Libya, Wisconsin, wikileaks. Imperialism and its stooges at bay.

international | worker & community struggles and protests | opinion/analysis Saturday February 26, 2011 02:57 by john throne - Facts for Working People. loughfinn at aol dot com

There has never been a time like it.

The countries of the Middle east and North Africa are rising up and crushing their imperialist imposed stooge regimes. They are forcing their way into modern history. We are witnessing the changing of the world. If you are not celebrating then you have a serious flaw to your system.

Middle Eastern Revolution. Wikileaks. Unions.

Left: from Angry Arab News Service. Iraq's response to Bush's "liberation" of their country.

I thought I would never live to see it. Up to a dozen countries in mass revolt at the one time. And countries that produce huge quantities of the world's oil and control the Suez canal. I alternate between rage at the lunatic dictators and stooges of imperialism such as Ghadafi, at the puppet masters themselves such as Bush, Clinton, Obama, Blair etc, and glee and joy as I see the millions of youth and workers take the streets and the cities. I do not think there has ever been a time like this. I celebrate my life at this time and thank the youth and workers of the Middle East and North Africa.

I thought there for a few days Ghadafi would possibly be able to hang on. Now I think not. As the people say they have lost their fear. The mercenaries he is bringing in do not seem to be able to do the job as the state machine cracks and goes over to the revolution under the impact of the fearless mass movement of the working class, youth and middle class. Yes it is possible the country may descend into civil war but as the lunatic dictator's grip gets more and more reduced to a small area around Tripoli this seems less likely.

What will come after is not clear. But what is clear is that it will be a big step forward to bring down this freak dictator. If his regime falls, which is now likely, then this will be one more domino down in the region and one more blow at imperialism's grip on the region. The problem of the lack of an international working class revolutionary leadership which would fight for a socialist federation of the Middle East will enormously complicate things but this must not in any way dilute our support for this historic revolutionary movement. We are at the beginning of the entry of hundreds of millions of people into their struggle to enter the modern world and to build a new society which corresponds to their needs and to the potential that exists with the new technology and learning the lessons from the past of the human species. I weep in humility here in gratitude to these revolutionary masses who are changing the world and brightening my world.

It seems that the liberated areas are being run by committees of professionals such as lawyers and military officers. It seems also that the youth and workers who are doing most of the fighting and seizing the weapons of the old regime are orientating to these committees. It is important that the committees to run the country as the old regime cracks be based on the working class and youth. We want the new Libya to be a socialist democratic society as part of a socialist federation of the Middle East in which the wealth is shared and owned by all and the wealth distributed fairly to all. We do not want a new elite to spring up, nor do we want new links with imperialism which would allow imperialism to continue to dominate the country and the region and loot the wealth.

One of the features of the revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa has been how clearly they have shown up the role of imperialism. Over the past days we have shown this on our blog with photos of Bush, Clinton, Blair, Rice, Chaney, Berlusconi and other leaders of the major capitalist countries hugging and kissing Ghadafi. We even have Berlusconi kissing his hand. We want to draw attention of our readers to this. And to draw some conclusions. One is that these leaders are scum, unprincipled scum. They must be given no respect. Also these leaders claim to have been carrying out their dirty dealings in the name of the people of their respective countries. This is not so. While pretending to speak for the people of their own countries, or of the so called "international community" these unprincipled mass murderers such as Bush, Clinton, Blair, Rice, Chaney, Berlusconi etc. have been acting on behalf of the major corporations of their own countries. This has to be understood and made clear. They do not speak for us.

It is important to make this clear. These scum do not speak or act for us. They speak only for the capitalists in their own countries. We the working class have to separate ourselves from these scum, these mass murderers, these huggers of mass murderers, these dealers with mass murderers such as Ghadafi. We stand instead for unity with the working class in the Middle East, North Africa and world wide. We stand for unity with the heroic working class and youth of Libya and the entire region. We denounce and separate ourselves from the US and other international capitalists who have kept these mass murderers in power and helped them keep down their own people.

There are other issues that come up as we watch the great Middle Eastern and North African revolutions. Where are the leaders of the workers organizations on these events. If they say anything at all they bleat some mild concurrence with the policies of the capitalist classes in their own countries. This is a scandal, a disgrace. The workers leaders could bring together their forces and organize mass work stoppages internationally and organize an end to all transactions of any kind with these regimes. All trade could be stopped and all reserves these murderers and thieves have in banks could be frozen by the bank workers to be handed over to the new workers governments. Along with this the workers leaders could unconditionally condemn the capitalists in their own countries and disown them.

For us the left and the radical movement we must over come our left sectarianism and work together to these ends also. It is pathetic to see the great movement in the Middle East and North Africa and to see left sectarianism continue in the left else where. To take one example from my own area. While the great revolution is surging forward in the Middle East and North Africa here in Chicago the left and radical movement could not even get over their left sectarianism sufficiently to run a candidate for major. And now we are going to be saddled with a right wing Zionist. We in the left and radical movement have to catch ourselves on. And along with that all those Liberals who are paralyzed with fear about what might come after Ghaddafi must catch themselves on too. History has never been made by people who are so frightened by what might happen that they cling on to what is no matter how bad that is.

World capitalism was dealt a blow by the financial crash of 2008. Its moral and political authority was seriously damaged. Now we have it further damaged by the exposure of its role in the Middle East and North Africa over the last hundred years. At home in the US capitalism is increasingly discredited by its role in the attack on workers living standards as seen in Wisconsin and other states. The class struggle is sharpening. Class consciousness is increasing. The world revolution is gathering steam. What a time to be alive.

No wonder they want amongst other things to silence Wikileaks and extradite Assange. They are crippling it as it seems it has only managed so far to publish 500 of the 25,000 cables it has in its holds.

Defend the North American and Middle Eastern Revolution.
For a Democratic Socialist Federation of the Middle East and North Africa.
Defend Wikileaks, Assange and release Bradly Manning.

Sean.