An MTA operator from Division 3 said, "I'm glad about the resolution of the Syrian crisis. Obama was about to start World War Three." "It is not only Obama. It is the whole damn system. All presidents serve the needs of their capitalist or imperialist masters. The system needs to be changed," said the Red Flag distributor. "Yes, the system needs to be changed," agreed the operator.
"With communism," added the comrade.
"No, not with communism," disagreed the operator and drove his bus away, taking two copies of Red Flag: the last issue and the current one.
Many, like this worker, believe that a US attack against Syria could have turned into World War III. It is possible but not probable. Although preparing for an eventual global conflict, the world's capitalists-imperialists are not yet ready for it.
Therefore it was ridiculous to claim that "Russia's President Putin has saved the world from near-certain disaster" as Kathleen McFarland wrote in a Fox News editorial. But, even more ridiculous was her statement that "Vladimir Putin is the one who really deserves the Nobel Peace Prize."
Like all capitalists/imperialists, Putin's hands are also dripping with workers' blood. He slaughtered thousands of civilians in the 2008 Georgian War and the two Chechen Wars in which he completely destroyed Grozny, a city of 400,000 inhabitants.

No capitalist-imperialist butcher can ever bring us peace. Only communism will
War is part of capitalism's nature. It is the necessary and inevitable result of capitalist competition. The capitalists are always looking for the cheapest sources of raw materials and labor to manufacture cheaper products than other capitalists in order to better compete for market share. Capitalists that can't compete go under. No capitalist wants to go under and each always tries to crush the competition. Inevitably, this leads to war. Imperialism, the highest stage of capitalism, takes capitalism's need for war to its highest level: world war.
Only communism – which eliminates the capitalists, money and the market – can eliminate war forever. With communist collectivity, we will produce and share the products of our labor according to need. Nothing will ever be bought or sold.

As imperialists talk of peace in Syria, they prepare for world war.
As Red Flag's last issue pointed out, the US rulers' debate about whether or not to attack Syria was really about what war policy to implement the defense of their empire.
McFarland – an aide to ex-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger - speaks for those US imperialists whose strategy is "pivot to Asia-Pacific" to eventually confront China and Russia, their main imperialist rivals.
Other US rulers want to keep fighting in the Middle East. They see regaining total control of the region's vast energy resources as crucial for defeating China and Russia.

Is the "Pivot to Asia-Pacific" gaining the upper hand?
Taking advantage of Putin's proposal, the supporters of this strategy strive to untangle US imperialism from the Middle East. Obama made this clear in a recent ABC interview: "The United States can't get in the middle of somebody else's civil war. We're not gonna put troops on the ground. We can't enforce - militarily - a settlement there."
Obama also said that the basis existed now for serious negotiations for a political transition in Syria and that Iran could play an important role.
Furthermore, showing his masters' determination to disengage militarily from this region, Obama said, concerning Iran,"What they should draw from this lesson is that there is the potential of resolving these issues diplomatically."

Is Putin a naïve or generous imperialist?
Neither. Like Obama, Putin is just a coldblooded mass murderer politician. He serves the interests of the Russian imperialists. These rulers, together with the Chinese imperialists, need stability in this region to advance their world domination goals.
Stabilizing Syria is crucial to their plans to build a New Silk Road, a Eurasian integration mega-project, from the Pacific to the Baltic Sea, and through Syria to the Mediterranean. With close to three billion people, this area represents the world's biggest market. It also has the world's biggest energy and mineral deposits, increasingly under Russian and Chinese control.
As the world's economic center shifts to Central Asia, these imperialists will openly challenge US unilateral dominance and strive for a new world order. US bosses will respond to the challenge, and World War III will explode.
Capitalism-imperialism has no other recourse. However, the international working class does: let's start mobilizing the masses for communism, our historical responsibility and the only hope of a world without exploitation, racism, sexism, borders or wars.