EDITORIAL

Growing Worldwide Opposition to US Imperialism

MARCH 20th marks the third anniversary of the imperialist military occupation of Iraq. On this day, millions of people across the globe marched in protest against US president, George Bush, and US imperialism’s  policies. 

Imperialism’s drummer boys and Bush’s cheer leaders in India will do well to look at the worldwide growing protests. They were in the forefront of attacks against the Left for organising protests during president Bush’s recent visit to our country.  We repeat: the only place where Bush will not be greeted by protests is outer space. 

On April 9, 2003, Bush dramatically declared that  the war had been won and his mission accomplished. More than 95 per cent  of the nearly 2500 US soldiers killed and nearly 20,000 injured have occurred since Bush’s declaration of victory.  Nearly two lakh US-led troops (USA alone  having 162,000) are in military action  unable to deal with the resistance.  According to Pentagon’s statistics released in January, the resistance mounted 34,131 attacks in 2005  compared to 26,496 in 2004.  As far as normal life in Iraq is concerned, it is in complete shambles.  Over 50 per cent of the people are unemployed.  Basic civic amenities like water supply, electricity, sanitation  are woefully inadequate.  Malnutrition is on the rise  and misery lurks  the majority of the population. 

US imperialism continues to brazen out growing worldwide opposition to the war and its own lies (Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction and is linked with Al Quaeda) which, in the first place, were used to justify US military attacks and occupation.  Bush releasing the  National Security Strategy (NSS) of the USA on March 16, 2006 had the temerity  to say, “We are fighting alongside Iraqis to secure a united, stable,  and democratic Iraq – a new ally  in the war on terror, in the heart of the Middle East”. 

The NSS  is the blueprint to extend US hegemonic designs to larger areas of the world. Strengthening the doctrines of regime change and pre-emptive attack, this NSS details the new targets of Iran, Cuba, Syria, North Korea etc.  The same countries that Bush speaking in the backdrop of Purana Qila  sought India’s support for a `regime change’. 

Bush releasing the NSS states: “We choose to deal with challenges now rather than  leaving them for future generations. We fight our enemies abroad instead of  waiting for them to arrive in our country.  We seek to shape the world, not merely be shaped by it; to influence events for the better instead of being at their mercy.” 

This `new world order’ that US imperialism is seeking to create today is nothing but an expression  of its `unipolar’ world.   Following the end of the Cold War bipolarity, the natural course of developments in international relations ought to have been the movement towards multipolarity.  This natural and by far the more democratic world order is sought to be   sabotaged and circumvented by the imposition of a unipolarity in the world under USA’s tutelage.  This, it seeks to do through its 702 military installations throughout the world in 132 countries, it possesses nearly 10,000 active and operational nuclear warheads.  2,000 of these  are on ‘hair trigger’ alert.  That the USA  is on a permanent military footing is reconfirmed by president Bush when he begins his speech declaring the NSS by stating “America is at war”. 

It is this renewed aggressiveness by president Bush, when his internal popularity ratings have dipped to 29 per cent, that is the major source of instability and insecurity  in the world today. 

All those who cherish their freedom, liberty and independence  will naturally  protest  against such policies. Only those  who refuse to see this unfolding reality of US hegemonism  trampling upon the rights of nations and peoples of the world can  welcome and hail George Bush.

The people of India, however, join their brethren the world over who are rising in larger and bigger protests against US imperialism.