Iraq

The sound of war drums from Washington becomes louder and more insistent by the day. The recent declarations of Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld leave no doubt as to the intentions of the ruling clique in the USA. They are impatient to launch a military operation against Iraq. When this perspective becomes reality there will be enormous potential for a massive anti-war movement around the world. The best activists in the workers' and students' movements will want to show their anger and to oppose the war, and we must be prepared.

With splits surfacing even within the Blair cabinet over war with Iraq, opposition to this military adventure is swiftly growing within the British Labour movement. Many unions are determined to raise the matter at the TUC and Labour Party conferences, which is now threatening to dominate the political agenda. From the Editorial Board of the British Marxist Journal Socialist Appeal.

With splits surfacing even within the Blair cabinet over war with Iraq (although they have not formally discussed the question!), opposition to this military adventure is swiftly growing within the British Labour movement. Many unions are determined to raise the matter at the TUC and Labour Party conferences, which is now threatening to dominate the political agenda.

"Inaction is not an option," declares George W. Bush, seeking to extend the "war on terror" to Iraq. But the recent heavy fighting between US and Afghan forces and the Taliban in Afghanistan gives the lie to those who say the war is over. It is dawning on the military strategists that victory cannot be won by air power alone, and combat troops will be required on the ground for some time to come. However, using Afghan forces has proved complicated, as the warlords - newly armed by the Americans - seek to reassert their influence.

Speaking at a White House ceremony on March 11, exactly six months after the devastating attacks on New York and Washington, George Bush addressed an audience of 1,300 dignitaries, including 100 ambassadors in Washington. He did not mention Iraq by name, but left no doubt he was determined to overthrow Saddam Hussein. Bush is said to have mapped out a "global strategy" against the enemies of America. It even goes by the name of "the Bush Doctrine." But in reality there is no such strategy. Bush's policy consists in lashing out blindly, making use of America's overwhelming military strength to intimidate and compel the rest of the world to do America's bidding.

The present war, in which US imperialism seeks to maintain its hegemony, is further aggravating the current contradictions in Turkey. Although the country is engulfed in a serious economic crisis, Turkey is setting out to undertake new roles in the region, playing "little brother" of the USA. The Internationalist Communists of Turkey report on anti-war movements, and send solidarity greetings from the Turkish workers.

The recent bombing of Iraq is an act of imperialist insolence of the worst type. American imperialism has emerged as the most arrogant and ignorant imperialism that there has ever been. Never has there been a situation where one super power has dominated the whole world situation, as US imperialism does today. It is quite clear that they want to establish the “American century”. They are determined to put their stamp on all the developments that are taking place in the underdeveloped world.

US and British imperialism are preparing their war and propaganda machines for a bombing of Iraq. This article exposes the real reasons behind the threat of force and all the lies and double standards of imperialism in relation to chemical weapons, UN resolutions and "defence of democracy". It also analyses the possible consequences of an intervention in the fate of the Middle Eastern reactionary regimes.

This article analyses the US intervention in Iraq in August/September 1996 and the Iraqi regime intervention in the struggle between different fractions in the Iraqi Kurdistan.