Did the Donald Trump crew conspire with Russian intelligence to steal the US presidential election, as the CIA and FBI claim? Or did US intelligence agencies hack the Democratic Party themselves in order to frame the Russians?
We don’t know. We don’t particularly care. We don’t trust any of them. Both sides are imperialist powers that try to cover up the dictatorship of the rich with populist rhetoric.
As far as we can tell, the only true thing each side says is that the other side is fascist. The whole war of words reminds us of the US humor magazine MAD’s wordless “Spy vs. Spy” cartoon from the Cold War era.
But like the Cold War, this situation is no joke. We’re still talking about the world’s two largest nuclear powers.
It’s true, as the Russians and their supporters say, that Clinton seemed even more ready than Obama to risk war over Ukraine and Syria. In contrast, Trump and his crew (notably Secretary of State R“Exxon” Tillerson) have major business interests in Russia. For now, at least, they don’t want that war.
Yemen is a different story. Trump is stepping up the US/Saudi air war on Houthi rebels that Obama started. Each air strike brings civilian casualties, including children. Each worsens the dire refugee crisis there. Pakistan may soon send ground troops.
Trump is also trying to take credit for a massive modernization of the US nuclear arsenal – also started by the Obama administration.
And for increasing the Navy’s aircraft-carrier fleet to 12 ships from the present 10 – though three are already in the pipeline.
And for getting “tough on China” – which was the point of the Obama-Clinton “pivot to Asia-Pacific.”
Some leading US imperialists fear that Trump is endangering their interests. He’s hollowing out the State Department. His behavior is more erratic than diplomatic. His policies seem to be driven, more than usual, by considerations of personal gain.
What we know for sure is that the imperialists themselves are the real danger to the interests of the international working class. That includes the Russian, Chinese and European as well as the US imperialists. Their system makes war inevitable. Each war is far more devastating than the last.
We know this, but as communists we don’t fear it. As the article on the Indonesian mutiny shows, the wars of the 20th century opened doors wide for communist revolution.
When the rulers mobilize soldiers and sailors for war, and masses of workers for war production, they risk creating an army of their own gravediggers. It’s our job to mobilize that army for communism.
Such opportunities already exist. We must make the most of them. A comrade recently attended a community meeting where liberals were organizing against Trump’s fascist immigration policies. She found herself sitting at a table with two soldiers.
Would National Guard or Reserve units actually hunt down immigrants when many of them are themselves immigrants or from immigrant families? We need to inspire them with a vision of a communist world without borders.
This we know: The enemy of your enemy is often not your friend. Don’t let your hatred of Trump push you into the arms of the FBI and CIA. Don’t let your hatred of the FBI and CIA push you into the arms of Russia apologists like Julian Assange and Wikileaks.
Look for your real friends in the international working class and the International Communist Workers’ Party.
Posted 3/17/2017
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