BUSH STILL WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD
A statement of the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
January 15, 2007
The Bush administration has launched a major escalation of the war in Iraq. The subtext of his address to the nation on January 10, 2007 was the threat that Iran, and possibly Syria, will be attacked by the United States under the pretext that those nations are aiding anti-US forces in Iraq.
The day after his televised address, Bush ordered the bombing of the Iranian Consulate in Irbil, Kurdistan. They arrested the consular officers, defying demands of the Iraqi government, even such as it is.
Bush has put an admiral in charge of the Central Command, an expert at sea launched air strikes. Israel has openly leaked threats to strike Iran with nuclear weapons.
The new Bush policy is, therefore, not just an incremental escalation of the war in Iraq, but is potentially a major escalation that could engulf the entire Persian Gulf and Arab Middle East in the flames of a war that could quickly become a World War.
The U.S. has lost control in Iraq and its actions there have vastly increased Iran’s regional influence. That’s tough for the interests of the United States, especially the oil monopolies on whose behalf this administration has been acting. The only hope they have of “stabilizing” the Middle East is to attack Iran which will unleash an incredible disaster. The Baker Commission was a weak attempt to salvage what little they could, but it has been tossed aside in favor of the arch neo-conservative push for a bigger war.
The inescapable reality is that this major escalation will have horrific consequences for regional security and for global security. The so-called “war on terrorism” has increased the threat of terrorism against the United States on a scale beyond the wildest dreams of the leaders of al Qaeda.
Never in the crisis-ridden presidency of George W. Bush has our country faced a greater danger than what we now face with this new policy. This escalation is a reckless gamble. Already Bush’s adventurism in pursuit of oil and strategic advantage has spread to Somalia and the Horn of Africa where US bombings threaten more bloodshed and regional instability. Bush is gambling with World War III. Some of the President’s closest advisors say we’re already in WW III.
George W. Bush’s escalation must be stopped. All debates over tactics for ending the illegal, dangerous war in Iraq will be moot otherwise. The Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism joins with all who are demanding that Congress act, and act now, not later. We urge everyone who possibly can to go to Washington DC on January 27 and participate in the peace action called by United for Peace and Justice, and to stay over, if possible, for the National Lobby Congress Day the following Monday.
- Authorize no new appropriations for the war in Iraq. It is a lie that this will put our troops in harms way. The appropriations being considered are for next year’s war. As Senator Edward Kennedy has said, only by cutting off the purse strings can this war be ended.
- Require that no currently authorized appropriation be used for an escalation of the war. Demand that Congress pass H.R.4232, “To prohibit the use of funds to deploy United States Armed Forces to Iraq,” introduced by Rep. James P. McGovern (D-MA).
- Require that the only authorized use of the funds currently appropriated for the war in Iraq is for the purpose of carrying out a rapid and safe withdrawal of all U. S. troops from that country.
- Demand that the Bush administration convene an emergency summit of Iran, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, and Egypt with the United States to find the means for stabilizing the situation in Iraq and the Persian Gulf.
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