On May 1st George Bush declared that the "major fighting" in Iraq was over. Since then the resistance of the people of Iraq to the US-led occupation has grown and intensified - including the armed resistance.
Before beginning their invasion the rulers of the US, the UK and other countries had predicted that they would conquer and occupy Iraq within a few days and that they would be welcomed as liberators by the population. This has proven to be nothing more than an illusion and crude imperialist propaganda.
The main for this is the fact that the resistance of the masses in Iraq far exceeded their predictions. The failure of the imperialists to realise their boasts is also a result of the mass struggle waged by millions around the globe which put them on the defensive politically and caused them a number difficulties in putting their plans into action. This can for instance be seen in Turkey where the mass opposition to the war was the main factor in causing the Turkish parliament to refuse permission for the US forces to attack northern Iraq through Turkey.
To prop up their claims to being "liberators" the imperialists staged a phoney "mass celebration" in Baghdad (the famous incident where US-Marines pulled down the statue of Saddam that was shown thousands of times on television around the world) pretending to the world that their invasion and occupation was being welcomed by the masses. But instead of being "welcomed" and "celebrated" the occupation troops have become the object of widespread, determined and growing resistance. The US admits that the occupying forces are facing 12 to 24 armed attacks per day! Claims that these are mainly being organised by members or supporters of the old regime or "foreign terrorists" are obviously false. In fact there are a very wide range of different forces and tendencies which are carrying out these attacks. The invaders have certainly done everything they can to make enemies among the masses. During the invasion itself at least 7,000 civilian dead and 20,000 wounded have been documented. The true number could be much higher. Additionally at least 10,000 Iraqi soldiers are thought to have been killed and twice as many wounded. (Iraq is a country with a population of around 25 million. If the same ratio of killed and wounded were applied to the US itself - with its population of 290 million - that would mean nearly 200,000 dead and 465,000 wounded!)
Although it has been 3 ½ months since US-President Bush declared "mission accomplished" the imperialist occupiers continue to refuse to supply the people of Iraq with the basic necessities of life: clean water, electricity, medicine and basic health care, etc. How many people have already died or will die in the next weeks and months as a result is not currently known, but it is a least 100's and more likely thousands (especially among small children, the aged and the chronically ill). The imperialists' claims that they "don't know how" to do these things, or "didn't plan" for providing basic necessities or "don't have the money or manpower" to achieve this are nothing but callous and cold-blooded lies. This is a deliberate policy of mass destruction and murder designed to force the masses in Iraq to accept imperialist occupation and domination. And it is a glaring example of how their profit-hungry imperialist system has nothing but complete disregard for the well being of the masses of people.
In addition, the brutal occupation is resulting in unarmed and innocent civilians being killed almost every day. Entire villages and regions have been repeatedly targeted for attack and whole families continue to be wiped out by the viscous occupiers who view practically every Iraqi - young or old, woman or man - as "the enemy". Dozens of people are being reported injured or killed daily due to accidents resulting from the millions of unfired or unexploded munitions (especially the bomblets from US-cluster bombs and shells) that now litter Iraq as a result of the invasion. The massive use of depleted uranium weapons has contaminated large areas of Iraq and threatens the health of tens of thousands of people. It is no wonder that it is the official policy of the US-led occupation regime not to maintain any statistics on the number of civilians killed by their troops or munitions.
The continued mass and armed resistance by the people of Iraq have shattered the triumphalist proclamations of the imperialists. In fact, it is extremely unlikely that the current number of troops they have on the ground will allow them to consolidate a firm hold on the Iraq. Even the US's new top general was recently forced to admit that they were up facing "a guerrilla war" in Iraq. Thus the imperialist occupiers are looking for ways to increase the number of occupying troops without having to openly admit that they cannot control the situation. They are facing increased difficulties and are sinking deeper into a quagmire with every passing day. Not only that, the reports of discontent among their own soldiers - most of whom have been misled and/or forced to carry out these crimes - are also increasing (so much so that the top US general went of TV and threatened any US soldier who publicly criticised the US-commanders with arrest and jail!). These are not the words and actions of a power which has everything under control.
In this context some of the European imperialists who opposed the war - especially France, Russia and Germany - are using the US's difficulties to shamelessly make new offers for the joint occupation and plunder of Iraq (this is what is behind the recent talk of a new UN-resolution that would enable French, Russian and/or German troops to take part). But the US rulers continue to be in no mood to accept such "generosity" on the terms that the European powers are offering it. This is because their central aim has been to reorganise world power relations based on unquestioned US leadership and control. Agreeing to any truly joint occupation under UN command or political control would at this point essentially amount to at least partial setback for this strategy. Despite their massive and growing difficulties, the US-imperialists are still not currently ready to accept such a fate.
But whatever agreements or compromises the rival imperialists may make among themselves, supporting the resistance of the people of Iraq and building active opposition to the occupation of Iraq is a burning task of all justice loving people around the world. And our aim must be to not only oppose this invasion and occupation, but to defeat it!
End the Zionist/Imperialist Occupation - Free Palestine!
In June 2002 we wrote: "The Palestinian people are fighting for their very existence. The murderous offensive of the Israeli army in the West Bank represents a new and bloody chapter in the long history of the Zionist occupation of Palestine. Under the pretext of 'fighting terrorism' Israel is waging war. To this end it is using the most modern weapons of destruction: tanks, Apache helicopter-gunships, rockets, F-16's, etc. And this against a people that has little more than simple rifles with which to defend itself. The entire Palestinian population has been made the target of one of the most powerful war machines in the world."
The Zionist/imperialist occupation of Palestine and the war against the Palestinian people continue and are currently being once again escalated. The so-called "peace process" and "road-map" were from the very beginning nothing more than a plan to break the resistance of the Palestinian people and institutionalise their domination and occupation. Even after organizations like Hamas and Islamic Jihad declared a cease-fire the Israeli government openly and brazenly declared that for its part it was going to continue to carry out its policy aggression and assassination, including against alleged members of those organizations. This policy was designed to force those organizations to retaliate. When this retaliation took place as expected, the Israeli government used it as a further excuse to escalate its attacks and all-around oppression of the Palestinian people.
It is important to note that not a single imperialist government raised any criticism of Israel for these actions. This was an open signal to Israel that it had a free hand to carry out these attacks and further acts of oppression. And it is once again proof that no imperialist government can act as an "honest broker" in bringing peace to the Middle East. They all actively support the Zionist occupation of Palestine and the brutal and violent enforcement of that occupation. As we wrote in 2002:
"Without justice there will never be peace in Palestine and the Middle East. Neither the illusions preached by false leaders who claim that a 'peace process' in cooperation with (read: in collaboration with and dependent upon) the USA and the other big powers will bring justice for the Palestinian people, nor will the false promises of religious fundamentalists who are trying to misuse the longing of the Palestinian people for freedom in order to advance their own dreams of becoming middle-age-style feudal rulers can ever bring about true liberation.
Only the common struggle of the peoples of the Middle East - the oppressed of all nationalities and faiths (Moslems, Christians and Jews) - can achieve justice. Today the Palestinian people are on the front line of this struggle. It is especially important that here in Europe, in the centers of the imperialist metropolis, that all people who want to see true justice in the Middle East actively and determinedly demand an end to the Zionist/imperialist occupation and freedom for Palestine!"
The Imperialist Offensive Continues - So Must Our Struggle Against It
Beyond Iraq and Palestine the US has been making threats against and/or sending troops to countries all around the world. Despite the difficulties they are currently facing in Iraq their offensive continues. The occupation of Afghanistan goes on. There are the open threats against Syria, Iran and North Korea as well as the active use of US-troops in a number of countries in Africa, in the Philippines and Indonesia as well as in Columbia, Peru and other countries in Latin America (in many of these places soldiers from Germany, Russia, France and other countries are taking part in these actions as well). And there is the increasing US-intervention against the People's War in Nepal including the continuing incarceration in India of Comrade Gaurav (Chandra Prakash Gajurel - a leading member of the Communist Party of Nepal [Maoist]) and his threatened extradition to Nepal.
No one can exactly predict what will happen from here. But it is clear that the US is determined to continue its drive for world hegemony and the other big powers are just as determined to do all they can to manuver to protect their own imperialist interests. Thus for the people of the world it is more evident then ever, that we can under no circumstances leave the future of our planet in the hands of the bloodiest criminals the world has ever seen.
Provisional Organising Committee
WORLD PEOPLE'S RESISTANCE MOVEMENT (Europe)
WWW.WPRM.ORG Email: wprm@wprm.org