the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Feb 3, 2003
In the United States, the French government, along with Germany and other governments, is portrayed as being against U.S. military intervention in Iraq. But why? And where will this opposition lead?
The minor imperialist powers like France and Germany do not want to see Bush launch a war against Iraq because it would translate into a reinforcement of the domination of American corporations in the Middle East, against which the French corporations will not be able to compete.
That’s not the same as saying they will oppose U.S. domination when push comes to shove. The proof is what happened before the U.N. gave Bush Resolution 1441 when he threatened he would go to war whether or not they did. France and Russia had seemed ready to oppose Bush. But their pitiful reversal at the end already showed that the "principles" which they refer to don’t carry much weight.
In any case, Bush has already announced that he will go to war with or without another U.N. resolution, with or without other countries’ support. But that does not mean the U.N. will oppose the U.S. when Bush decides to go to war. Just as before, it will fall in line, despite what its inspectors find, or more exactly, don’t find.
So the question then, is what will the governments which supposedly oppose this war do if Bush decides to go it alone? They will not remain on the side in the name of principle, any more than they did in the Gulf War of 1991. They will send troops, preparing for their corporations to participate in the spoils.
People in this country who oppose this war cannot put their trust in the U.N.