From: yuda-AT-caverock.net.nz Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 13:20:56 +1300 Subject: War on Iraq - Anarchist perspective from aotearoa --Alt-Boundary-18654.3940566 Content-description: Mail message body This is the text from the anti war flyer wildcat produced YudA THE NZ 'CENTRE-LEFT' Labour government has said it will support war against Iraq if mandated by the Security Council of the United Nations. In practice, the NZ government is already supporting state terrorism in the Middle East - it supports the US 'war against terrorism' to which the proposed war on Iraq is closely linked. The NZ state recently promised to send a frigate and an Orion aircraft to the Gulf of Oman to support the war in Afghanistan - with the effect of releasing a US or British warship to attack Iraq. The NZ military will report to a US aircraft carrier which has been directing daily bombing flights over Iraq. Over the period 1996- 1999, NZ governments have sent frigates four times to support economic sanctions against Iraq, sanctions which are estimated to have caused the deaths of over half a million children, through starvation, diseases of malnutrition, and lack of medical supplies. Saddam Hussein is an evil dictator, however if the US government, or any other external power remove him by force, this will only enable another oppressor to step into his shoes. The ordinary people of Iraq should determine themselves how they should run their own country, not a foreign state. Western governments should not interfere in the Middle East, and a UN mandate gained by pressure from the US government does not make an unjust war any more just. The slogan 'war on terrorism' ignores the reality all states are terrorist, using the threat of force (police, army, prisons) to control their own people, protect private property, and threaten other states. As anarchists, we oppose all forms of terrorism, all forms of coercion. Capitalism and state terrorism are irrevocably linked. War is big business - historically capitalism has both generated and profited from war. After the outbreak of the Second World War and also of the Korean war, shares steadily rose in value. In particular, World War Two meant good business for US capitalism - a chance to supply its allies with goods and raw materials at great profit. After September 11, when the New York Stock Exchange reopened on 17 September, shares in arms companies like Lockheed soared (even though other share prices collapsed). Today, the US state wants strategic control of the Middle East, so that US oil companies can exploit the oil reserves in the region. The result has been war in Afghanistan, and now in Iraq. Over the last ten years, the US sanctions against Iraq, and the bombing of hospitals, schools, and infrastructure have terrorised, not Saddam Hussein, but the ordinary people of Iraq. It seems likely that an attack on Iraq will be followed by a fresh wave of terrorist attacks on Western nations, providing justification for an even more violent response, more repressive legislation at home ... a continuous cycle of war and repression. On the home front, wars divert attention from economic, social, and environmental problems. Wars have traditionally been exploited by governments to generate feelings of patriotism, support for the government, acceptance of limits on personal freedom and falling living standards. People's genuine anger and frustration is directed towards Saddam Hussein, rather than at their own rulers, and watching the war on TV screens provides entertainment and excitement, a deadly form of 'reality TV. 'Anti-terrorist' legislation will be used to undermine civil liberties, and allows political activists or striking workers to be redefined as 'terrorists', criminalising anyone who supports liberation movements or participates in mass demonstrations. The NZ government passed tough new 'anti-terrorist' legislation in October and plans to introduce a second round of laws by the end of the year. The anti-war movement in Aotearoa needs to learn from the successes of the global anti- capitalist movement - in particular how to organise in a non-hierarchical way, based around decentralised affinity groups, and a focus on direct action. Building up mass coalitions of ordinary people opposed to the war is essential, but not enough in itself. Possible other actions include strikes in workplaces connected with the war industry, blockades or occupations of the military installations at Harewood and Waihopai (both of which are used by the US war machine). Although a war on Iraq may end, the 'War against terrorism' has no conceivable resolution. With the potential to involve as many as sixty countries, capitalist wars provide the state with the means to distract and silence the working class of this and other capitalist countries, from the issues we face in our lives every day - for the rest of our lives. --Alt-Boundary-18654.3940566
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