August 24, 2006

Imperialism and fascism continue to march hand in hand, writes Galal Nassar

It would be wrong to assume that a term such as "imperialism", an essential part of the 1960s lexicon, has become outdated. Little has changed, apart from the coining of new words and methods that are, if anything, more venomous. In this region, as elsewhere, the facts speak for themselves.

Let us start with President George W Bush's claim that Muslims subscribe to a despotic creed. The US president recently said those who stage terrorist operations are fascists. But all attacks against civilians in order to further political objectives deserve to be denounced, and that includes crimes perpetrated by the US and Israel against civilians. Fascism has become the underlying premise of US and Israeli policy against Arabs and Muslims. Ironically it is the latter that are being singled out as terrorists. Their extermination is being described as a triumph of good over evil.

The policies of the US administration are fascistic not only because they draw inspiration from extremist biblical ideology. They are also designed to promote the interests and global ambitions of the capitalist class. Capitalism, which many consider an advanced stage in the economic evolution of humanity, has achieved great progress in a number of European societies in the last two centuries. Its very nature, though, means capitalism has undergone profound and violent crises which have resulted in two world wars and a host of other conflicts.

Capitalist wars, which are always fought under a deceptive rhetoric, are a result of the structural crises of capitalism. They are rooted in the exploitative relations that define capitalism's crises. Deep divisions have surfaced within the international community as a result of the long-standing conflict between those who oppress and those who are oppressed. Some nations have attempted to break free of the stranglehold of capitalism and for a while they succeeded, creating socialist models that aimed to free the oppressed from colonial and economic hegemony.

Capitalism, though, kept creeping back, sidestepping the barriers, recycling its modes of operation. What capitalism has singularly failed to do, however, is address the core of its crisis, its exploitative tendencies and willingness to thwart the aspirations of nations to build their own systems.

The conflict between capitalist countries and their corporations and nations striving for liberation and democracy has never stopped, although it changed shape as power shifted and new realities emerged.

After World War II the US dominated the world scene, having elbowed Great Britain aside. Oil replaced coal and sophisticated weapons supplanted the cannon and the gunboat. US bases spread across the world. The dollar replaced sterling as a symbol of military and economic strength.

New alliances emerged as policies were fashioned to promote the same capitalist system within the post-war, bi-polar environment.

Imperialism was born from the womb of capitalism. Its aims -- to limit free competition and give the corporations a freehand overseas -- remain unchanged. It seeks to create new social values and promote new laws in its voracious search for ever greater profit and control.

Business interests dictate the policies of the imperial state which acts as the big stick which herds "pariah countries" along the "road to democracy". Imperial economic and cultural policies promote the interests of a capitalist class which for years had to grudgingly accept the presence of another superpower.

In the bi-polar world the two superpowers reached an understanding over how to run the world. International organisations emerged as a result, along with a set of international and humanitarian laws that defined the world of bi-polarity. But that world was not to last forever. National liberation movements were underlined, a wedge was driven between China and the Soviet Union and eventually the bastion of "socialism" collapsed, ushering in what we see today, a world in which the US calls all the shots and international organisations are manipulated to give the US the minimum legitimacy it needs to dominate the world.

While imperialism continues to exploit the resources of other countries imperialists cloak their aims in terms that strive to be culturally and politically acceptable. Human rights, democracy, the fight against terror, the removal of weapons of mass destruction are all wheeled out to support their actions. A massive media machine, immense funding, tremendous technical and human capabilities are all used to forge a public opinion receptive to military intervention. Imperialism uses deception and forgery, lies and fabrications, to justify its bullying, killing and torture.

The use of mercenaries is something that has characterised America's wars. Mercenary tactics were applied in Vietnam, Honduras, Panama, Cuba, Nicaragua and other Latin American countries. US- hired mercenaries have engaged in acts of genocide that in their contempt for humanitarian law and norms compare with the exploits of Nazi Germany.

The US tendency to use mercenaries coincides with its search for political and media voices that act as "national facilitators" within the new regimes it installs. These fifth columns within politics and the media have been trained to promote US interests. We see them now in Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon.

Fascism is the outcome of the actions and rhetoric of a class determined to defend its own interests whatever the costs. Imperialism and its political proponents will stop at nothing to eliminate their political and class opponents. Imperialism will trample underfoot humanitarian values and principles and engage in political charlatanism as it uses its vast resources to kill thousands of people and invade any number of countries. Imperialism is not averse to besieging civilians, or cutting off cities. Imperialism happily corrals thousands of civilians behind barbed wire and employs the most despicable means of mental and physical torture. This is what the world is eyeing in Iraq.

The Bush administration, backed by Tony Blair's government, is responsible for major war crimes. These crimes have been committed in Afghanistan and Palestine with the same venom seen earlier in Japan and Vietnam, and now in Lebanon.

Lebanon has always been a thorn in the side of Israeli expansion. Lebanon is a geographic and political barrier to the implementation of the Zionist-American scheme for the greater Middle East, a scheme that started with the occupation of Iraq. The scheme became bogged down thanks to the valiant resistance of Iraqis, forcing the US administration to accelerate its exploits elsewhere in the region. Washington gave Israel the moral and material backing to attack Lebanon, reciting the usual litany of justification -- that this was a conflict between freedom and terror -- for its destruction and wanton murder. The US and Israel hoped to force Lebanon into submitting to Condoleezza Rice's terms for a ceasefire.

Capitalist fascism and racist Zionism are an international menace reminiscent of Nazism in their disregard for all civilised norms. The crimes of the fascist imperial age, seen in Hiroshima, Palestine, Vietnam, Iraq and Lebanon, clearly show that the only possible option for the oppressed of the world is to stand up and resist.