U.S. defeat of Iraq is no victory for working people

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Rhoda Hatch demonstrates outside the White House with a picture of her son, a The crushing of Iraq Socialists in S. Africa Baltics vote independence "Victory!" "It's Over!" "Iraq's Military Crushed!" These were the gloating headlines on the front page of daily newspapers across the country following President Bush's cessation of hostilities agaiust Iraq on Feb. 27.

Undoubtedly, the lightning quickness of U.S. imperialism's military triumph over the Iraqi armed forces caught even the most optimistic war boosters by surprise. After all, the politicians and generals were prepared to sacrifice the lives of thousands of American soldiers-the sons and daughters of working people-to maintain their control over the natural resources of the Middle East.

But after dropping (in the course of 100,000 air sorties) over a million pounds of explosives on Iraq, and then unleashing a murderous ground/air assault against a withdrawing army, who should be surprised at the outcome?

This was a war that the U.S. ruling class ached for from the start. It was the first salvo of what they boastfully call the "new world order."

Bush refused to allow Saddam Hussein to back out of Kuwait gracefully shortly before the ground offensive began. His stated intention to "humiliate" Hussein had only one intended goal: to "humiliate" the masses of the Arab world in particular, and the rest of the underdeveloped world in general.

A country in tatters The U.S. ruling class made it brutally clear how far it will go to protect its economic interests in the area. Iraq, once a country with one of the higher standards of living in the Middle East, is now shattered.

With nearly 150,000 dead, hundreds of thousands wounded, its social and economic infrastructure in tatters, Iraq today is grim testimony to what is meant by the "new world order." Damage to the country is estimated at over $200 billion-and not a cent to rebuild the country will come from the United States. Under the most optimum conditions, it will take Iraqi workers and peasants at least a decade to recover.

The hypocrisy of the U.S. rulers is only surpassed by their brutality. In a "war for democracy" they re-installed the feudal Kuwaiti princes; in a "war against aggression" they unleashed a "blitzkrieg;" in a "war for peace" they levelled cities, killed civilians, and impoverished a nation.

The United States is now not only prepared to play the role of "world cop," it has also demonstrated its capacity to play the role of "world hard cop."

Is the war over?

'This war is now behind us," George Bush says. But is the war really over? Soviet revolutionary Leon Trotsky said that war was the midwife to revolution. And today, in Iraq, the specter of social revolution is looming on the horizon.

In cities like Basra, Nasiriya, Samawa, and Karbala, the masses are in the streets. This social upheaval could easily set off a chain reaction in urban centers throughout the Arab world. While Bush may be happy to see his former client Hussein ejected from power, the dynamic created by a mass mobilization in Iraq may set a course not intended by U.S. imperialism.

The policy-makers in Washington, D.C.

soldier stationed in Saudi Arabia.

unleashed their military machine against Iraq to "insure stability" in the region. Ironically, their "victory" may prove to be much more "destabilizing" to the region than Hussein's takeover of Kuwait. The real war—class war—may be just starting.

Defeating a disorganized and demoralized army is one thing; fighting against a politically-motivated and radicalized mass movement is quite another. The United States wouldn't be the first imperial power in history to win the battles but lose the Is Vietnam Syndrome dead?

"By God, I think we've got this Vietnam Syndrome thing licked," George Bush stated at a press conference the day after he declared victory over Iraq.

Besides trying to humiliate the Arab (continued on page 5, in “[SOCIALIST ACTION MARCH 1991 5 NEW YORK-The 26th…]”) Inside this issue:

... page pages 7-10.