by Danny Haiphong
U.S. imperialism attempts to forestall its terminal decline by waging war against much of the world. It is an accomplice in all of Israel’s crimes, and “much, if not all, of Saudi Arabia's destruction of Yemen is made in the USA.” Washington threatens war against Russia and “pivots” its military towards China. Domestically, “the Black Lives Matter mobilization has brought the daily murder of Black people by police to the forefront of the US political landscape.”
US imperialism's Stamp is All over Chaos around the World
by Danny Haiphong
“The system of profit for the few and misery for the many has reached its natural limits.”
At the Left Forum, Fight Imperialism Stand Together (FIST) took part in a debate with other socialist organizations on the character anti-imperialist struggle must take in this period. This debate is central to the overall struggle for liberation in a period where imperialism’s destruction is more than evident throughout the planet. FIST remains firm in asserting that the primary role of revolutionaries in the US is to defend and fight for the self-determination of oppressed nations. Too often, what passes as the left in the US makes the grave mistake of siding with white supremacy by disregarding facts and parroting imperialism's racist war narratives. What is of primary importance, then, is for revolutionaries to expose the true character of war within the context of the chaos US imperialism is causing all over the globe.
When it comes to the destruction of US imperialism, no situation is graver than in Yemen. Saudi Arabia, US imperialism's ally in the region, is waging a bloody invasion in an attempt to reinstall the compliant government of President Mansur Hadi. Saudi Arabia's ruling class sees its geopolitical and corporate interests threatened by the new Houthi-led government. This revolutionary provisional government has declared independence from Saudi Arabia's neo-colonial rule, which has kept Yemen mired in poverty, sectarian strife, and political repression. Saudi Arabia's response has been a brutal offensive that has killed over 4,000 and injured over 7,000 more.
Saudi Arabia's invasion of Yemen has the US imperial stamp all over it. Without the billions of dollars worth of military aid from Washington in exchange for oil, the House of Saud would not have the capacity to wage its war of aggression. Nor could it conduct its documented human rights abuses, from the indiscriminate repression of its Shia population to the longstanding practice of repressing any challenge to its rule, with impunity. However, US imperialism's economic and geopolitical dependency on Saudi Arabia has silenced the "international community" on its human rights abuses. Since 2010 Saudi Arabia has received over 90 billion in military equipment and training from the US in exchange for nearly 15 percent of all oil exports coming out of Saudi Arabia. The US-Saudi relationship has enriched the monopoly private military contractors and oil magnets of Wall Street. This relationship ensures that much, if not all, of Saudi Arabia's destruction of Yemen is made in the USA.
“US imperialism's economic and geopolitical dependency on Saudi Arabia has silenced the "international community" on its human rights abuses.”
Now enter Israel. The youngest settler state in history is also one of US imperialism's largest trading partners, with 25 percent of its "defense" budget being supplied by Washington. Yet, recently re-elected Prime Minister Netanyahu has demanded Washington dish out 45 billion more in military aid. This demand is framed as a necessary step to defend the Zionist state from Iran. However, recent developments tell a different story. Reports indicate Israel's colonial military has been aiding foreign backed terrorists in Syria and is now re-engaging in a bombing campaign of the Gaza strip. These imperialist ventures have everything to do with Iran, but not for the reasons stated by officials of the Israeli state.
US imperialism bankrolls Israel’s war machine because both it and Saudi Arabia share geopolitical interests with the Zionist state, especially on the subject of Iran. Ultimately, each imperialist country sees Iran as a primary threat to their expansionist ambitions. Expansionism and colonialism is at the very root of Zionism's foundation, and the forced removal and genocide of the indigenous Palestinian population is a primary example. But what is often dismissed is the grand imperialist scheme that unites the forces of Empire. The ultimate aim of imperialism is to destabilize sovereign nations as a means to enrich the capitalist class at the head of the US-Israel-Saudi alliance. In this time of worldwide capitalist crisis, where the illegitimate rule of Wall Street and its surrogates can no longer reform itself to achieve the objective of endless profit, imperialism's unholy alliance has no where else to turn but to consolidate its murderous military machinery.
What else can explain Ukraine's current situation? In 2013, US imperialism empowered fascist forces to oust the government of Ukraine, causing a humanitarian crisis the nation has yet to recover from. The United Nations has confirmed that 2 million people have been displaced from their homeland. In the last year, nearly 7,000 have been killed in the ongoing war between the illegitimate fascist government in Kiev and the resistance of the Ukrainian people. Yet, the IMF has made a multi-billion dollar deal with Kiev on behalf of its corporate masters in the midst of the carnage. Similar to the massive investments corporations like Raytheon and Boeing make in the Zionist military establishment, the corporate incentive behind the war in Ukraine is clear. War is profitable, and capitalists will use any means to wage it.
However, the chaos of imperialism cannot be fully explained by the profits of war, particularly because much of the war being waged today has brought great cost to the imperialist system as a whole. The invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq have cost trillions and counting and have contributed to the never-ending economic crisis in the US. In 2011, imperialism's war on Libya sparked a jihadist flame that has left the nation too unstable for consistent corporate penetration. What the US-NATO and GCC alliance regard as "intelligence assets" in groups such as ISIS, Al Nusra Front, and other assorted jihadist elements have unleashed uncontrollable chaos throughout the region following the fall of Libya’s socialist state. Yet no matter the losses and consequences the ruling class may face under imperialism's terminal crisis, it is the people of the world who suffer.
“The ultimate aim of imperialism is to destabilize sovereign nations as a means to enrich the capitalist class at the head of the US-Israel-Saudi alliance.”
This crisis of imperialism is both political and economic. Much of the world sees how imperialism's policy of plunder is neither sustainable nor beneficial for humanity. Russia, China, Iran, and many other nations are trying to align themselves in a manner that will defend their sovereignty in the face of increasing threat of destabilization from Washington and its allies. Economically, the world capitalist system is incapable of recovery and is seeking to push through policies such as the TPP to extend the dominance of Wall Street capital. In short, no plan the imperialists can devise can escape the fact that the system of profit for the few and misery for the many has reached its natural limits.
But if the best the left in the US can do at this point is support Bernie Sanders, an open supporter of Zionist Israel and the war in Afghanistan, then we can expect the chaos of imperialism to reign for the years to come. However, there is a war escalating in the US that brings the possibility of internationalism to take root again here in the citadel of imperialism. This war is on Black America. The Black Lives Matter mobilization has brought the daily murder of Black people by police to the forefront of the US political landscape. It is here where unity between oppressed people imprisoned between US borders and those terrorized beyond them can truly develop. It is not enough to highlight the bloated US military budget or denounce imperialist war for its impact on the economic situation inside of the US, however important. We must align ourselves with the people of the world in their just struggle against the chaos of imperialism so we can wage it here with similar courage and strength.
Danny Haiphong is an organizer for Fight Imperialism Stand Together (FIST) in Boston. He is also a regular contributor to Black Agenda Report. Danny can be reached at wakeupriseup1990@gmail.com and FIST can be reached at bostonfist@gmail.com.
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