[Peace-discuss] Obama says no agreement with Iran means war.

[David Johnson]

 <http://weknowwhatsup.blogspot.com/> Facts For Working People 

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Astonishing. Obama says no agreement with Iran means war. 

 

 
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By Richard Mellor

Afscme Local 444, retired

I am not the only observer that has pointed to the general decline of US
imperialism's global economic power.  This is brought about to a large
degree with the rise of China and to a lesser extent Russia. A state of
permanent war has also weakened the US economically despite reaping
significant profits for the investors in the arms industry.


We used to point out that the violence directed at the anti Apartheid
movement in South Africa intensified the closer that racist regime came to
its demise.  It's like a match that flares up prior to burning out or an
animal that is at its most dangerous when wounded or weakened in some way.
The same applies to US capitalism except that here we have a decaying system
armed to the teeth, and armed with Nuclear weapons. As of 2013 the US had a
stockpile of almost 8000 nuclear warheads.

This is what is so astonishing about Obama's claims this week that a
rejection of the deal with Iran on its nuclear program means war.  "The
choice we face is ultimately between diplomacy or some form of war." Obama
said at the American University in Washington.  While pushing for his
diplomatic solution Obama assures the Zionists and the wing of the US 1%
that supports him that he can be tough, "I've ordered military action in
seven countries,"  he said adding that, "There are times when force is
necessary, and if Iran does not abide by this deal, it's possible that we
don't have an alternative."

But Iran hasn't threatened the US with war.  It is nonsense to assume or
claim that Iran would invade or attack the US; it would be suicidal. The
Mullah's may, like all religious extremists use religious mythology to dupe
their populations but they're not completely mad, not all of them. Some are,
as some of the US Congress obviously are.

What Obama means is that if Iran doesn't comply with the US and Israel's
demands then Israel and the US will bomb it. Obama's speech at the American
University is aimed at the US population. Our minds are better occupied with
the fear of foreigners invading us or bombing our cities than the war Obama
and the class he represents is waging at home.  There is little support for
the present predatory wars the US is engaged in and Obama is appealing to
this mood and basically terrorizing the US population in to supporting the
deal for fear of more austerity to pay for war as well as losing more young
American working class lives.

The Zionist regime and predominantly Christian Zionists in the US, the
American equivalent of the Mullah's or the Taliban, are all calling for
attacking Iran or taking a position that, unless it opts for complete
humiliation, Iran cannot accept. For the evangelicals they'll finally get to
meet their maker and the Jews will rot in hell. Along with the massive
nuclear arsenal the US has, the Zionist regime also has a huge nuclear
stockpile but, unlike Iran, is not under any obligation to allow an
international monitoring of it.  The Zionists refuse to even comment on it.
And as Obama pointed out in his speech, the US defense budget is more than
$600 billion a year, Iran's is $15 billion.

Pro-Zionists and other notable conservatives in the US are calling for
blood:

"It's long since been time for the United States to speak to this regime in
the language it understands-force. . We can strike at the Iranian
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and weaken them. And we can hit the
regime's nuclear weapons program, and set it back." Bill Kristol, The Weekly
Standard

It's amazing how people who don't fight wars or whose children usually spend
the war years at college are the most hawkish supporters of conflict with
talk of how "we" need to enter the fray. In another opinion piece titled,
"War with Iran is probably our best option"
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/war-with-iran-is-probably-our-best-
option/2015/03/13/fb112eb0-c725-11e4-a199-6cb5e63819d2_story.html>  Joshua
Muravchik wrote in the Washington  post, "In this sense, it is akin to
communist, fascist and Nazi regimes that set out to transform the world.
Iran aims to carry its Islamic revolution across the Middle East and
beyond."

But working people in the US should have no beef with Iran.  Iran is not
cutting funding to social services, closing our public schools, cutting
wages and benefits on the job or having its militarized police force beat
up, abuse and even murder US citizens. 

And let's be honest, the US has no problem supporting dictatorial regimes.
Next to Iran is Bahrain which is close to an absolute Monarchy that recently
put down a movement for reform, for freedom of religion and other democratic
norms and for some, the creation of a republic. As this regime murdered
protestors and even imprisoned doctors and medical personnel that treated
those injured by government forces, the 15,000 US troops but a few miles
away on Bahraini territory did nothing.

The US finances and arms the Saudi military and just backed its invasion of
Yemen that has led to a humanitarian nightmare. No problem there. And the
most destabilizing aspect of US foreign policy in the region is the
unconditional support the US gives the Zionists and their Apartheid regime.

Iran has repeatedly stated it has no intention of building a nuclear bomb,
but even if the government is lying about that, what right does the US have
to threaten a country with war if it decides to build its defenses up to the
point of having nuclear weapons? This seems to be the only way to keep the
US from invading and bombing regimes that don't allow US capitalism free
reign when it comes to plundering the region's wealth.  Look at the disaster
that the US has created in Iraq, a catastrophe of historic proportions in a
country that borders Iran. It's no accident that of the Bush  "Axis of evil"
trio, North Korea hasn't been invaded or threatened with US bombing.

Behind US capitalism's hostility to Iran is the same as its hostility to
Iraq under Hussein or Syria under Assad.  These are secular "statist"
regimes where huge sectors of the nations economy are under state control.

Iran's distrust of US imperialism and its British lapdogs has some
justification as the US orchestrated the coup that overthrew the
democratically elected secular government of Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953 and
both countries have meddling tirelessly in Iran's affairs, most importantly
installing the dictator and murderous Shah after Mossadegh's downfall.

But this hostility and paranoia toward Iran has noting to do with the lack
of democracy of that it is a theocracy.  The Zionist regime is a big part of
it as this is the most reliable ally of US imperialism in the region but it
is Iran's statist economy that is a problem as was Iraq under Hussein.  The
Syrian regime was similar.  Just like in the US where the private sector
supported by the state is in the process of eliminating all forms of public
expenditure and public property, like education and the postal service for
example, in these countries the US introduces privatization by the bomb. 

This CIA world Factbook explains clearly what the problem is with Iran:

"Iran's economy is marked by statist policies, inefficiencies, and reliance
on oil and gas exports, but Iran also possesses significant agricultural,
industrial, and service sectors. The Iranian government directly owns and
operates hundreds of state-owned enterprises and indirectly controls many
companies affiliated with the country's security forces. Distortions -
including inflation, price controls, subsidies, and a banking system holding
billions of dollars of non-performing loans - weigh down the economy,
undermining the potential for private-sector-led growth." (my added
emphasis)

We don't have to look to far to find regimes led by ruthless dictators to
find friends of the US 1%: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and many more.  The
US installed Mobutu after it conspired with Belgian colonialism to murder
Patrice Lumumba. Marcos, Pinochet, Sukharno, the world has suffered the fate
of many US installed murderers.

While the Iranian regime is no doubt a brutal undemocratic religious clique,
we have the foreign policies of the US and before the US, British capitalism
to thank for the Mullahs.

We must reject the push to war with Iran being led by the US and Israel.
Iran has had a rich history of working class struggle against British
colonialism and also internally. After September 11th two million turned out
in Iran in sympathy with the US. But wanting to maintain oil profits and
unconditional support for the Zionist regime the US is driven to war with
Iran. US foreign policy, since the collapse of Stalinism, has seriously
weakened the working class throughout the Middle East, and has led to the
rise of religious fanaticism. 

What is lacking here in the US is a working class political alternative to
the two parties of the 1%, the Democrats and Republicans, without such a
party, we have no political voice that can appeal to workers internationally
to join us and us support them in the global struggle against capital.  The
trade union movement can fill that void to an extent but we are also saddled
there with a leadership that supports US foreign policy which is, in
actuality an extension of a domestic policy that believes the bosses and
workers have the same interests and national unity as opposed to class
unity.

The movement that will inevitably arise as the capitalist offensive will not
cease, will tend to overcome these obstacles, including the obstacle of our
own leadership and seek to build links and unity across national and racial
lines.

But no one said it would be easy? But we have no alternative.

 

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