As the rulers of the US and UK defied the wishes of the vast majority of the world's people and began their murderous attack on Iraq they boasted that just a few days of their "shock and awe" bombing would force Iraq to surrender. Instead they have faced determined and continuing resistance all along their drive toward Baghdad. In many cases Iraqi defenders armed with just small arms have stood firm in the face of the overwhelming firepower of US/UK tanks, planes, artillery and missiles. With the collapse of the regime of Saddam Hussein in most areas of the country the imperialists are now declaring the war to be virtually over and that Iraq is now "liberated". These claims are a lie decorated with a pipe dream.
Millions of people around the world and in Iraq itself have long realised that the imperialist rulers of the US and UK and the other big powers have no interest at all in the well being of the people of Iraq. In the 1980's these same powers supported and armed the Iraqi regime under Saddam Hussein. In the Gulf War of 1991 they systematically destroyed the Iraq's infrastructure: the water supply, hospitals, electric system, roads and bridges. This was followed by a decade of economic sanctions and continual bombing attacks which according to the UN killed over 1 ½ million people in Iraq - most of them children, the ill and elderly. As the current war began on March 19th a full two thirds of the population of Iraq was dependent on food aid provided through the so-called "oil for food" program. This in an oil-rich country which once had one of the highest standards of living in the entire Middle East.
This war has seen repeated attacks on civilian neighbourhoods, unarmed civilians and even journalists. Whole families have been wiped out in their cars at US checkpoints. Criticism of these cold-blooded murders has been met with the arrogant claims of the US commanders that their troops have an "absolute right" to carry out such crimes. Their invasion has resulted in the cut-off of food supplies to millions. Electric power and clean water are no longer available in most places. The hospitals are hopelessly overfilled and without power, clean water and medicines they cannot cope with the thousands injured by the war together with the all the other normal patients who are now going without treatment. The imperialists claim that one of their war aims was to "bring humanitarian aid" to the people of Iraq. In truth their invasion has only brought the people more death and destruction.
At the same time that all this has been happening the US/UK forces have moved swiftly to secure Iraq's oil fields and set up their still semi-secret "Iraqi Interim Authority" inside the country. This "Interim Authority", headed by a retired US general, is in fact the occupation regime that will have dictatorial powers over Iraq, its people and resources. While US officials publicly claim they will hand over control of Iraq to the Iraqi people "as soon as possible", they are actually planning for a military occupation lasting years and perhaps decades. When they speak of the "Iraqi people" they really mean a puppet regime, backed up by US/UK troops which will do their bidding. The imperialists claim that Iraq's oil wealth will provide the basis for the people of Iraq to prosper. In truth they have already laid claim to all of Iraq's oil revenue for the next 10 to 20 years! The complete destruction of Iraq's infrastructure is not only an expression of their callous disregard for the people, it is also part of their conscious strategy to subjugate the population and plunder the country. They will use their control of access to food, water and essential services to try to force people of Iraq to accept their occupation. They will award themselves lucrative contracts at inflated prices to rebuild the very infrastructure they have consciously destroyed and then make the people of Iraq pay for this!
While the big multinationals from the US and UK are already counting their profits the big powers who for their own interests opposed the war - France, Russia and Germany - are demanding to be included in the spoils. They say they will block UN "humanitarian aid" if they do not get what they want. The US has replied that these countries and their corporations should "write off" the debts owed to them by Iraq since those who are not taking part in the killing will not be allowed to take part in the looting that is to follow.
In short: the imperialists are oppressors not liberators, their occupation is not liberation! To disguise all this and spread the lie that the people of Iraq are welcoming the subjugation of their country Western television ran practically non-stop for 24 hours pictures of US Marines tearing down a statue of Saddam in Baghdad with several hundred people standing by and cheering. Of course many in Iraq - and especially among the Kurdish population - will be happy to see the end of a regime which in the final analysis only served the imperialist powers which are now invading and seeking to directly occupy Iraq. But what the western news media did not show was the millions of people in Iraq whose family members have been killed in this invasion or who have died as a result of the sanctions that preceded it and who hate the US and UK just as much if not more. What they did not explain is how the oppression of the Kurds in Iraq will surely be INCREASED as in Turkey, if the US and UK can consolidate their control of the country. What they did not show is how the very same Marines just hours later came under fire from all directions as people in Iraq continue to resist the invasion and occupation of their country. It is claimed that such resistance is coming only from "fanatic supporters" of the regime. In fact it is coming from thousands of people who refuse to accept imperialist domination.
This resistance is sure to continue and could likely grow in strength as more and more people inside and outside Iraq realise the true nature and aims of the imperialists. The imperialists hope that their lies about "liberation" combined with their brutal display of force in Iraq will strike fear in the people there and elsewhere and cause them to give up their struggle against domination. They hope it will also bring about the end of the world wide movement against their aggression in Iraq. While some people will be fooled for a time, this hope is nothing more than a pipe dream. Just as in Iraq itself, all around the world people have been fighting against this war and occupation. The very atrocities the imperialists commit in order to try force the people to submit will only serve to further expose their real aims and provide the basis to mobilise millions more to join this struggle. The lies they tell should only help to teach us to look behind the "news reports" for the real interests involved. There will surely be many twists and turns in the period ahead. But through all this one thing is certain: their oppression of the people will only breed resistance. This a struggle that will not stop until this criminal crusade has been defeated.
The struggle continues, Take the struggle higher!
Iraqi people, you are not alone!
People of the world, unite to defeat the US-UK invasion and occupation of Iraq!