An Empire with Feet of Clay
The bombast of imperial ultimatums filled the air this week, as spokesmen for the Anglo-American heirs of H.G. Wells, and President George W. Bush himself, brandished one threat after another against nations around the world, if they don't kowtow to the "war on terrorism." But no assessment of the strategic situation is possible without looking as well at the weak and dirty underside of this drive for an "American imperium," which also made itself dramatically visible.
Most notable was the testimony of the chiefs of the U.S. Pacific and European Commands before the House Armed Services Committee on March 21, in which they made clear that they don't have the capability of carrying out the missions they've already been committed to, much less the planned military action against Iraq. These military leaders were seconded later in the week by others.
Behind these revelations, one must recall, lie the shambles of the U.S. physical economy, which has been systematically looted by the "free trade" and "globalization" regime of the past 37 years, and which is now taking down one corporate giant--GM, General Electric, Marconi, Philip Holzman--after another.
The other aspect of the "feet of clay" of the would-be Anglo-American monolith is the lightning-like spread of terrorism, and other forms of social unrest and disintegration, around the globe. As in the case of the Roman Empire, an imperial system does not create "order," but rather rules over a pandemonium of disorder, which is most conducive to its continued hegemony. Indeed, the acceleration of this disorder leads to the imposition of greater and greater dictatorial means from the top.
On top of Afghanistan, Israel-Palestine, Georgia, and the Philippines, we have now seen a flare-up of terrorism across Western Europe, and, perhaps most dangerously, in Peru, itself only the tip of the iceberg of the terrorist resurgence in Ibero-America. In addition, the crisis-spots in Asia--especially the communal violence between Muslims and Hindus in India--hold the potential of accomplishing what some financial oligarchs have desired for decades: a population-reducing nuclear war between India and Pakistan, which could create a contagious upheaval throughout all of Asia.
The question which looms is this: Will the reality of the collapsed condition of the U.S. military and economy, and the reality of the brutalizing chaos and terror which is unleashed by the imperial game, actually be used by sane forces around the world, and especially in the United States, to bring the "new American imperium" posture to a halt? Or will the illusion of imperial omnipotence be permitted to survive until it has done its destructive work?
Imperial Threats...
Not since the early 1960s have the arrogant threats from the Anglo-American establishment against those who "cross them," been so heavy. Increasingly, these threats--as in the case of the "leaked" Nuclear Posture Review--involve the potential preemptive use of nuclear weapons. Indeed, what else can a great power do if it has no logistics, or competent personnel, for a war, whose purpose is only destruction anyway?
Leading the pack was that evil old veteran of bluster and geopolitical intimidation, Henry Kissinger, who appeared before the Italian Senate in order to tell his audience that "we have a nuclear arsenal with which we are ready to react." React to what? Kissinger intimated that it would be wrong to "wait" until nations who allegedly have "weapons of mass destruction" actually use them, or to seek a diplomatic alternative to military aggression. When you realize that Kissinger is referring to Iraq, among others, on which there is no evidence of a threat of weapons of mass destruction against anyone, the horror of his threat is clear.
But Kissinger was not alone. He was joined by none other than British Defense Minister Geoffrey Hoon, who blurted out that "dictators" like Saddam Hussein "can be absolutely confident that in the right conditions (sic!), we would be willing to use our nuclear weapons." On a lesser scale were the threats of the likes of Richard Perle, who told those assembled at the American-Turkish Council, that the only "inspectors" which Iraq should see are the 82nd Airborne, and newspaper columnist Tony Blankley, who is demanding a preemptive nuclear strike against Iraq.
This kind of talk first surfaced in the wake of Sept. 11, and serves as a marker for those who subscribe to the universal fascist world outlook of Brzezinski, Kissinger, Huntington, et al. They are out to destroy the nation-state, and that includes the United States, as well. The ravings also reflect an utter hysteria on the part of those, like President Bush, who seem to have been virtually brainwashed into believing the fantasies about the capabilities, not to mention intentions, of nations like Iraq.
Meet Physical and Social Disintegration
The emergence of American military voices telling the truth about both the U.S. inability to successfully wage the wars it's threatening, and its misjudgment of its capabilities, is more than overdue. Up until this point, the civilian lunatics in the Defense Department, in particular, have been running the propaganda show.
By now, however, it's become almost impossible to hide the fact that the U.S. is not handily winning in Afghanistan, as has been so widely touted. In fact, it's been the assessment of numerous sources that the quagmire the U.S. has entered in that country, is the only thing that has frustrated the Wolfowitz cabal in its insistence on an invasion of Iraq.
A roster of leading military men have now come forward to testify that the U.S. does not have the naval forces, the manpower, or the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance forces needed to take further military action beyond Afghanistan. In addition, other military voices, such as Col. (ret'd) David Hackworth, and even General Wesley Clark, have joined Lyndon LaRouche's earlier warnings that the Afghanistan war is going to intensify, rather than calm down. Some intelligence sources contacted by EIR estimate that as many as 60% of the al-Qaeda and Taliban forces remain intact, hidden in the hills, and can be expected to engage as spring advances in Afghanistan.
Add to this the fact that the United States has run into a near-solid wall of opposition among the Arab nations, to collaboration in expanding the war into the Middle East, and the imperial threats become even more apocalyptic. If the U.S., like Sharon, feels impelled to "go it alone," the conflict they desire is much more likely to be nuclear.
Global Disintegration
In assessing the Sept. 11 atrocities at the time, Lyndon LaRouche made two crucial points. The first was that this assault had to have come from inside the United States, and was geared toward creating a "Clash of Civilizations" war. The second was that the only competent approach toward stopping a global religious war of devastating proportions, would be to reassert sanity in the economic domain, through governmental action for a New Bretton Woods and global development projects. Without such economic action, the irrationality, LaRouche said, was likely to spread.
Indeed, this is precisely what has happened in response to the "military crackdown" approach taken by the Bush Administration. Rather than calming tensions, this approach has inflamed them, in a political atmosphere in which means of winning the war are being ruled out of order.
Thus, the intensifying conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians is being met by threats from the U.S. Administration against Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, while the U.S. ignores the clear evidence that Sharon is pursuing a genocidal, Nazi policy against the Palestinians. In response, social unrest is spreading in other Arab nations--just a foretaste of what will come if the planned attack on Iraq is not stopped.
And old terrorist insurgencies are once again being resurrected. While the wave of assassinations in Western Europe this last week was notable, even more dramatic was the deadly bombing in Lima, Peru. It could be that this was a revival of Sendero Luminoso, which brought Peru almost to its knees in the early 1990s, but even more dangerous is the possibility that the perpetrators were the FARC of Colombia. Already, the FARC--which has been supported by powerful pro-narco forces like the New York Stock Exchange's Richard Grasso--is known to have established an active presence in Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, and Peru, at minimum. In effect, it's a continental army prepared to destroy every nation, in favor of the global empire.
Even more dangerous than the Ibero-American eruption, is the increase in tensions between Muslims and Hindus in India, an increase which has potentially short-term repercussions for relations between the two nuclear powers, India and Pakistan. Stoked by the "anti-Muslim" war which the "war on terrorism" appears to be, and by Anglo-American intelligence networks set on preventing Eurasian collaboration, this communal conflict in India has the potential to bring on worldwide disaster.
The Crucial Flanks
Three aspects of the global picture provide us with the necessary handles to flank what would otherwise be an overwhelming picture of disaster.
The first aspect is the ongoing financial and physical collapse of the world economy, a process which demonstrates that only LaRouche has the credentials to deal with the current crisis, and that there is no alternative to that radical reorganization of the financial system, and reorientation of the physical economy to production. Contrary to the "recovery" propaganda, which people want to believe, there is an unarguable reality of massive layoffs, bankruptcies, and collapses in production and trade. It is that reality which led to the steel import tariff in the U.S., although the Administration has so far not taken the necessary lessons from it. For that, political leaders will have to master the approach which informs LaRouche's "Fair Trade as a Phase Shift" article, which appears in this edition of EIW.
One should also note a late-breaking item showing the fraud of the so-called stock market recovery, a piece in the March 25 Financial Times of London which reveals that the January meeting of the Federal Reserve "considered" (and most likely carried out) a massive bailout of the equity markets, to deal with the looming blowout crisis.
Another political handle which was presented this week came from none other than Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, who took the occasion of an interview with ABC's Barbara Walters on his peace plan, to call for a crackdown on drug-money-laundering, as the crucial handmaiden for terrorism. This proposal resonates strongly with that put forward by LaRouche in his campaign Special Report "To Stop Terrorism, Shut Down Dope, Inc.," and, with the turn against the Colombian narcoterrorists which occurred officially this last week, underscores the potential to ram this policy through.
Most important, those who want to stop the Clash of Civilizations and new "American Imperium" are coming forward around the leadership of Lyndon LaRouche. Media coverage of LaRouche's statements continues to proliferate in the Arabic-language press and in Iran, especially. And this week, LaRouche was once more the guest of the Northern Italian entrepreneurs' association, where he had the occasion to speak with dozens of influential leaders about how to solve the current crisis. Our short report in the Almanac, will be elaborated in a future issue.
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