Fighting a Global Empire Requires an Anti-Imperialist Movement
BROADENING THE MOVEMENT BY LINKING THE STRUGGLES

One of the central questions in the antiwar movement is: how do we reach out to the most people in order to build the biggest, broadest movement?

On one side, some say that the way to do this is to narrow the focus, shut out all other issues, and only talk about the war in Iraq. Issues like the occupation of Palestine, racism, LGBT oppression, and the global adventures of the Pentagon are relegated to the back of the bus.

TONC believes that the more inclusive a movement is, the stronger it becomes. In struggling to end the war in Iraq, we are struggling against a global Empire. According to the Department of Defense publication, Active Duty Military Personnel Strengths by Regional Area and by Country, the United States has troops in 135 countries–70% of the world’s countries.

The Bush Administration has clearly signaled its intention to expand the Empire, threatening Korea, Iran, Syria, Cuba, and Venezuela. The single biggest problem for the oppressed and impoverished worldwide is the Pentagon. The problem is not just Iraq, it is global.

Also, this brutal system relies on racism and constant repression to remain in power in the U.S., and the Bush Administration has stepped up attacks on women’s rights, civil rights and civil liberties, immigrants, and the LGBT community.

The tragic devastation and loss of life in the areas impacted by Katrina lay bare the links between endless war, racism, economic injustice, and corporate greed, and make it clear that we must.

Iraq

Although every lie used to justify the invasion has been exposed,the occupation drags on into its third year, with over 100,000 Iraqi people dead, many thousands injured, and an untold number held in the torture chambers ofAbu Ghraib and other detention camps. The Iraqi people have the right to resist the criminal occupation of their country, and the antiwar movement has an obligation to stand in solidarity with them by demanding the immediate, unconditional, complete withdrawal of all occupying forces from Iraq.

Palestine

The movement can no longer be silent on the issue of the Palestinian people’s right to return to their homes, a right that is universally recognized as a basic human right. Only U.S. military, economic, and diplomatic support of the makes the ongoing occupation possible. The antiwar movement must repudiate racism and anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bigotry and stand with the Palestinian people in their struggle against a brutal occupation.

Cuba

For decades, U.S. imperialism has carried out an entrenched aggressive foreign policy against revolutionary Cuba,including the longest blockade in history.Cuba's crime is that it prioritizes free health care and education for its people. The Bush administration’s hard-liners want a more aggressive policy including military intervention. Our right to travel to Cuba continues to be violated.

Zimbabwe

President Robert Mugabe and the people of Zimbabwe have been the victims of a vicious smear campaign by President Bush and Britain’s Prime Minister Blair because of the African leader’s support for the Zimbabwean’s people right to take back the land stolen from them by white colonial settlers, beginning in the late 1800s. The racist demonization of Mugabe fits a now-familiar pattern, where governments and corporate media team up to pave the way for aggression against any leader who challenges their colonial agenda.

The Philippines

The U.S. military occupation of the Philippines has lasted over 100 years, starting in 1898.During the independence struggle, the U.S. killed 1.5 million Filipinos. Under the pretense of waging the war on terror, the U.S. has vastly increased the number of troops there. Human rights abuses by a corrupt regime acting on behalf of the Pentagon are at a new high.

Haiti

For 200 years, ever since the Haitian people carried out the first successful slave revolution in the Western Hemisphere, the U.S.has worked to undermine, sabotage, and humiliate them. The kidnapping of democratically-elected President Jean Bertrand Aristide is just the latest crime carried out by the U.S. in a long history of invasions,coups,sanctions,and plundering.

Venezuela

Ever since President Hugo Chavez was elected, the Bush Administration has worked to undermine and overthrow his government, including organizing a coup in April of 2002.Pat Robertson,a Bush ally and right-wing fundamentalist cleric,has called for the U.S. to assassinate Chavez. Why do Washington and Wall Street want to oust Chavez? Because he has committed what is, to them,the unpardonable act of using the natural resources of Venezuela, including its vast oil reserves, to better the lives of the people,providing health care, education, and housing. Chavez even offered to send medicine and other relief to the areas impacted by Hurricane Katrina at a time when Bush and FEMA were doing nothing.

Iran

As part of the agenda of U.S. hegemony in the Middle East, President Bush declared Iran a part of the ‘Axis of Evil,’his way of saying that they possess massive oil reserves and refuse to bow to Washington’s dictates.The government and corporate media campaign against Iran is following the same script as the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq, with claims of “weapons of mass destruction” and links to terrorism.

Korea

The U.S. occupation of Korea dates to the end of WWII. In the 1950-1953 war against Korea,the U.S.killed over 4 million people and has maintained a military occupation and forced division of the nation until this day, disregarding the Korean people’s desires.

Build a Global Movement to Fight a Global Empire

Across the globe, people are fighting back against the Empire. The Iraqi people are heroically resisting the occupation of their country. The Venezuelan people are pushing forward to build a society based on human needs, not corporate greed. Despite a neo-fascist government and brutal repression, the movement in Colombia continues to fight against privatization and foreign domination. A worldwide movement is gaining strength to boycott Coca-Cola, known to work with Colombian death squads. In Haiti, resistance to the U.S. coup and kidnapping continues. Those of us here in the U.S., living in the seat of the global Empire, owe it to our sisters and brothers across the globe to also take on the Empire.

The devastation, loss of life, and military oppression in the wake of Hurricane Katrina demonstrate clearly that the U.S. government will follow the same murderous policies at home that it follows abroad, and that activists must challenge the Empire on every front. This means standing in solidarity with all who resist the Empire, from Palestine to Iraq to Zimbabwe, and acknowledging their absolute right to determine their own destinies.