Concern No. 4: The cause of just peace and struggles

Expose and oppose imperialism as the main source of war and the deadliest wielder of weapons of mass destruction in the 21st Century

Barely a decade into the 21st century, imperialism has clearly proven itself as the main source of war and the deadliest wielder of weapons of mass destruction. It remains the greatest threat to genuine peace and the all-rounded development and well-being of the peoples of the world. As the crisis of the world capitalist system deepens, the rivalry among imperialist powers intensifies even as they collaborate to further exploit and oppress the world’s peoples for greater profit.

US imperialism seeks to maintain absolute superiority, and arrogantly warns it will never again allow the emergence of a peer rival. It remains the biggest military spender (USD 530 billion, or more than half of total military expenditures of the rest of the world), the biggest arms vendor (42% of the global weapons market) and biggest nuclear power. The US has relentlessly increased its destructive nuclear capability, developed tactical nuclear weapons for use in limited conventional warfare, declared outer space as its exclusive domain from which it can launch nuclear, laser and other weapons, unilaterally broken away from its anti-ballistic missile treaty commitments in order to build an anti-ballistic missile defense system, and continues to brandish its “right to preemptive strike and regime change”. Other imperialist are likewise upgrading their nuclear capabilities and their military power.

The conversion and expansion of mission of the US Strategic Command indicates the intention of US imperialism to escalate and intensify its global aggression and intervention masquerading as a borderless “war on terror., and including the use of nuclear weapons. From being the nerve center for a possible nuclear confrontation, the StratCom mission has been expanded to include - nuclear weapons, cyberwarfare, missile defense, global command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance [ISR], global strike, space, and combating weapons of mass destruction.

The “war on terror” has long been exposed as a mere pretext for blatant aggression and military intervention in violation of international law, and for US imperialism to consolidate global hegemony and secure its hold on oil and other strategic resources. Nonetheless, US imperialism persists in its occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan and intervention in the Balkans, Africa, Latin America and Asia. It leads other imperialist powers and their client regimes and local reactionaries in employing state terror under the guise of counterterrorism to suppress dissent and resistance.

US imperialism has intensified its aggression and intervention and is behind the rising militarization in South Asia in order to tighten its control over the region. It supports the brutal counterrevolutionary campaigns especially against the Naxalite movement and the peoples struggling for self-determination in India. In Pakistan, scores of civilians and soldiers have been killed in a series of direct attacks launched by US-led coalition forces based in Afghanistan.

The US and other imperialists are currently demonizing Iran, using the same “WMD” scare it used with Iraq, to pave the way for its eventual invasion, regime change and occupation. US imperialism unconditionally supports Israeli Zionism, occupation of Palestine and persecution of the people of Palestine in order to maintain Israel as its most reliable collaborator and ally in controlling the Middle East, especially to implement the Greater Middle East Project . The Turkish fascist state is US imperialism’s most loyal lackey, suppressing the resistance in Turkey and allowing its territory to be used as a forward base for imperialist aggression in the Middle East.

The US and other imperialists have instigated ethnic and other local conflicts in Africa as a pretext to intervene and replace uncooperative or unfriendly regimes and firm up their hold on oil, natural gas and other resources, especially in the “Horn of Africa” region. These have been drummed up as “ethnic conflict and genocide” to justify foreign intervention under the guise of peace-enforcement and humanitarian action by the UN or NATO.

More and more, the designs and schemes of US imperialism are being exposed and consequently provoke widespread opposition from peoples and governments all over the world. At the same time, increasing financial constraints force the US to rely more and more on the contribution and cooperation of other imperialist powers. In the NATO summit at Bucharest last April, NATO allies were lukewarm to US calls for installing US/NATO bases with anti-ballistic missiles in the Czech Republic and Poland, for the acceptance of Georgia and Ukraine into NATO, for the deployment by its NATO allies of more troops to Afghanistan, and for the recognition of Kosovo as an independent state.

Russia opposes US-NATO plans and has warned against NATO’s suspension of the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty. China opposes US incursions in Africa and in Central Asia. Russia and China have built their own security alliances, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to counter what they perceive as US and NATO incursions and threats. Since 2001, they have held military exercises with their Central Asian allies evidently in response to US and NATO exercises and other activities. (In September 2006, US and Canadian jets under the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) scrambled to intercept and escort Russian warplanes that flew near the Alaska Coast while in a CSTO exercise.)

Amid increasingly intolerable hardships due to the intensification of the global crisis of imperialism, the peoples’ struggles against imperialist war, plunder and social destruction are gaining in strength and scope. Peoples’ resistance and opposition has been an important political constraint to US and other imperialist designs for aggression and intervention.

The Iraqi and Afghan armed resistance against US-led occupation exacts the heaviest toll on US lives and resources, and weakens US imperialism . The armed revolutionary movements in Colombia, India, Nepal, Peru, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Turkey and elsewhere likewise contribute to the weakening of imperialism and local reaction.

In Latin America, strong anti-US sentiments are gaining ground as evidenced by bigger and more frequest mass protest actions.

In Australia, Greece, Japan, Philippines, Turkey and other countries where ther are US military bases and activities , the people of these host countries protest and demand the dismantling of these bases, the halt to US military operations and withdrawal of all foreign troops.

General Resolutions:

1. Initiate global and regional coordinated actions on specific cases and issues against imperialist war of aggression, military intervention and against weapons of mass destruction.

2. Activate, expand and strengthen ILPS global and regional campaigns against US overseas military bases; demand the dismantling of all foreign military bases worldwide and withdrawal of foreign troops.

3. Oppose imperialist-sponsored and supported state terrorism,counterrevolutionary wars and intervention in the domestic affairs of sovereign countries. Demand a stop to foreign military aid, especially to repressive regimes.

4. Undertake a campaign for the disarming and destruction of all nuclear, chemical, biological and other weapons of mass destruction. Oppose the development and production of new weapons and weapons systems such as space-launched weapons, tactical nuclear weapons and anti-ballistic missiles.

Specific Resolutions (submitted or intent to submit)

1. Resolution Calling for the Dismantling of U.S. and All Foreign Military Bases

2. Resolution in Solidarity with the People of Iraq and the Withdrawal of all US and Other Foreign Troops and Mercenaries from Iraq.

3. Resolution Opposing the US Scheme to Establish a Military Pact Among US, Japan and Australia

4. Resolution on the Militarization of South Asia

5. Resolution Supporting the Actions of the West Coast Dockworkers in US and Iraq

6. Resolution Condemning the Imperialist Threat of Using Nuclear Weapons and Weapons of Mass Destruction

7. Resolution Calling for Campaign to Oppose US-sponsored Joint Military Exercises

8. Resolution on the Right to Return of the Palestinian People on the 60th anniversary of Al Nukbeh (expulsion of Palestians from their homeland)

9. Resolution Supporting the Resistance of the People of Lebanon

10. Resolution Condemning the US-Israeli and other Imperialists plans against Iran

11. Resolution on Turkey and Kurdistan

12. Resolution for Withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and Somalia