Internet Statement 2003-08

About the announced declaration of war by the US

Now it's been decided, the US treat as irrelevant the declared political will of the peoples and almost all of the states of the world. Politically isolated to the maximum, the "champions of world-wide democracy" choose the high-handed terroristic strike by its superior military power and expect the world to swallow it because it lacks forces of its own to resist. The US will ultimately not succeed.

Iraq is to be occupied, no matter if it disarms, and no matter even if Saddam Hussein goes into exile! Yesterday, Bush declared in the presence of Blair and Aznar on the Azores: "Saddam Hussein can leave the country, if he's interested in peace." War, according to this, is no longer connected to Iraq's allegedly lacking disarmament, as said just a few moments ago, but to the resistance to the installation of a regime subservient to the US. Powell today went one step further in clarifying: Saddam Hussein was to go into exile 'so that the forces can peacefully enter the country'. The US, so, would not even be content with other forces taking the government in Iraq, but they unconditionally want the military occupation. They are exactly confirming the criticism that for the US it alway has been about the establishment of its military protectorate Iraq. The slogans "disarm Iraq" by which for half a year they had been attempting to bring the UN to collaboration, are being dropped because, as questionable as they have been, they were taken literally by the UN majority and grew into a barrier for the strike according to the US' own timetable. Only somebody like Angela Merkel (chairwoman of the Christian Democrats) is able to publicly declare after this outing by the US: "any chance to still achieve a peaceful disarmament of Iraq must be made use of".

Now it is said: "the diplomatic efforts have failed". Failed have in the first place the efforts by the US to find supporters, failed has its intention to get a legitimation by the UN. Even those 6 members of the Security Council like Chile, Mexico and Angola which during the past weeks were exposed to the most severe blackmailing and enticement by the US for gaining their support for the approval of the war, in spite of their tremendous dependence from the US presented a diplomatic proposal for a mediation which the US did not even want to discuss any more. By its high-handedness the US themselves are destroying the political web which up to now may still have been giving them some backing in some respects.

Now the serious and principled question has to be answered, what can be opposed to the military superiority of the US. One cannot be content with the statement that against the class struggle of the world-wide proletariat and the suppressed peoples and nations the US will ultimately not prevail, in today's situation when this struggle has not yet sufficiently developed. Demonstrations by umpteen millions of peace activists round the world are a good thing but don't sufficiently impress the US. There are only few forces who today have the opportunity to directly militarily oppose the US when it advances into Iraq. Looking from here, the situation in Iraq is hard to assess. Many in the world would cherish it if the present government would be replaced or supplemented by inner forces which are decided and capable to resist the US. Moreover there are neighbouring countries of Iraq to which the US has already announced that they would be next. If their criticism of the US has some substance, they now have an opportunity to back the Iraqi resistance also militarily, and in doing so to simultaneously avert the danger from themselves.

There are in fact still tasks for diplomacy which in today's commentaries is so disparagingly being treated. If the UN itself does not want to treat itself as irrelevant either, it now has to impose sanctions on the aggressor US, to announce its expulsion and to admonish its members to develop military strength and political unity in order to better cope in the future with the challenge by the US than it is immediately now possible. The states cannot passively look at it, if by an outrageous terroristic war a nation of the Third World is physically decimated and made a colonial slave. This is directed against all.

Editorial staff of Neue Einheit / wgr
March 17, 2003

 

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