Preparing For War: US Faces Isolation

Prakash Karat

AS America inexorably prepares for a war against Iraq, it is increasingly getting isolated from the rest of the world. Colin Powell, the US secretary of state, presented before the UN Security Council what was supposed to be clinching evidence for the war against Iraq. The February 5 speech of Powell did nothing of that sort. Various conspiracies by the Iraqi regime were hinted at but there was no evidence. Unfounded allegations were made about mobile biological weapons laboratories being moved around the country to avoid detection, a fact contradicted by the chief UN weapons inspector just a day before his speech. Addressing journalists on February 4 at the United Nations, Hans Blix stated that there was no evidence of such mobile labs. As for Powell’s second and more outrageous lie that Iraq has links with terrorists of the Al Qaeda, the CIA and other intelligence agencies of the West have consistently been reporting that there is no such evidence. The speech, with its audio-visual display drew an appropriate comment from Iraq’s spokesman that it was a “typical American show complete with stunts and special effects.”

Colin Powell’s speech seemed to be addressed more to convince Americans within the United States than the people of the world. Except for the Britain, all the other three permanent members of the Security Council (France, Russia and China) immediately responded by calling for more time for weapons inspections and continuing for a peaceful solution. Germany, which is currently the president of the Security Council, echoed the same view.

Two major European allies of the United States, France and Germany are united in their opposition to the war. The recent meeting between President Chirac and Chancellor Schroeder on January 22 saw the reiteration of both these major European powers against a military attack on Iraq. On the diplomatic front, the United States is faced with increasing isolation.  President Putin’s visit to France led to a joint declaration by France and Russia which, along with Germany, calls for giving more time for the inspection team in Iraq to complete the process and for avoiding war. This stand has been endorsed by China. President Jiang Zemin telephoned President Chirac to convey his support for the stand.

The next round of the struggle will shift back to the Security Council. On February 14, the next report of the weapons inspectors will be due. The visit of Hans Blix and ElBaradei to Baghdad has resulted in the Iraqis agreeing for reconnaissance flights and more access to Iraqi scientists. After the report was presented, France and Germany have prepared a draft resolution, which calls for extending the time for inspections, sending in more weapons inspectors alongwith UN peacekeepers and more reconnaissance flights. The United States has angrily rejected this draft. In its place, the US and Britain will propose a resolution which denounces Iraq for material breach of the UN resolutions. If adopted, this could then be used as the basis for a military attack. A vote on this would be defeated in the Security Council, given the firm opposition of the three permanent members and Germany. As it stands, the support for extension of the inspection process has the support of 11 of the 15 Security Council members.

Another setback for the United States was at the NATO. A resolution approving NATO extending military support to Turkey in the event of a war with Iraq was vetoed by France, Germany and Belgium. The British prime minister, Tony Blair, now universally termed the “poodle” of the Americans, is facing rough weather. There is a growing demand by the Labour MPs that the decision to go to war be put to vote in parliament.

The United States will try to manoeuvre to get some resolutions adopted in the UN, which can be taken as an instrument for military action. Following which, Bush has made it clear that he would not accept more time for inspections. In his words “the game is over.”

The fissures in the NATO and between the US and the major countries of European Union highlight the sharp contradictions between the imperialist centres themselves. Unlike the time of the Vietnam war, even before war has begun in Iraq, the divisions have emerged. Underlying this conflict, is the fear of the Europeans that America’s control over Iraq’s oil resources will further strengthen US dominance and marginalise and weaken the status and influence of Europe.

In the meantime, the military machine is being mobilised fully in the Gulf region. More than one hundred thousand US troops have already reached the area. The 101 airborne division, which is the largest air assault unit of the US, has been ordered to dispatch 15000 troops and 300 combat helicopters to the Gulf. By the end of February, two hundred thousand troops would be in place. Already 1.5 billion dollars have been spent by the United States for this mobilisation.

In its psychological warfare against Iraq, the Pentagon is continuously briefing the media about the destruction which will be wrought in the country. In a report in the New York Times, sourced from the Pentagon, it is stated that in the first 48 hours of the attack, 3000 bombs and missiles would rain down on Baghdad. 300 to 400 Tomahawk cruise missiles will be unleashed on Iraq, more than the number that were launched during the entire 40 days of the first Gulf war in 1991.  It is obscene for Colin Powell to be talking about Iraq’s non-existent weapons of mass destruction when the Pentagon is eagerly anticipating the mass slaughter of the Iraqi people.

February 15 will see worldwide protests against the diabolical war plans of the United States. In India, a section of the RSS-BJP combine and the media are seeking to justify their support for the war. It is argued by the likes of Togadia that America’s war should be supported as it is against a Muslim country. A more sophisticated version of justifying America’s aggression has been trotted by the editor of The Indian Express, Shekhar Gupta, who says India’s interests lie in the United States reordering the Arab world by eliminating radical Islam. Such apologists for America display the worst form of intellectual dishonesty. Iraq is one of the few countries in the Arab world which has been consistently secular and has given no space for fundamentalism to flourish. Destruction of Iraq and Baghdad will pave the way for the rise of virulent forms of fundamentalism and terrorism. It is the  United States which has patronised the states in the Arab world which foster fundamentalism, such as Saudi Arabia.

Public sentiment in India is steadily and increasingly turning against America’s aggressive move to invade and occupy Iraq. More and more sections of people are joining the protest movement against the war. This is reflected by the fact that even a party like the BJP, which is closest to the United States, has to speak out against this criminal war.