Imperialist Rivalries

In Syria, the big powers gesticulate, the massacres continue

The war of so-called ‘liberation’ in Syria, this ‘struggle for democracy’, is an imperialist war pure and simple. All the regional and global powers are involved in it, with the USA, Russia, China, France and Britain in the front line. The involvement and responsibility of these gangsters is not restricted to their gesticulations in the UN or elsewhere, but through the arms and cash they are supplying to both camps

Imperialist powers fuel war in Syria

The inbuilt tendency of capitalism is towards war – ever more destructive generalised warfare. Looking at Syria today massacre follows massacre with up to 20,000 killed; whole districts are destroyed; millions of people are displaced, with many living in overcrowded, insalubrious refugee camps in Turkey or in tents in the Jordanian desert in the  middle of constant sandstorms. Instead of the masses unifying across lines of division, they are now retreating behind them.

Imperialist powers hover as Syria sinks into barbarism

The brazen nature of the crimes and lies of the Syrian government is not the mark of a regime resting on strong foundations. Rather it reflects the desperation of a regime whose days are numbered. What began as an unarmed popular protest against the Assad regime has very quickly turned into a proxy war between regional and global imperialist powers.

Massacres in Syria, Iran crisis...The threat of an imperialist cataclysm in the Middle East

In Syria, every day brings new massacres. The country has joined the other theatres of imperialist war in the Middle East. After Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, now it’s Syria’s turn. Unfortunately this situation immediately poses a very disquieting question. What’s going to happen in the period ahead? The Middle East seems to be on the verge of a conflagration whose limits are difficult to foresee. Behind the war in Syria, it’s Iran which is the focus of imperialist fears and appetites, but all the main imperialist brigands are ready to defend their interests in the region. This is a part of the world that is on a war footing – a war that could have irrational and destructive consequences for the whole capitalist system.

Mali: a coup d’etat which increases the chaos

The recent coup in Mali has only accelerated the chaos of a state that has been corrupt and degenerating for a very long time. Moreover, the coup has happened in the context of struggles for influence and in a zone which is the theatre of trafficking of all types, notably arms and drugs, where criminal groups (Islamic mafias and others) fall out over the price of hostages and the plundering of migrants. But above all, Mali is the weak link of a region in growing decomposition brought about by imperialist tensions which are unfolding in the greater region of the Sahel.

Launch of ballistic missile by India: Another act in militarization in Asia

On 19th April 2012, the Indian bourgeoisie launched Agni-V, its version of an intercontinental ballistic missile, and gave another boost to the already raging arms race in Asia.  With this test India joined the select club of global imperialist gangsters who possess intercontinental ballistic missiles. Agni-V is supposed to have a range of 5000KM and is supposed to be capable of hitting Shanghai and Beijing.

Iran: diplomacy is war by other means

President Obama has announced US sanctions against those countries that continue to buy Iranian oil. This is not really a new move so much as the next move in applying pressure. Iran’s foreign policy, including its efforts to obtain a nuclear arsenal, is shaped by its claim to be a regional power in the Middle East. This brings it into opposition to Israel, as the undoubted leading power in the region, and its US backer. All talk about the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and international law only serve as diplomatic weapons when they are not simply propaganda to obscure the reality of the sordid imperialist interests at stake.

Imperialist bloodletting worsens in Middle East

If there were suspicions over the ‘al-Qaida’ bomb in Damascus there was little doubt about who was responsible for the bomb that killed an Iranian nuclear scientist in Tehran on 11 January. While the Iranian state inevitably blamed the CIA, experienced observers and those with sources in the Israeli state identified Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, as being behind the attack. It is the fourth murder of an Iranian nuclear scientist in the last two years.

Obama, NATO, Bin Laden, Gaddafi: they are all our enemies

 

After NATO bombings on a building in Tripoli killed a son and three grandchildren of Muammar Gaddafi, there were revenge attacks on the cities of Benghazi and Misrata, and attacks on the British and Italian embassies, among other targets. The killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan by American special forces was supposedly undertaken in revenge for the 3000 9/11 murders. When the anti-Gaddafi forces in Libya heard of bin Laden’s death they called for Gaddafi to face the same fate.

Imperialist Mess in Libya

On March 17, 2011 the UN Security Council adopted a resolution which declared a no-fly zone over Libya and authorized the “international community” to take whatever additional measures necessary to “…protect the country’s population” (UN Security Council Resolution 1973) short of sending ground troops. Ever since, the “international community” has displayed an utter inability to come to any agreement on the next steps to take. The divisions and hesitations on what approach to take to the chaos in Libya run deep even at home, among the US ruling class itself.

Imperialist Tensions Sharpen in East Asia

The shelling of the Yeonpyeong islands on November 23 by North Korea, killing two soldiers and two civilians, has brought tensions on the Korean Peninsula to a new height, with increasing worry throughout the world that the situation will develop into an explosive confrontation. Despite all the public displays of caution and concern for stabilizing the region, both the US and China have been playing a dangerous game of confrontations throughout East Asia over the past year, and each side is seeking to exploit the situation for the advancement of its own imperialist aims.

Tensions mount between North Korea, China and the USA

The shelling last Tuesday of the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong, killing 2 marines and 2 civilians, as well as destroying a number of houses, follows the killing of 46 South Korean sailors last March, whose ship was undoubtedly torpedoed by a North Korean submarine. Nobody at the moment wants war, certainly not the major players of China and America, but the situation has its own in-built brinkmanship and irrationality that potentially threatens to get out of hand.  

New massacres in Nigeria: capitalist barbarism at work

In Nigeria there is no doubt that there has been a real development of hatred within the Christian and Muslim populations, but a stark question is posed: who is really responsible for all these massacres? Who is permanently fanning the flames between the different communities? Who is arming and protecting the killers in both camps?"

North Korea’s nuclear test sharpens rivalries

On 24 May North Korea issued a statement that it had carried out a second nuclear test. In response to this, there has been widespread condemnation from the ‘international community' with the USA, which currently has an estimated 30,000 troops stationed in South Korea, stating it would initiate patrols in the seas around the North.

Sri Lanka: Population massacred in war between murderous gangs

No-one can fail to be moved at the plight of people in Northern Sri Lanka as the government army advances on the Tamil Tigers. The last few months have been defined by the brutality and barbarism of the Sri Lankan government and the Tigers, whose callous disregard for human life and suffering has only been matched by their cynicism in blatantly contradicting reality.

Economic crisis, ecological crisis, capitalism has no solutions: Copenhagen Conference

The reports that have accompanied the International Scientific Congress on Climate Change in Copenhagen are worse than ever.The economic crisis, though reducing the level of production, will bring further strains on the ecology of each country as it strives to remain competitive. Even the recommendations of the world's experts on climate change are trapped within the framework of capitalism.

Georgia/Russia: Imperialist conflicts sharpen

Once again, the summer has seen an acceleration of military barbarism.At the moment that Bush and Putin were taking part in the opening of the Olympics, so-called symbol of peace and reconciliation between nations, the Georgian president Saakashvili, the protégé of the White House, and the Russian bourgeoisie, were engaged in a grim massacre.
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