WHEN GEORGE BUSH declared aboard a US aircraft carrier on May 1 that the major armed conflict in Iraq was over, he intended to symbolize a military victory in Iraq and a political victory at home. But the supposed victory on both fronts has turned out to be a crisis instead.
The near daily killings of soldiers, prolonged combat duties, and the increasing resistance of Iraqis has caused mass resentment toward the occupation among the largely working class and disproportionately non-white American occupation forces.
Support for the war at home has also fallen as working people become more aware of the real motives behind the war and the huge financial toll of the occupation. The revelation that President Bush lied in his State of the Union speech about Iraq's supposed weapons of mass destruction was a turning point.
The costs of maintaining the occupation have reached $4 billion a month plus billions more for "reconstruction projects". The billions of dollars in contracts handed out to U.s. corporations like Haliburton, formerly headed by Vice-President Dick Cheney, show the real purpose of the war: to prop up the profits of US big business. Haliburton has already collected $1.7 billion in Iraq contracts.
The US economic crisis has seen wages slashed and millions thrown out of work as bosses scramble to protect .... their profits. Official figures show that 93,000 American jobs were lost in August alone, bringing the total number for the year to 473,000. The head of the trade union federation the AFLCIO noted on September 3 that "15 million US workers are either unemployed, too discouraged to job-hunt, or working part-time." Poverty On September 26 the Census Bureau reported that the number of Americans who live in poverty nas increased by 1.7 million over the past year, bringing the total number to 34.6 million. The poverty rate grew to 12.1 per cent and increased to 24.1 per cent for blacks. US rulers have also lashed out on public spending for social services -cutting billions from budgets across the country. Financing for education was cut so severely in the State of Oregon last year that schools were forced to shut down a month early. The effects of the occupation, the economic crisis, attacks on civil liber.•.. ties and other reactionary measures have caused a simmering discontent among working people against the Bush administration. A mix of labor bureaucrats, reformists, and well meaning anti-war activists have signed on to an electoral policy for the upcoming presidential race that is becoming known as: of saying vote for the Democratic Party, whoever happens to win the party's nomination. and author, released an open letter to candidate Wesley Clark, the retired general who presided over the savage NATO bombing s of Kosova and Serbia, encouraging him to run because Moore figures he has the best chance of defeating Bush.
Many supporters of the Green Party, including Moore, are calling on the Greens not to run a candidate out of fear of taking votes away from the Democrats.
Prominent Green Party leader Peter Camejo virtually endorsed Dennis .... South Africa's Thabo Mbeki ily" of military bases across the continent. encourage further investment.
Detrimental trade policies Anybody but Bush. This is another way *-Pemocratic pan Michael Moore, the noted film maker
Iraqi people. Ruthless the working class ... .. conditions. revenues. the WTO trade subsidies. $300 billion debt for African operations, said the US was trying to negotiate the long term use of a "famThis would include forward operating bases that could house up to a brigade of 5000 troops while others were lightly equipped, available in times of crisis to spe cial forces and marines. He predicted a big ger role for the navy in the Gulf of Guinea The increased US military presence in Africa is there to protect US interests and
On his trip Bush extolled the virtues of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which offers export opportunities Kucinich when he said the Greens should call an emergency conference to support the Democratic candidate should he win the nomination. Ralph Nader, who ran for the Greens in 2000, has not yet decided whether he will run again. However, it is clear that many potential supporters of the Greens have already committed to the
he Democratic Party represents th ruling class and its imperialist and anti- worker policies just as much as the Republicans. The Democrats, including all of the candidates for President, support the occupation of
abroad. While some Democrats have called for a UN occupation, which would be a joint imperialist occupation, all accept the premise that the United States has the right to occupy Iraq and exploit the
The Democrats are just as ruthless as Bush when it comes to attacking to African countries in return for opening their markets. It has brought very little benefit to a few countries. In the case of Lesotho, where clothing exports grew to $130 million from a zero base, almost seven in ten new enterprises are foreign owned sd Ack countries for the repayment of debt is with poor labour practices and working
The trade policies being pursued by the US are detrimental to Africa's interests. US agricultural subsidies undermine Africa's competitiveness, and cost the continent tens of billions of dollars each year in lost
Among the reasons for the breakdown of
talks at Cancun in September was the rejection by the US and the EU of the demands of the poorer coun tries for sharper cuts in their lavish farm
Bush's voice has been silent about Africa's debt crisis. Africa owes almost $300 billion to rich countries, the IMF and World Bank. Each year African governments are required to pay almost $15 billion in debt service to foreign creditors.
Debt repayment is a permanent mechanism for transferring wealth from the peoples of the poor countries to the dominant classes of the rich countries and the local elites. These debts drain money from essential public services such as health and education and combating AIDS.
The rich countries are involved in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, which barely reduces Africa's debt. What the US and the other rich coun He's bad alright but don't let him make you forget the Democrats are bad, too In California, the Democratic Governor cut $14 billion dollars from the state budget, targeting education, health care, childcare, and other programs that benefit working people. Bill Clinton cut more in social services than the three previous Republican administrations combined.
The election of a Democrat would not be a gain for the US working class or for the victims of U.S. imperialism What is needed in the United States is the building of a mass independent movement of workers and the oppressed to challenge the system that causes imperialism and financial ruin, regardless of which party is wielding the axe • David Bernt is a member of Socialist Action, US section in solidarity with the Fourth International. tries are not prepared to consider is the only real solution to Africa's debt, which is to cancel it. The poor countries of Africa have repaid the debt they owe the rich countries! fiany tries? The deffland from therefore illegitimate.
Amidst much fanfare Bush tried to ingra. tiate himself with Africa by announcing that the US would spend $15 billion over 5 years fighting AIDS in Africa.
None of this money is available now. Congress has to approve the release of money each year and Bush has requested only $450 million for 2004, a woefully inadequate sum. Bush has virtually sidestepped the Global Fund to fight AIDS, thus undermining the most important vehicle in the war on AIDS in Africa South Africa "the US's policeman"
In South Africa protests against Bush's visit to Africa were organised by the AntiWar Coalition, which is made up of over 300 Social Movements and other peoples organisations. In Pretoria there was a demonstration of 2000 people.
They carried posters with the caption. "George Bush-war criminal" and accusied Bush of coming to Africa to make "South Africa the US's policeman" on the continent. In Cape Town, 1500 protesters gathered to tell Parliament they were unhappy with the South African government opening its arms to Bush.
In Nigeria, protesters were arrested when they delivered a memorandum to the US embassy in Abuja.