The Worker, Vol. 35, Number 11
Biden Lies About Ending the War in Afghanistan in Order to Get Blank Check Assurances
President Biden this month announced several expected changes to U.S. relations with Afghanistan. Biden characterized his administration's latest plans for Afghanistan as a "decision to end the war."
In the first place, the U.S. will now be ranging herself to a mission concentrated on domination of Afghan airspace. According to Biden, "We provided our Afghan partners with all the tools – let me emphasize: all the tools, training, and equipment of any modern military. We provided advanced weaponry. And we are going to continue to provide funding and equipment. And we will ensure that they have the capacity to maintain their airforce."
According to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in June 10 testimony in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, "In terms of our efforts to establish over-the-horizon capability, I would just point to the fact that, as we have retrograded a lot of our capability out of country, we are doing a lot of things over-the-horizon now. ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) is being flown from [Gulf countries]. A lot of our combat aircraft missions are being conducted from platforms in the Gulf. And so we have the capability now to do that."
In the second place, a decision has been arrived at to institute more flexible ways of interacting with the "Afghan National Security Forces" in order to provide less visible training and support in the so-called "post-COVID world order." According to Joint Chiefs of Staff General Milley in a May 6 press briefing, "We'll also continue to take a look at training them in perhaps other locations – but no, we haven't figured that out 100 percent yet. But also things like maintenance support and perhaps C.T. ("counter-terrorism") support from over-the-horizon. There's a lot of ways to do that and we're very capable of doing it, and we're working on those plans right now."
These measures end the war in the sense that one ends a smoke by putting out a cigarette butt in an ashtray prior to lighting a new cigarette.
Confronted by the ever-mounting resistance struggle of the Afghan people, U.S. imperialism is trying to gain a respite from the last 20 years of failure, to find new ways to strengthen its hand against the Afghan revolution. So too, the capitalists hope to overcome the growing isolation of the entire war program of U.S. imperialism, to slow down the class polarization, to prevent the further isolation and exposure of the Democrats, and to keep the American people from taking the path of genuine political independence.
In the present situation, U.S. imperialism is especially warlike because of the intensity of the worldwide capitalist crisis. For many years, U.S. monopolies have tried to shift the burden of this crisis onto the backs of other countries and peoples but the reality is that the U.S. capitalists are not as economically and politically strong as their vast appetite for profits. Thus, to maintain its superpower status and strive to achieve its morbid dream of a unipolar world, U.S. imperialism relies on military force. That is why the so-called "international war against terrorism," this blueprint for world domination through military force, is the bipartisan program of both the Democratic and Republican parties.
The U.S. and its allies in the Security Council which have endorsed U.S. imperialism's blueprint for regime change war are resorting to blatant colonialism. The war on Afghanistan is being used to establish the precedent that on the basis of "might makes right," one country can invade another, implement a regime that is sympathetic to it, and receive the endorsement and material aid of the UN in the commission of the crime.
No amount of lying demagogy can hide the brutal deeds and class aims of big capital. Instead of recognizing the sovereign equality of all nations and renouncing the use of force against other countries, the imperialist powers are frantically trying to shift the burden onto others, to grab economic territory and spheres of influence, to redraw the map of the world amongst themselves. Smaller and less powerful countries are being forced to yield their national sovereignty and national independence to the demands of global capitalism and the big imperialist powers. A permanent state of militarism and war is being imposed on the peoples. So too, imperialism is working to plunge humanity into new, unprecedented wars and disasters.
Biden is playing the most cynical game on the American people. Biden's line of relying on the counter-revolutionary dual tactics of combining open military aggression with political deception is based on the most bestial chauvinism, on the unrestrained exploiting aims of U.S. imperialism, and therefore it is utterly in opposition to the profound democratic and anti-imperialist sentiments of American people. It can never gain the support of the masses and can only lead to a sharpening of the profound polarization which is already taking place.
Even while imperialism is unleashing new disasters on the peoples, the people are responding and can only respond by organizing and fighting against war and imperialism. Imperialism may still look powerful. It has weapons, money and colossal means for oppression and domination. Grave dangers are facing the peoples. But imperialism is eroded and decayed by its incurable contradictions and wounds. The fate of the peoples and mankind does not lie in its hands. And indeed, since the launch of the war on Afghanistan, something inspiring and new has come into being. People have created a new anti-war movement and a new political space which has already gone beyond the limits of sporadic, spontaneous protests.
Today the anti-war movement faces an urgent task.
We must continue to expand our struggle, galvanizing more and more people into action against the government's war program. The capitalist class, its government and political parties must be the target of the struggle against war. In the course of this work we must organize ourselves and strengthen the people's independent political movement. We must continually politicize ourselves and extend the political discussion to the widest possible sections of people. We must take all the questions of strategy, tactics and organization of our own movement into our own hands.
It is squarely on the shoulders of the workers and anti-imperialist masses to succeed at thwarting imperialism's war plans today and to prepare for its overthrow next. We must aim at nothing less than bringing to power a new, anti-war and people's government which recognizes the sovereign equality of every nation, which can withdrawal all U.S. troops stationed abroad, which can live in peace and friendship with all the peoples.
In the first place, the U.S. will now be ranging herself to a mission concentrated on domination of Afghan airspace. According to Biden, "We provided our Afghan partners with all the tools – let me emphasize: all the tools, training, and equipment of any modern military. We provided advanced weaponry. And we are going to continue to provide funding and equipment. And we will ensure that they have the capacity to maintain their airforce."
According to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in June 10 testimony in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, "In terms of our efforts to establish over-the-horizon capability, I would just point to the fact that, as we have retrograded a lot of our capability out of country, we are doing a lot of things over-the-horizon now. ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) is being flown from [Gulf countries]. A lot of our combat aircraft missions are being conducted from platforms in the Gulf. And so we have the capability now to do that."
In the second place, a decision has been arrived at to institute more flexible ways of interacting with the "Afghan National Security Forces" in order to provide less visible training and support in the so-called "post-COVID world order." According to Joint Chiefs of Staff General Milley in a May 6 press briefing, "We'll also continue to take a look at training them in perhaps other locations – but no, we haven't figured that out 100 percent yet. But also things like maintenance support and perhaps C.T. ("counter-terrorism") support from over-the-horizon. There's a lot of ways to do that and we're very capable of doing it, and we're working on those plans right now."
These measures end the war in the sense that one ends a smoke by putting out a cigarette butt in an ashtray prior to lighting a new cigarette.
Confronted by the ever-mounting resistance struggle of the Afghan people, U.S. imperialism is trying to gain a respite from the last 20 years of failure, to find new ways to strengthen its hand against the Afghan revolution. So too, the capitalists hope to overcome the growing isolation of the entire war program of U.S. imperialism, to slow down the class polarization, to prevent the further isolation and exposure of the Democrats, and to keep the American people from taking the path of genuine political independence.
In the present situation, U.S. imperialism is especially warlike because of the intensity of the worldwide capitalist crisis. For many years, U.S. monopolies have tried to shift the burden of this crisis onto the backs of other countries and peoples but the reality is that the U.S. capitalists are not as economically and politically strong as their vast appetite for profits. Thus, to maintain its superpower status and strive to achieve its morbid dream of a unipolar world, U.S. imperialism relies on military force. That is why the so-called "international war against terrorism," this blueprint for world domination through military force, is the bipartisan program of both the Democratic and Republican parties.
The U.S. and its allies in the Security Council which have endorsed U.S. imperialism's blueprint for regime change war are resorting to blatant colonialism. The war on Afghanistan is being used to establish the precedent that on the basis of "might makes right," one country can invade another, implement a regime that is sympathetic to it, and receive the endorsement and material aid of the UN in the commission of the crime.
No amount of lying demagogy can hide the brutal deeds and class aims of big capital. Instead of recognizing the sovereign equality of all nations and renouncing the use of force against other countries, the imperialist powers are frantically trying to shift the burden onto others, to grab economic territory and spheres of influence, to redraw the map of the world amongst themselves. Smaller and less powerful countries are being forced to yield their national sovereignty and national independence to the demands of global capitalism and the big imperialist powers. A permanent state of militarism and war is being imposed on the peoples. So too, imperialism is working to plunge humanity into new, unprecedented wars and disasters.
Biden is playing the most cynical game on the American people. Biden's line of relying on the counter-revolutionary dual tactics of combining open military aggression with political deception is based on the most bestial chauvinism, on the unrestrained exploiting aims of U.S. imperialism, and therefore it is utterly in opposition to the profound democratic and anti-imperialist sentiments of American people. It can never gain the support of the masses and can only lead to a sharpening of the profound polarization which is already taking place.
Even while imperialism is unleashing new disasters on the peoples, the people are responding and can only respond by organizing and fighting against war and imperialism. Imperialism may still look powerful. It has weapons, money and colossal means for oppression and domination. Grave dangers are facing the peoples. But imperialism is eroded and decayed by its incurable contradictions and wounds. The fate of the peoples and mankind does not lie in its hands. And indeed, since the launch of the war on Afghanistan, something inspiring and new has come into being. People have created a new anti-war movement and a new political space which has already gone beyond the limits of sporadic, spontaneous protests.
Today the anti-war movement faces an urgent task.
We must continue to expand our struggle, galvanizing more and more people into action against the government's war program. The capitalist class, its government and political parties must be the target of the struggle against war. In the course of this work we must organize ourselves and strengthen the people's independent political movement. We must continually politicize ourselves and extend the political discussion to the widest possible sections of people. We must take all the questions of strategy, tactics and organization of our own movement into our own hands.
It is squarely on the shoulders of the workers and anti-imperialist masses to succeed at thwarting imperialism's war plans today and to prepare for its overthrow next. We must aim at nothing less than bringing to power a new, anti-war and people's government which recognizes the sovereign equality of every nation, which can withdrawal all U.S. troops stationed abroad, which can live in peace and friendship with all the peoples.