Volume 3, No. 1, January 2002

— Kamlesh
 

An imperialist imposed puppet government in Afghanistan; Bush’s call for attacks on Iraq and other countries, once Afghanistan is "mopped up"; Israel’s declaration of war on the Palestinians; and the Indian ruler’s systematic steps to tie India to the chariot wheels of America’s war machine — are all aspects of an emerging dangerous war scenario.

The entire world is being driven and pushed by the US and its lackeys into a war-mode. This entails fascism at home and war abroad. Faced with a severe recession, the US (and other imperialists) seeks further domination and loot to buffer their crisis. This, if possible, is achieved by arm-twisting, as was witnessed at the recent WTO meet at Doha; or else it is achieved by the sword. Fascist repression and hysteria in their own country is adopted to curb the growing unrest of the masses faced with galloping unemployment and cuts in social security.

The savagery of the war in Afghanistan is an indication of the ruthlessness of the coming wars being launched by the US and their accomplices. It is not just the Taliban that took Afghanistan back to the medieval period; the ultra-modern US military has bombed the country back to the dark ages.

The Afghan Entanglement

It is the war of cowards fought from the safety of the skies. It is the pattern now, for even close combat — massive bombing of front-line positions, with the Northern Alliance (NA) moving in for mopping up operations. If they face the smallest resistance, the NA retreat to a safe distance, to allow another dose of carpet-bombing, before the ‘heroic’ fighters of the NA march in ‘victorious’.

And if this is a "clash of civilizations" as the West would have us believe, the victorious civilisers have indulged if looting, raping and the massacre of pro-Taliban civilians. They have mutilated and butchered thousands of prisoners of war. The most horrifying was the massacre of prisoners from Kunduz, stationed at Mazar-e-Sharif, in which 600 were butchered in cold blood, by US warplanes and NA gangsters. Many bodies were found with their hands tied. A senior Pashtun commander boasted of executing 160 captured soldiers.

And as for their civilized western counterparts, they have been raining bombs onto Afghanistan to kill every living creature that is not on the side of the NA. No distinction is made between military and civilian targets. Kandahar has witnessed one-and-a-half months of incessant bombing. And, for the final battle of Kandahar they brought in the devastating "Daisy Cutter" — referred to as a mini-nuclear bomb. This produces a blast like a small nuclear bomb and devastates an area of 550 metres. As we go to the press, there continue to be daily reports of bombing in South Afghanistan, particularly around Kandahar. But the extent of the damage is blacked out.

Now with Taliban press releases banned, with the bombing of the Al Jazira transmitting unit in Kabul and an American media that has far outstripped Goebbells in its vile propaganda, truth is one of the biggest casualties of the Afghan war. Now, all that is dished out on CNN, BBC, etc. is how Afghans are seeing movies and playing sports or how women have begun to study once again. Of course, not a word is mentioned of the plight of women in Saudi Arabia, a US ally. Starvation of about seven million people are used only as a tool to allow western intervention in Afghanistan, under the guise of providing aid. So aid institutions refuse to enter the country until a ‘suitable’ government is installed, and until the NA is forced to accept foreign peacekeeping troops.

But, the so-called interim government set up at Bonn at UN (i.e. US) behest, with a puppet king’s representative as its head, is unlikely to see much stability. With a history of ruthless battles for the spoils of office, on the very next day after the agreement some top commanders openly voiced their discontent. Besides, with Russia’s chief representative, Rabbani, sidelined, and with numerous foreign powers, including India, seeking a finger in the Afghan pie, the factors for further destabilization are inherent in the very mode of formation of the government. In addition, there is no agreement amongst the coalition partners regarding the nature of the peacekeeping force and as to which countries will be involved in the process. Russia and Rabbani have opposed any foreign troops being stationed in Afghanistan. Finally, even when the Taliban is defeated, there is a strong likelihood that the masses will reorganize into a guerrilla force creating terror to the puppet government and the occupying forces.

Bush War & Coalition Cracks

The Bush administration is openly talking of taking the war against ‘terrorism’ to other countries. They talk of going after the Al Qaeda network, which they claim exists in 50 to 60 countries, and attacking the so-called rogue states, for harbouring terrorists. They openly talk of, not only military assistance to crush people’s movements in various countries, but also demand to set up American bases and station their troops in these countries.

In late November, US officials identified Iraq and five other countries as supposedly having germ warfare programmes, including Sudan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. First they tried to link Iraq to the Sept.11 attack. When that failed they tried to link it to the anthrax scare. When that too was disproved, Bush has reverted to the old US theme: allow weapon’s inspectors or face military attack. It is reported that the CIA has a secret plan to topple Saddam Hussein, with armed support being given to Iraqi opposition forces, including those based outside the country.

The US has already drawn up plans to play a new military role in S.E.Asia, with the Philippines as the launching pad. Bush directly offered to station troops in the Philippines to counter the Islamic militants (and probably the Maoists). The Philippine’s president, Arroyo, was one of the first to give support to the US after the Sept.11 attack and has requested for assistance to fight the ‘terrorists’ in her country. The Philippines was already providing the US with intelligence information and providing over flight facilities. The US has promised the Philippines $100 million for 2001-02, "to enhance its military and security capabilities".

Bush made a similar offer to the 10-member ASEAN countries. He specifically noted with appreciation, Philippines offer for logistical and other support to the ‘anti-terrorist coalition’.

What is more, the Bush administration has given full backing to Israel’s war on Palestine and the bombing of the Palestinian Authority Headquarters. After the three suicide bomb attacks on Dec.2 in Haifa and the heart of Jerusalem, which claimed the largest number of Israelis since the beginning of the Intefada — killing about 45 and injuring over 150 — Israel declared all-out war on Palestine, unless Yasser Arafat took severe actions against Hamas, which claimed responsibility. The Israel/US aim in setting up the PA is to use Palestinians to kill Palestinians with Arafat as their main policeman. The bomb attacks are to push him to do that job. Israel’s indiscriminate attacks on the PA’s headquarters, its security infrastructure and sole airstrip, numerous civilian installations, as well as several villages had the full backing of the US. Such aggressive actions by Israel, will not only push the Palestinians to greater resistance, but can act to destabalise the Arab countries which will be forced by mass discontent to take stronger anti-Israeli stands. So also Europe, including Britain, which is keen on increasing its influence in the Middle East, prefers a peaceful settlement through the declaration of a separate Palestine State.

In addition, not only the EU but also Britain, which till recently was involved, with the US, in the bombing of that country, has raised doubts about Bush’s threats on Iraq. The German Chancellor, Schroeder and the French President Chirac warned that an attack on Iraq would have serious consequences for the coalition. The British rulers are divided, with one section strongly opposing such an attack, and another voicing US opinion. Besides, the Europeans feel that the US has consciously spurned their offer for troops in Afghanistan. Britain, France, Germany and Italy have offered their troops for Afghanistan, but only a handful have seen action. The US wants to be the sole player in a post-Taliban Afghanistan, and is not prepared to share the cake with the other imperialist vultures.

Russia too has been playing a love-hate game with the US. While supporting the US war against terrorism and Afghanistan, it seeks to maintain a place in the Central Asian pie. But, by the first week of December, Kyrgystan was the fifth CIS country to offer bases to US warplanes. The arrangements for this was made even though the war in Afghanistan was supposelly over. Colin Powel, Rumsford and other top US officials have been making regular tours of the CIS countries. In fact, two days after the gigantic $2.5 billion oil pipeline from Kazakhstan, was innaugurated. Kazakhstan is also a major base for US military planes and has a strategic partnership with the US. Also Russia’s opposition to foreign troops in Afghanistan has been ignored for the present, and their main protégé, Rabbani, removed from the post of heading the government. Putin has, of late, been making strong overtures to NATO. The NATO secretary general did not rule out giving Moscow partial veto power in return for cooperation on terrorism. A new NATO-Russia Council has just been formed at the Brussels meeting.

In this new war scenario hectic diplomatic activity can be seen around the world, with contention amongst the major powers growing. Particularly Europe seeks to use anti-American sentiments to its advantage.

New Military Alignments in India

In the last month there have been a stream of US diplomats and top military personnel to India to pursue the proposed military alliance between the two countries. Together with this, Israel has been playing a growing role in the Indian army.

India and Israel have recently developed an extraordinarily close strategic partnership. Israel has become the second largest weapons supplier (after Russia), selling military technology alone worth $2 billion (Rs.10, 000 crores) this year. It now coordinates political strategy and intelligence with India "sharing common interests against adversaries, Pakistan and Islamic terrorism". In addition, three Israeli firms are currently testing ground sensors along Kashmir’s LoC and multi-sensor perimeter border fencing for the Jammu border. Israel is also finalizing deals for protective body armour and mine resistant vehicles. Israeli defence companies, aided by officials of SIBAT (foreign defence assistance and defence export organization) have appointed scores of agents in India, that liaison with undercover Mossad officials stationed at the Israeli embassy at Delhi.

In the third week of November a 7-delegation team, headed by the Director General of the Israeli Defence Ministry, paid a high-level two-day visit to India. They decided not to publicise the visit. At the meeting between the two defence secretaries, they agreed that India would get training in counter-terrorism, night warfare and surveillance. Both considered integrating a common anti-ballistic missile system. India also decided to buy Barak missiles for the Indian Navy.

With the US the evolving military alliance has been even deeper, the tone for which was set at the Bush-Vajpayee summit in Washington. At this meeting the Bush administration committed a small amount to transfer appropriate sensors, unmanned aerial vehicles and other technical equipment for counter-insurgency operations. At this meeting Vajpayee virtually fell at the feet of Bush, with the government claiming the summit to be the "most substantive and consequential in the history of Indo-US relations".

Though the government has denied the India Today report of a secret agreement to build a strategic alliance with the US military, all indications seem to be developing along those lines. Within a fortnight there were to high-level visits of the US military to India.

In end November, the commander in chief of the US Pacific Command, Admiral Dennis Blair, came on a three-day visit to India, when he met the three chiefs of staff, the defence secretary, Advani, Fernandes, Jaswant Singh, Brijesh Mishra and a host of other top officials. The visit coincided with the mysterious straying of a US helicopter over the Kalpakkam nuclear plant near Chennai without permission from India. Though it was a clear case of the infringement of the country’s air space, both Blair and Fernandes shamelessly denied any wrong. This visit laid the ground for the third meeting of the Defence Planning Group (DPG), which was to begin from Dec. 4. The DGP meeting saw a qualitative leap in the level of military collaboration between the two countries.

This two-day meeting discussed the full spectrum of defence cooperation, including education, training, exercises, technology transfers and arms sales. Led by, Under Secretary of Defence for Policy, Douglas Feith, the meeting agreed on widespread "common interests". This included, not only political interests in the Indian Ocean and the Asia-Pacific region, not only in the sphere of combating ‘terrorism’, but also in the co-opting of India into the ‘Missile Defence System’ (NMD). India, after denying its acceptance of the NMD, has become one of the first countries to agree to it. The joint statement issued, spoke of the "contribution of missile defences in enhancing strategic stability and discouraging proliferation of ballistic missiles with weapons of mass destruction". Feith commented, "India’s security concerns harmonise with the US on Missile Defence".

The two sides also agreed for "joint military training and exercises to deal with terrorism". They agreed to step up Indo-US defence ties in three spheres — defence trade and technology transfer, military-to-military cooperation, and institutional structures to promote dialogue on strategic assessments and doctrines. The US plans to sell India gun-locating radars, engines and systems for light combat aircraft, radars, multi-mission maritime aircraft, components for jet trainers and high performance jet engines.

The meeting was immediately followed by the first ever visit of an American aircraft carrier to an Indian port. The USS Carl Vinson, which has been in the Arabian Sea taking part in military operations against Afghanistan, docked at the Mumbai port. This was immediately followed up by joint naval exercises in the Arabian Sea, involving Indian submarines and American maritime reconnaissance aircraft.

Yet, this was not all. Simultaneous to the DPG meeting, the US’s State Department’s coordinator on Afghanistan, Richard Haass, came on a three-day visit to India. He described Indo-US cooperation on Afghanistan as "extraordinary". He too met a large number of Central ministers and top officials and left the country stating there was total agreement between the two countries in their approach to Afghanistan.

The world is inching towards great turmoil. Wars, fascist terror and unbelievable impoverisation are spreading from country to country. The deepening recession is only aggravating conditions further.

It is now official — both the US and Japan are in recession. The National Bureau of Economic Research announced that the American economy has been in recession since March 2001. The bankruptcy of Enron is the largest in corporate history. The OECD expects the US economy to contract by 0.1% in the second half of this year. Japan’s economy is expected to contract by as much as 2.2% this year. In Japan unemployment and bankruptcies are at their highest since World War II. East Asian economies have been shrinking in the second half of the year. Mexico and Canada followed the US into recession, and their woes have spread to Brazil and other countries of Latin America. Germany’s economic growth slipped into the negative in the third quarter, and could drag most of Europe into negative growth. The countries that most adopted the neo-liberal prescription of the West are in the worst crisis — Singapore, Taiwan, Mexico, Turkey and Argentina, the model economies of the late 1990s, are now experiencing deep recession.

In this situation of economic crisis, it is the US superpower, the number one enemy of the world people, which is the most aggressive and dangerous force in the world. Utilizing their economic wealth and their giant military might they are riding roughshod over the peoples of the world, including the American people. The Indian rulers, having jumped on to the US bandwagon, are fast becoming the vicious claw of US policy in this region. The blood soaked claws of this monster will continue to crush the people of India and South Asia with ever increasing brutality, to make the region a playground for US imperialist economic, political and military interests. Though other imperialists contend for a share of the South Asian cake, the US has a head start.

The people of the country must see through these diabolical schemes of the Indian ruling classes, and oppose every step of its capitulation to the imperialists, whether it is economic, or political or military. Capitulation at the Doha WTO meeting, where the imperialists ganged up against the third world. is as despicable as the present capitulation in the military sphere. Silence today will mean further disaster tomorrow. Let all patriotic and anti-imperialist forces unite to smash the growing axis between India and the US/Israel terror-combine.

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