Re: [A-List] Empire

[Waistline2@xxxxxxx]

RALLY, COMRADES!: THE NEW AMERICAN EMPIRE

By Nelson Peery

The American people are awakening from their political slumber.
The deepening economic crisis and the growing threat of world war
is cracking the ice and we again see the possibility of widespread
revolutionary work amongst the masses. The tactical contradiction
re-surfaces: Should the revolutionaries simply "fan the flames of
social discontent?" Or should they adhere to a "line of march?"

Too often, "fanning the flames" means to zero in on the social or
political targets that are visible and easily understood by the
masses. While it is easy to mobilize large numbers with such
agitation, they conclude that the problem is with a few
individuals rather than with a system. For example, any
examination will show that the political tendencies followed by
the government today are historical and did not originate with
George W. Bush.

At the same time, it is clear that the character of the people
leading the administration is such that they could not pass up the
opportunity to transform the plan for American world hegemony over
globalization into a plan for Empire. Modern Empire is not
concerned with direct colonies for primary exploitation. Its goal
is undisputed world domination. While world hegemony would rest on
mutually beneficial alliances with other countries, the imperial
state stands alone and above all.

The tendency toward Empire has risen and retreated over the past
30 years. Not only is the political situation favorable to those
espousing Empire, the leading personalities of the government are
committed to it. It is important to understand that they are not a
gang of opportunists. They are ideologues who somehow believe they
are on a divine mission of Empire. Bush, a determined born again
Christian, is strengthened by a circle of Christian
fundamentalists and Zionists who in turn are strengthened by a
whole body of pro-fascist think tanks, a super-rich gang of
lobbyists and the reactionary wing of the Southern Christian
church. A major aspect of this belief is that Greater Israel must
become a reality by taking over all of Palestine and reducing the
Arab states to the level of vassals. Not only has preparation for
and the onslaught of war provided a cover for the slaughter of
hundreds of Palestinians, but Israel's "protective fence" has been
moved another 50 miles into Palestinian land with the purpose of
moving in another 40,000 Israeli settlers.

All this is taking place within the context of globalization. We
would be wrong if we didn't see that globalization is absolutely
tied to the new economy and the new economy cannot exist without
it. The economic motion is toward globalization, but the political
motion today is toward Empire. The two things are not
incompatible. Globalization can take place under a political
system of allies and equal states or it can take place under
vassal states, such as with Empire. We should not think
categorically, saying either globalization or national interests
or Empire. These things are all dialectically intertwined into one
thing. It's impossible to pull out just one thread; they are
entangled and interdependent upon one another. We have to
visualize all these tendencies as part of the same process, all
existing alongside, clashing, intertwining and developing with one
another.

As an individual, President Bill Clinton visualized an America as
top dog in the world, but not Empire. He saw the harmful economic
consequences of that path. But the drive toward Empire is always
there. In that sense, it's objective. With the destruction of the
Soviet Union, the main blocks to American Empire were removed and
these forces were released. It might not have happened today, or
around Iraq. It might have been another 10 years of slowly
loosening ties and slowly developing competition between the
different areas of the world. Bush, however, has accelerated
everything. If he's crazy, he's crazy along the line of march of
history.

The move toward Empire demands that the U.S. deals with two major
sources of resistance: China and the European Union (EU). On the
one hand, China is rising like a giant with 7-8 percent per year
economic growth and they are talking about increasing their
workforce by a billion people in the next 10 years. They have to
have a reliable source of energy for their industrial development.
To achieve this, China has always courted the Muslim areas and
population. Western China is part of the Middle East. China as a
nation has strong ties to this area, not only in religion but in
trade and culture. The U.S. has to stop China. The other source of
resistance is the rise of the EU. The U.S. recognizes that if the
EU should really get together, it can out-produce and out-fight
the U.S. Yet Europe has no oil. To strangle Europe and China, Bush
has to get hold of the oil resources.

The Bush gang thinks if they can gain control of Saudi oil and
Iraqi oil -- which represent two-thirds of the world's oil
resources -- they will have effective control over the rate of
development of China and Europe. This is the reason Bush is taking
the militant stand of "We fought this war and we're going to
rebuild Iraq." Rebuilding Iraq means controlling their oil and
putting the U.S. in the position to control everyone else's.

Under the tremendous pressure this generates in Europe, we're
beginning to see fissures and divisions between the U.S. and Great
Britain.

Of course the British agree with the U.S., but Europe is much more
a market for Britain than the U.S. The U.S. is a great source of
loans and investment, but Great Britain can't do anything without
the European market.

The other piece is that oil reserves equal to Saudi Arabia and
Iraq are in the Caspian Basin. During the Soviet Union era, large
historically evolved groups were treated as nations and small
groups of people who spoke a separate language or had a separate
history were designated autonomous areas. Most of the Soviet
investment went into building up these backward, mostly Muslim
nations and areas rather than Russia proper. The result is well-
educated and well-organized republics such as Uzbekistan,
Turkmenistan, Georgia and Azerbaijan among others. These countries
are sitting on top of or in close proximity to Caspian Basin oil.

When the U.S. talks in terms of blocking the oil in the Middle
East, immediately France, China and Germany think in terms of the
Caspian Basin. Russia has been saying some very harsh things about
the U.S. Vladimir Putin is not a lackey of the U.S. He's a lackey
of the Russian bourgeoisie. Right now the Russian bourgeoisie is
in trouble. They've lost billions of dollars in oil and industrial
contracts with Iraq. Iraq doesn't border the old Soviet Union, but
Iran does and Iran is right next to Iraq. The Russians have
influence in this area as well as Central Asia and have traded
there over the last thousand years. The U.S. is a newcomer.

After the overthrow of the Soviet Union, the United States moved
to establish its strength in the Caspian area. They practically
bought up Georgia, a key Caspian country. Tiblis is the main oil
exporting area for Russia, but it's in Georgia. The head of the
Georgian government is bitterly anti-Russian and very pro-U.S. The
whole war in Chechnya is nothing more than a reflection of this.
The Russians are rapidly trying to resolve this problem. This is
the meaning of the Chechnya struggle. The Russians still have to
deal with the problem of the U.S.-influenced governments of
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, among others in that
area. We should not forget also that Afghanistan borders on all
this area too and the U.S. has a large number of troops stationed
there.

Just as the U.S. knows how to conduct coups around the world
whenever they need to, the Russians know how to conduct coups when
they need to as well. When bad goes to worse they'll do whatever
is necessary because they are fighting for their national
existence. We should look to see a wave of coups and civil wars
around the Caspian area.

The question is will the U.S. allow the overthrow of these pro-
American governments, and the installation of pro-Russian
governments, allowing the balance of oil to shift toward China,
Russia, Germany and France? This would probably means war. Proxy
war to begin with, but eventually war between the big nations.
Will this happen overnight? No. We're talking in terms of a long
period of time.

A very serious situation is developing around the Middle East,
Central Asia and the Caspian Basin area. It is the main aspect of
international motion. The reality is that irreversible
polarization has begun. By polarization we mean the breaking of
the monolithic character of a process, and struggle becoming the
dominant relationship.

Ever since the end of WWII, there have been all kinds of
contradictory processes going on between the U.S. and the rest of
the world. There was ideological polarization between the U.S. and
the Soviet Union. It was not an economic polarization. Trade
continued between the USSR and the West. They were tied together
with a hundred economic and historic threads. Their differences
were ideological -- either socialism or private property. But they
were not polarized economically. They came close to it several
times, but it never really happened.

The polarization developing today isn't ideological. These
countries are all capitalist. Now, the tendency at least, is
toward economic polarization and therefore the situation is very
dangerous. Under these conditions old alliances are coming apart
and new ones are taking their place. This is not a matter of crazy
man Bush wrecking all the alliances that have made the U.S.
strong. The Bush Administration doesn't want those alliances
anymore. Empire doesn't deal with allies, Empire deals with vassal
states. They don't want to be encumbered by alliances with
anybody. They are not foolish. They are after something. When they
break the alliances between the U.S., France and Germany and sour
the good will with China -- it's for a purpose.

The headlong drive toward Empire was first met by strengthening
the resistance of the various nations. National resistance wasn't
strong enough. As the goals of the American offensive have become
clear, potentially powerful regional blocs are coming about. There
is the inevitable antithesis. There is no question that the Iraqi
war has accelerated this process of Russia, Germany, Belgium
France and China getting together. Right now they are all saying,
"This is not an anti-American discussion, we love America, we're
grateful to America," but they are getting themselves together.

Bush and his gang are openly saying the next invasion will be
Iran. There is a lot of saber rattling going on about Syria. In
the main, this is pushed by the Zionists, since Syria is the only
remaining strong enemy of Israel. But Bush's "axis of evil" or
their imperial line of march hardly includes Syria. Economically
weak, militarily and politically isolated, Syria is bound to give
in to a combination of threats and bribes.

The Empire builders are worried about North Korea. North Korea
probably has rockets that can reach the U.S. with nuclear bombs.
The North Korean pledge of total war if attacked is not to be
taken lightly. It certainly has the ability to do terrible damage
to South Korea and Japan if war should come. More importantly,
China fully understands that the U.S. is attempting to surround
her with military might. It is doubtful that China could remain
neutral if North Korea is invaded.

Under such delicate and dangerous conditions, what are the tasks
of the revolutionaries? While doing their mass work, they must
tirelessly point out the material economic basis for the struggles
going on throughout the world. They must constantly bring forth an
understanding that the horrors of today are the pain of a new
world in birth. It is either going to be the capitalists' world or
ours. Such propaganda needs facts and analysis, not ideological
arguments. While there is still time, the comrades must
consciously practice and develop their skills by greater
participation in the growing social response.

[Nelson Peery is available to speak through Speakers for a New
America. Call 1-800-691-6888 or email speakers@lrna.org.]