RE: [Marxism] Re: SWP: "U.S. troops consolidate victory in Fallujah"

["Walter Lippmann" <walterlx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Lüko -

Obviously I missed your letter regarding Elian, and so thanks
for providing this here. I'd be happy to read the full letter
if you don't mind sending it to me off-list. I appreciate my
being able to learn about this. Your letter is terrific.

Please don't think I'm being overly picky when I also say
that what the INS did was NOT a "raid" but rather, it was
a "rescue" operation, and a rather non-violent one at that.

It was rather unique in history when an armed agency of the
United States government took action to rescue the child of
a Cuban Communist. And Cuba's leadership looked at what had
taken place and responded reasonably. Check this out:

"Fidel noted that U.S. President William Clinton had acted 
nobly in this case, thus doing a  service not only to the 
boy but also to the United States itself. He also praised 
the efforts of U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and 
Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner 
Doris Meissner, and recognized the role played by 
U.S. public opinion.

"The leader of the Revolution called April 22, the day 
Elián was returned to his father, as truly critical and 
serious, because the child?s father, Juan Miguel González, 
would not accept any more delays in achieving the reunion 
with his son, and had announced the decision to travel to 
Miami with his wife and baby son to take charge of Elián. 
That posed a potential danger for them, and the Miami 
mafia could have created an impossible situation for 
the U.S. government.

"Fidel stated that it was a day of truce between the 
United States and Cuba, perhaps the only such day in 
the last 41 years." FULL GRANMA INTERNATIONAL ARTICLE:
http://www.walterlippmann.com/Elian-victory-not-complete.html 

And just as THE MILITANT was on the wrong side of the Elian
barricades, they are on the wrong side of the barricades
today in Fallujah, as the headline you quote makes clear.

Last night's MESA REDONDA had an extended discussion of
the inability of Washington to crush the Iraqi resistance.
Here's a short English summary of their discussions.
-------------------------------------------------------

AIN-NEWS
US Genocidal Tactics Unable to Stop Iraqi Resistance
By Roberto Pérez Betancourt

Havana, Nov 27 (AIN) The continuing genocide imposed by the Bush 
administration on the people of Iraq is failing to put an end to 
the resistance and it will be impossible for the US military to 
control that nation. That is the conclusion drawn from the 
analysis presented by the Round Table broadcast that went on the 
air and on the world wide web on Friday.

The on-going actions against the US occupation forces in 
Fallujah so demonstrate it, asserted panelists invited to the 
popular radio and TV program. In that Iraqi city, the unofficial 
number of people murdered by the invaders and their 
collaborators exceeds the two thousand, while so far in November 
the body count of the US military occupation forces has reached 
at least 109.

The strong resistance of the Iraqis against the air raids and 
strafing done by US helicopters and the dreadful AC-130 flying 
artillery platform in Fallujah is hampering Washington?s plans, 
which envisioned a much shorter ?pacification period? based on 
the use of massive extermination procedures and fear.

In recent statements, some even by high ranking military 
officials, the US forces have admitted the persistence of the 
actions, which has led experts to assert that the US will be 
unable to prevail in a country that they will find unable to 
occupy.

So far the Pentagon is admitting a death toll of 1,230, with 
some 9,500 wounded, but analysis by independent sources estimate 
that the real losses surpass the 30,000 mark, considering the 
manipulation of statistics by the US military.

President Bush insists on holding elections in Iraq next January 
30, but facing the general lack of security, many of the 156 
officially recognized political parties in Iraq have requested a 
six months postponement of the vote. 

The existence of US propaganda psycho-warfare operations quickly 
emerge when one takes a look at how the American people are 
being manipulated regarding the war in Iraq, asserted panelists 
at the Round Table program.

The sole objective of the George W. Bush administration is 
gaining geopolitical advantages and controlling an area rich in 
oil, minerals and key raw materials, a strategy that is in line 
with the ultra right wing approach to international affairs and 
which might eventually lead to similar actions against Iran.

In the analysis presented during the show, it was explained that 
four secret US military bases in Afghanistan and Iraq are 
deployed near Iran, which indicates that Washington may already 
be considering an aggression against that country.

Meanwhile, in a public statement former US president Bill 
Clinton affirmed that he Iraq war has divided the world, while 
military analysts and scholars coincide in forecasting a total 
failure to the US war efforts and believe that Bush has already 
lost the war of the minds against the Muslims.

And while the present US administration continues to spend huge 
amounts of money in its wars, the number of people below the 
poverty line continues to increase among Americans.

A recent CNN report showed that only in the New York city area, 
the number of starving people grew by more than nine percent 
during the first 10 months of 2004.
------------------------------------

This is quite a bit different from the Rumsfeldian/Orwellian
way the exact same struggle is being reported in THE MILITANT:
http://www.themilitant.com/2004/6845/684502.html 

We still have to ask the pertinent question:

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Which side are you on, boys? Which side are you on?
It's clear that in Iraq now, there are no neutrals there.
You either are a patriot or a thug for Bush and Blair.
Which side are you on, boys? Which side are you on?"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Walter Lippmann, CubaNews
http://www.walterlippmann.com 

=========================================================
Lüko Willms wrote:
The Militant was correct in stating that the INS raid on
the house, where Elian Gonzalez were kept, was an exercise
in the way that the INS was raiding many other working
peoples homes, but The Militant left out the context, i.e.
that this was the last resort of the US government to avoid
the mass mobilization that Elian's father had announced,
that he would march to that house with thousands of US
citizens to fetch his son. This context was also left out
by many many people who applauded Janet Reno's initiative.

With their description of the US offensive against Fallujah
as just a game between them and the "Baathist remnants", as
if it did not concern the general Iraqi population, is a
distinctive step in the rightward evolution of the US SWP.



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