops into the country. This invasion was
justified by the so-called Tonkin Gulf incident. This incident was a
complete concoction by the US. It never took place but Howard carefully
omits this historical fact.
He asserted that the war against terrorism would "be fought by highly
trained, highly professional combat forces using the most modern
intelligence and weapons systems." The US and Australian forces are
certainly well trained and equipped but the war in Afghanistan will not be
won by the side with superior weapons.
The story of the Russian presence in Afghanistan tells a similar story.
They also had sophisticated weapons and well-trained troops but they could
not win against a people that fought a guerilla-type war.
Howard has no idea when it comes to real measures to fight terrorism. He
has no plan to do something about the poverty, unemployment, humiliation,
homelessness, lack of medical and educational facilities which are the lot
of hundreds of millions of people around the world. Unless something is
done about these issues more acts of terrorism will occur even if the
Taliban is suppressed and replaced.
In apocalyptic mood Howard says that "the stakes are very high, even
determining the security of the world we hand to our children." So, will
the world be saved by bombing Afghanistan into rubble or by replacing the
Taliban with a government acceptable to George Bush and John Howard?
This is not really what Howard has in mind. Being highly class conscious
and a vehement supporter of capitalism, he really has in mind the survival
of the world of capitalism. That is what Howard means when he refers to
"civilised countries", "our way of life", "what we humans value most", and
similar statements.
Under the banner of the "war against terrorism" he and those with whom
Australia has been allied, will launch new wars in the future against any
and every country that does not toe the corporate line and insists on
maintaining its independence and freedom. Those people and states that
oppose the corporate agenda will be increasingly branded as terrorists.
It is not a war for freedom or even against terrorism but a war to impose a
new colonialism. That is why many around the world are skeptical and are
already taking to the streets in anti-war protests.
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