----- Original Message -----
From: David Johnson
Sent: Sunday, April 16, 2006 7:18 PM
Subject: Re: [anti-cap-Discussion] Splits among the bourgeois
The other side of the immigration issue coin Richard is that this issue is also splitting the left.
See the other post I made.
Why is it that all of these business interests, from the Chamber of Commerce, to the Landscaping and agricultural industry are advocating the same thing that liberals and many leftists are ( ie. open borders , and no fines on employers ) ?
Meanwhile, indigenous American workers are on the side-lines wondering who to allign with. The feeling among many such workers is that the liberals and the democratic party abandoned and sold them out on NAFTA. Now they are perceiving ( rightly or wrongly ) that the left ( who were just begining to make inroads with traditional workers ) are going to do to them what the liberals did to them in the 1990's.
How do we unite ALL of the vicitims of capitalism ( indigenous and undocumented ), that is the perplexing question ?
----- Original Message -----
From: Richard Mellor
Sent: Sunday, April 16, 2006 6:17 PM
Subject: [anti-cap-Discussion] Splits among the bourgeois
The magnificent movement of the undocumented and documented workers and supporters in the US has split the US government and the Republican Party. US capitalism is trying to avoid getting drawn into this conflict and hope that it is not a serious split and that their supply of cheap and insecure labor will continue to be available to it.
But this is not the only issue that is splitting the US ruling elites. The other issue is Iran. The US government says it will never accept a nuclear Iran but it also refuses to offer Iran an agreement that it will not attack it and that it will facilitate trade with Iran in high technology goods. The Iranian government is refusing to back down and moving to process uranium even though it says this is for peaceful means. It also says that it will resist all US pressure and it is looking to its increased links with China and Russia as well as the potential anti US explosion that would develop in the Muslim world if were invaded.
A very serious situation is developing. US war plans include mass bombing of Iran including the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons. Bush and his regime are said to believe that no future President, Democrat or |Republican will have the courage to take the necessary action so therefore it must act. Bush is also said to see dealing with Iran as his real legacy and the main step (after he hopes to win in Iraq) to controlling the oil in the Middle East.
These war plans and talk of tactical nuclear weapons are at an operational stage according to spokesmen close to the Pentagon. They are also increasingly splitting sections of the top military leadership away from the Bush regime with general after general coming out against the plans and coming out and calling for the resignation of Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Defense. This is the worst split between the government and the Pentagon since the Vietnam War.
At the same time the Iraq war gets worse and worse with all out civil war a real possibility. An attack on Iran would be likely to throw the majority Shia sector which is the main ally of the US in Iraq up to now over to the side of Iran. This would worsen the situation for the US in Iraq. But not only that; the entire 1.2 billion population of the Muslim world would explode especially if nuclear weapons were used. Image the affect of the sight of a mushroom cloud rising over Iran.
It is very clear that it would be a major error for US Imperialism to invade Iran and especially to use nuclear weapons. The outspoken opposition of the generals is a reflection of this. But this does not mean that this will not happen. There is also the issue of Israel. If Israel thought that Iran was near to getting nuclear weapons it would bomb Iran. This would be even more inflammatory throughout the Arab world especially but also the entire Muslim world. The reason for the relative quiet of Israel so far is that it is leaving the work to the US but also because it believes that Iran is up to ten years away from getting a nuclear bomb and so it has plenty of time to take action if it decides to do so.
But this is not the only issue that is splitting the US ruling elites. The other issue is Iran. The US government says it will never accept a nuclear Iran but it also refuses to offer Iran an agreement that it will not attack it and that it will facilitate trade with Iran in high technology goods. The Iranian government is refusing to back down and moving to process uranium even though it says this is for peaceful means. It also says that it will resist all US pressure and it is looking to its increased links with China and Russia as well as the potential anti US explosion that would develop in the Muslim world if were invaded.
A very serious situation is developing. US war plans include mass bombing of Iran including the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons. Bush and his regime are said to believe that no future President, Democrat or |Republican will have the courage to take the necessary action so therefore it must act. Bush is also said to see dealing with Iran as his real legacy and the main step (after he hopes to win in Iraq) to controlling the oil in the Middle East.
These war plans and talk of tactical nuclear weapons are at an operational stage according to spokesmen close to the Pentagon. They are also increasingly splitting sections of the top military leadership away from the Bush regime with general after general coming out against the plans and coming out and calling for the resignation of Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Defense. This is the worst split between the government and the Pentagon since the Vietnam War.
At the same time the Iraq war gets worse and worse with all out civil war a real possibility. An attack on Iran would be likely to throw the majority Shia sector which is the main ally of the US in Iraq up to now over to the side of Iran. This would worsen the situation for the US in Iraq. But not only that; the entire 1.2 billion population of the Muslim world would explode especially if nuclear weapons were used. Image the affect of the sight of a mushroom cloud rising over Iran.
It is very clear that it would be a major error for US Imperialism to invade Iran and especially to use nuclear weapons. The outspoken opposition of the generals is a reflection of this. But this does not mean that this will not happen. There is also the issue of Israel. If Israel thought that Iran was near to getting nuclear weapons it would bomb Iran. This would be even more inflammatory throughout the Arab world especially but also the entire Muslim world. The reason for the relative quiet of Israel so far is that it is leaving the work to the US but also because it believes that Iran is up to ten years away from getting a nuclear bomb and so it has plenty of time to take action if it decides to do so.
The situation with Iran and the focus of the Bush government upon it must be kept continually under review. If the US attacks and especially if it uses nuclear weapons this will trigger off an anti and US war movement greater than at any time since the Vietnam War. Such a movement will also convulse the US. Millions of new people would step forward into activity. In this circumstance, revolutionary socialists would have to try and give as much leadership to this movement as possible, opposing the attack on Iran, explaining the forces at work, and trying at all times to pose the building of an international working class movement to build an international socialist federation as the alternative.
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There are no absolute rules of conduct, either in peace or war. Everything depends on circumstances.
Trotsky
Richard Mellor
Retired member, AFSCME Local 444
Oakland CA
Oakland CA
Check out our website: http://www.laborsmilitantvoice.com
http://www.bringdownbush.org
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