George Washington was a terrorist. He led an armed struggle for national Independence against the legally established order, the British Empire. The long and bitter struggle resulted in the establishment of an Independent Republic, the United States of America. Like all struggles for National Independence, it brought together a wide range of social classes and a variety of ideologies. Some US army officers, for example, sought to convince Washington that he should become a King of the new state.
What emerged in the process of the constitutional formation of the new state, however, was a Democracy, which in the context of it time, was progressive. But the new state, which grew and expanded through land purchase, and war against the native Indians, Mexico and Spain, became, in the process, an Imperial state, occupying the Philippines and Cuba at start of the last century.
There were always those who opposed this imperial tradition and sought to develop their democracy. Lincoln opposed the war against Mexico, Connolly sought to help organise the American working class, Eleanor Roosevelt was an inspirational force in the establishment of the United Nations, and the US anti-Vietnam war movement helped to change history, defeating the Imperial tradition. The Democratic Party in the US Congress have elected as their leader a person who voted against Bush's war, a reflection of the rapidly growing number of Americans opposed to the oil war. It was these democratic values, which were, and remain, part of the nature of the United States, values that ensured that it never sunk to the levels of the opposing Empires, such as Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union. An indication of the growing anti war movement in the US can be seen on the www.unitedforpeace.org site.
Therefore, it is not an option to be anti-American, because very many Americans also seek a more democratic and just world. The division on this war is not between Americans and Irish. The division is between those who meet together in Seattle, Port Alegre or Florence and those that serve the interests of the rich and powerful, the major corporations, in the US, Ireland, or other parts of the globe, especially those in the arms industry, that seek and need enemies in order to boost their profits and their power. Bush is there to serve the interests of the Enron's of this world, the oil and arms industries that paid foe his election, not the interests of the American people. It is Bush and his corporate backers that want to own and control the $3 trillion worth of oil reserves in Iraq.
We recently had a referendum to endorse the Nice Treaty, a key aspect of which was to consolidate the militarisation of the EU by the establishment of a European Army, the European Rapid Reaction Force. The entire political elite, funded by the Irish corporate sector spent millions of euro to win. It was a taste of the emerging corporate power in Ireland that the American people are used to.
As President Chirac said at Nice on the 9/12/02 in reference to the ERRF;
"We have now set up the military means and the capabilities for the European Union to do what is necessary to defend its interests"
The European Rapid Reaction Force is a European Army to be used to impose the military will of the EU political elite. That this army is to be used in war is clear and obvious from the military equipment being allocated to it by the states of the EU. It has established strong institutional links with the US dominated nuclear-armed military alliance NATO. This link will become even stronger with the entry of the eastern European states into the EU as most of them are already in, or intend to join, NATO. The ERRF is an extension of NATO, it cannot function without NATO, and NATO is an extension of US Imperial power.The values as expounded by corporate America have strong and powerful support in this state and the other states of the EU. The political elite in Ireland is one of the most pro US corporate elites throughout the EU. In the last five budgets the richest 10% of the population received 25% of the budget giveaways and the poorest 20% received fewer than 5%. It will be the poor who will suffer most from the cutbacks. It will be the poor suffer most from this war.
The rich corporate sector organised in IBEC, and the mainstream media will continue to give massive support to the right wing FF/PD government that was just re-elected. A clear and obvious example of this right wing government's support for corporate America is that it is that it is allowing Shannon to be used as a US military base, and Kenmare Bay as a training area. Fianna Fail is not so much an Irish Republican Party as a branch of the US Republican Party.
Our elite, look to the corporate dominated US state for inspiration, so let us look at the future Ahern and Harney have in store for us.
- The US spends more on its armed forces than the rest of the world put together
- The military accounts for $343 billion of the total Federal budget of $1,900 billion in 2002
- Between 1995-99 the US accounted for 48% of all conventional arms exports, the nearest rivals were Russia at 13%, France 11% Britain 7%
- In February 2000, there were 2 million people in US prisons, which is 25% of the entire world's prison population. This in a state with only 4% of the world's population
- The US devoted just 0.1% of its GNP to overseas aid, the smallest % of the OECD states
- 40 million Americans are functionally illiterate
- 31 million Americans live in poverty
- Real wages in the US are now 12% less than what they were in 1973
- Of the tax cuts made by Bush 43% have gone to the richest 1% of Americans
- 38.7 million Americans, including 8.5 million children were without health care.
In order to sustain their control of the state, the US corporate elite give Republicans and Democrats party's massive amounts of money to ensure they do what they are told. There was hardly a single elected representative who had not got money from Enron. Since the corporate sector also controls the media, no opposition to their dominance is given a voice. Indeed it finds an echo in the solid united front of the Irish political/media support for the destruction of Irish Independence, democracy and neutrality during the Nice referenda.
The United States gave massive support to Muslim fundamentalists in Afghanistan in order to weaken the Soviet Union. Now these fundamentalists have turned and bit the hand that fed them. The happiest people are the corporate sector leaders, as they have a new enemy to replace the Soviet Union and "Communism" to justify their military build up. Iraq had nothing to do with the Sept. 11 attack, but those that did, do not have the resources to justify the massive military expenditure needed to provide the required profits, so states, such as Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Libya, Cuba, have to be defined as enemies to provide that justification.
What the Cold War provided was permanent war for a permanent arms industry and what the "war on terrorism" provides is a similar justification. A simpler solution, would be a massive boycott of Israel until it withdraws from East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza strip, to allow the establish a Palestinian state, with it's capital in Jerusalem.
A simpler solution would be for UN arms inspectors to be sent to Israel at the same time as they are sent to Iraq.
A simpler solution would be a real and sustained effort to have a more equitable distribution of the world's wealth.
For while Iraq is ruled by a dictator, that was not an issue while he fought Iran. States such as the US, France and Britain provided Iraq with massive military equipment during that war. Any states such as the US or Britain that provided massive amount of arms to Indonesia while their elite committed genocide in East Timor cannot be taken seriously when they say they support democracy is the reason they wish to attack Iraq.
The desire of the US oil companies to establish a pro US regime to give them control and ownership of the oil is a much more realistic possibility.
That is not to say the current regime should be allowed to have weapons of mass destruction. Iraq, like every other state, such as Israel, France, Russia, Britain, the US, India, etc should be visited by UN inspectors and their weapons of mass destruction destroyed.
If Iraq was the first state to have such weapons destroyed then the current situation in Iraq is a step in the right direction. If it is to indicate however, that only states loyal to corporate America can have such weapons, then it is a process towards permanent war rather than permanent peace. A permanent war, or Crusade, as Bush called it led by the rich white Christians, which they cannot possibly win.
There are alternatives to war as a method of solving problems, in particular the issue of Democracy, equitable distribution of wealth and the right of self determination of the Palestinian people, an absolutely core issue of the Middle East. They are issues that should be central to those of us who do not want permanent war. A war, which the rich corporate sector will lose, as there are just too many poor people in the world. The total population of the US and the EU only constitutes 12% of world's population. Bush cannot kill everybody.
Those of us that do not support the corporate elite need to build an alliance against the war not just in this country but also on a global basis.
We can take some initiatives in Ireland. PANA will be seeking support for a Nuclear Free Zone Bill and oppose the use of Shannon by the US.
The Irish elite will however continue to support the war, allows Shannon to be used and oppose the Nuclear Free Zone Bill. Their problem, however, is that the Irish people do not agree with them. The global corporate elite will continue to support the war. Their problem is that people all over the world do not support with them.
Fundamentalist religious beliefs, whether they are Muslim, catholic or protestant have nothing to offer. They are beliefs founded in the concept that all power derives from the Will of God, interpreted by particular people who have a direct line to God. To them, power does not derive from the people. If the poor are turning to the fundamentalists it is because those who claim to support democracy, such as Blair, Bush and Ahern have decided to back the corporates, to back the International arms industry.
The poor of the world see no difference between those who call themselves democratic socialists, liberals or conservatives. To the poor, they are all the parties of the rich.
To the poor, the only alternative on offer is that of fundamentalist religion, and because most of the rich are nominally Christian not fundamentalists.
It is the job of those of us that support democracy, equality and justice to show that there is an alternative to corporate power. If we fail, then we all lose. If we are successful, then there is a future for us all.
On Saturday 15th of February there will be an International Day of Protest in capital cities throughout the world. In Dublin, the demonstration will assemble in Parnell Square at 2.00pm. It provides the opportunity for people throughout Ireland to say NO to WAR on IRAQ. We need to organize to ensure that as many people as possible turn out and make the call for peace.
Roger Cole
Chair
Peace & Neutrality Alliance.
(2003/01/23)
