Obama leads U.S. deeper into Afghanistan morass

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The first test of Obama’s escalation of the war in Afghanistan, the assault on the small city of Marjah and its environs, has already drawn skeptical reactions from observers. For example, in the Feb. 22 issue of the web journal Salon.com, Juan Cole, president of the Global Americana Institute, wrote: “Even the Wall Street Journal admits that in Marjah, the Marines are not exactly feeling the love from the civilians they have supposedly just liberated. Since the Taliban are typically not as corrupt as the warlords, in fact, to any extent that the US and NATO re-install corrupt warlord types in power, they may alienate the locals.”

The Marjah offensive was touted as an example of collaboration between the U.S.-led occupation forces and the Afghan army, which has been built up under the aegis of the occupiers for eight years. In that respect, most of the observers, including correspondents for the U.S. big-business press, have recorded negative impressions.

Thus, the Washington Post reported Feb. 25: “The operation against the Taliban in Marjah has been a major trial for the Afghan military, showing the army is still far from capable of operating on its own.” The article continued: “Although NATO insists the Marjah offensive is Afghan-led, the Americans appear to make all the major decisions on the ground.”

The article noted a U.S. commander’s statements that the performance of the Afghan forces showed improvement. But it also pointed out: “As the Marjah assault progressed, [Marine Col. Burke] Whitman has had to increase pressure on Afghan troops, especially when they revert to their habit of thinking Americans will do everything for them. At times, Afghan soldiers with 1st Platoon have refused to go on the risky night marches for supplies. And Whitman threatened that those refusing to carry their own food rations would go without eating.

“Some Afghans have refused to stand guard at night, or slipped away during their post, leaving Marines to do all the work.”

The Pakistani English daily Dawn—for obvious reasons, given Pakistan’s stake in the Afghan war—was interested in The New York Times assessment of the performance of the Afghan army. In its Feb. 23 issue, it began its article on the Marjah offensive by quoting a Feb. 21 Times article: “Scenes from this corner of the battlefield, (continued on page 4, in “UPS using E-Verify to fire immigrants”)

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55. Provide unemployment and retirement payments at the level of union wages and We propose an EMERGENCY CONGRESS OF LABOR to discuss and take steps to 6) To combat inflation: A sliding scale of wages and pensions that matches the rises in comsumer prices. To combat high medical costs: A free, universal, public health-care 1) Bail out the people, not the bankers! Open the account books of the banks to full public inspection. Nationalize the banks to be supervised by workers’ committees. 7) Immediate citizenship for all undocumented workers. No job discrimination; equal 2) No foreclosures! No forced evictions! Cancel usurious debt payments, and reduce pay for equal work — regardless of gender, sexual orientation, skin color, or national 3) Full employment at union wages! An emergency public works program to employ 8) Nationalize manufacturing, big agribusiness, energy, and transportation corporaall jobless workers and youth! Employ people to build what we need — low-cost quality housing, efficient mass transportation, cheap and renewable sources of power, 9) To mobilize support for the demands it adopts, the EMERGENCY CONGRESS schools, clinics — and to conserve our water, forests, farmland, and open space. should organize ACTION COMMITTEES in every workplace and neighborhood threat4) Immediate and full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq & Afghanistan! Close all ened by the crisis. These committees can draw up more concrete demands than the U.S. bases abroad! No money for the military — use funds instead for public works!

Convert the war industries to making products for people’s needs and to combat global 10) To put all these measures into effect, we need a LABOR PARTY — based on a fighting union movement and all people who are oppressed and exploited. For a 5) Reduce the workweek to 30 hours with no cut in pay, and cut the retirement age to Editor: Michael Schreiber International Editor: Gerry Foley Canada Editor: Barry Weisleder Socialist Action (ISSN 0747-4237) is published monthly by Socialist Action Publishing Association, P.O. Box 460501, San Francisco, CA 94146-0501. Postmaster: Send address changes to: Socialist Action, P.O. BOX 460501, San Francisco, CA 94146-0501. RATES: For one year (12 issues, 1st-class mail): U.S., Canada, Mexico — $20. All other countries — $30. Money orders and checks should be in U.S. dollars.

Signed articles do not necessarily represent the views of Socialist Action. These are expressed in editorials. Socialist Action is edited, designed, and laid out entirely by volunteer labor. It is printed by members of Local 583, Allied Printing Trades Council, San Francisco, Calif. warming. Name City Phone BY MARC ROME and JEFF MACKLER SAN FRANCISCO—Tens of thousands of college and high school students, unionized campus workers, K-12 teachers, university faculty, parents, and trade-union activists participated in a March 4 day of strikes and mass actions across California to protest the $18 billion bipartisan budget cuts that have devastated public education and other social programs.

Massive college and university tuition increases—32 percent in the state’s university system—brought out tens of thousands of students across the state.

Picket lines were established at several of the state’s universities and public schools. These were followed by mass marchers and rallies, the largest of which was a 4 p.m. mobilization of at least 15,000 in San Francisco’s Civic Center. At least 14 organizations endorsed the San Francisco mobilization, including the United Educators of San Francisco, several California Federation of Teachers/American Federation of Teachers locals, official City College organizations, the San Francisco Labor Council, and the San Francisco Unified School District.

The main organizing of the March 4 protests took place in democratic, united, and independent committees. In contrast to the officials representing state and local public institutions, who favored lobbying the state legislature for additional funding, most participants in the independent committees viewed the crisis in public education as a product of the bipartisan policies of both corporate parties and looked favorably at mass mobilizations of working people and their allies.

Almost 2000 University of California students, faculty, and campus workers rallied and marched to downtown Oakland’s Frank Ogawa Plaza, where another 1500 activists had gathered for a united rally.

Mass pickets at the entrances to the University of CalA WORKERS’ ACTION PROGRAM TO FIGHT THE CRISIS implement the following demands — mortgage payments in proportion to their capitalist-caused decline in value.

Address E-mail Robert Stuart Lowden / la.indymedia.org ifornia at Santa Cruz forced officials to order teachers to refrain from entering the campus, effectively closing it down. Over 1000 rallied at Cal State Northridge, while 2000 from UC San Diego rallied and marched through the downtown area—with additional thousands joining in solidarity. Thousands more protested in Sacramento, Los Angeles, Davis, and Fresno. Protests were organized across the state at every level of public education.

Some 120 solidarity actions in 32 states were similarly organized by a broad range of forces from radical and socialist currents to trade union organizations.

The California actions aimed at reversing the massive budgets cuts mandated by state and city governments that have eviscerated education, health care, social services, mass-transit, and jobs during the past year. Meanwhile, working people throughout the entire country are facing almost exactly the same attacks from the federal government.

In San Francisco and virtually everywhere else, a sense of excitement and a fighting spirit prevailed benefits.

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State Zip tions and place them under the control of elected committees of workers. • Ashland, Ore.: damonjure@ earthlink.net • Ashland, Wis.: northlandiguana@ gmail.com • Boston: bostonsocialistaction@ gmail.com (781) 630-0250 • Carrboro, N.C.: (919) 967-2866, [email protected] • Chicago: P.O. Box 578428 Chicago, IL 60657, [email protected] • Connecticut: (860)478-5300 • Duluth, Minn.: P.O. Box 16853 Duluth, MN 55816, [email protected], www.the-red-raven.blogspot.com • Florida: socialistaction_tampa@ hotmail.com • Kansas City: [email protected] (Left) Thousands of students, parents, and teachers joined the March 4 demonstration in downtown Los Angeles. among the protesters—largely a young and racially diverse crowd. A highlight of the day was the participation of thousands of students who had traveled from all over the Bay Area and formed their own contingents to join the Civic Center action. Students from several San Francisco high schools, including a feeder march of 200 from Mission High, joined the effort. For many, it was their first experience in mass protest.

The mainstream press initially attempted to divert attention from the largely peaceful Berkeley march and rally to an anarchist-led march that had attempted to block Highway 880 in Oakland. But it soon became clear that the corporate media locally and nationally was taking their lead from the last-minute endorsement of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state’s superintendent of public instruction, whose “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” tactic was chosen to blunt the independent character of the concerted actions aimed at the policies they had implemented. An over-enthusiastic Associated Press release reported that “millions” had participated across the country.

At a March 4 rally in New York City, several hundred (continued on page 5)

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