Aaron Bushnell: Turn Grief over Gaza Deaths into Action here ♦ Revolutionary Potential of Soldiers Today here ♦
Organize Soldiers to Fight for Communism.
Turn Grief Over Gaza Deaths into Anger and Action
March 4— Veterans in Portland, Oregon (USA) burned their uniforms last week in honor of Aaron Bushnell, and in protest of the US-sponsored Israeli genocide in Gaza. Bushnell, an active-duty airman, burned himself to death on February 25 in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC. His statement that he refused to be complicit in this genocide has struck a chord.
Aaron’s photograph and last words “Free Palestine!” are now on signs, banners and buildings around the world. He joins the ranks of Buddhist monks in Vietnam and Norman Morrison, a US Quaker, who burned themselves to death to protest the US genocide in southeast Asia.
With the deepest respect, we need to say that this is not the answer. Aaron’s death is a tragedy. And while we share the grief and anger of the veterans who burned their uniforms, we want to say that they have profoundly misunderstood their historic role and their greatest strength.
Soldiers have weapons. They can use those weapons to change the world.
One example. In the My Lai Massacre of 1968, a company of US soldiers, won to the racist policies of the US ruling class, raped, mutilated, and murdered at least 500 civilians including hundreds of children. Hugh Thompson, Jr. was a helicopter pilot assigned to do air support for the operation. When he realized what was happening, he landed his helicopter. He and his crew aimed their guns at the murderous US soldiers and stopped the massacre.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed by the US military in Vietnam. Although the bosses claimed that My Lai was unique, that was a lie. It was standard procedure. My Lai was not alone.
Neither was Thompson alone. By 1971, masses of US soldiers were deserting. Rebellions shook stockades in Vietnam, and ships and military bases around the world. Soldiers were killing their own officers. It was impossible for the US to field a reliable army, while the Vietnamese fought on. The US was forced to withdraw from Vietnam in 1973.
Soldiers with guns in their hands can end genocidal wars by joining with revolutionary workers to put an end to capitalism and imperialism. Capitalism cannot be reformed. It must be overthrown. This requires armed revolution. We must guarantee that soldiers join with their working-class siblings to overthrow this system, rather than defending it.
Communists know this. In Russia, soldiers joined with workers to overthrow the Czar in 1917 and fight for Soviet power. This taught communists around the world that organizing in the bosses’ military was absolutely necessary. Every 20th-century communist party assigned comrades to this work. Then and now, soldiers are crucial to victory.
In every country, young workers and farmers, often from the most oppressed sectors, are recruited to defend the system of capitalist exploitation by killing their working-class siblings. This is a dangerous situation for the rulers. The US bosses in particular worry about the revolutionary potential of soldiers. Today an anonymous statement from members of all branches of the US armed forces—most certainly officers—circulated on social media. It said that “the wanton misconduct of the IDF [Israeli “Defense” Force] makes it difficult to uphold good order and discipline within our own ranks.”
We call on soldiers, sailors and marines in every military force to organize against the military “order and discipline” and build a base for communist revolution within the military. We call on Party members and Red Flag readers to contribute to this crucial work. Young comrades should seize the opportunity to join the military to organize to fight for communism.
Faced with a devastating genocide, if we think we are alone, we will despair. When we understand that we are part of an international working class with the power to overthrow this system, we will have the courage and the hope to fight for a better world.
Portland, Oregon (USA) February 28, 2024
Aaron Bushnell and the Revolutionary Potential of Soldiers Today
I have been participating with a group that gives out food to unhoused people. After we set up and serve the food, I offer the volunteers Red Flag. Some want to talk about it. The last few Saturdays, I had a struggle with one young woman who likes the paper but has many questions.
We had a sharp discussion about whether US soldiers and sailors could be won to the side of anti-imperialism and revolution. I told her about the rebellions in the US military during the war in Vietnam. She said, “That was then. This is now. There are a lot of racist Trump supporters in the military.”
I said there are a lot of Black and latinx and white youth who join the military to get money for college or because they don’t have jobs and need skills. They have sharp contradictions with the racists. They have no loyalty to US imperialism. She said, “The marines are all white supremacists.”
I told her about the 14 Black marines who beat up the KKK at Camp Pendleton Marine Base in 1976 and that we defended them. She thought all that was in the past.
After Saturday’s demonstration, I stopped by to distribute our new pamphlet to the volunteers. She gladly took the pamphlet and said she would read it. Then she told me, “I thought a lot about what we talked about last week, after I saw what Aaron Bushnell did and how others in the Air Force burned their uniforms in protest of the genocide in Gaza. I think you’re right. I would like more information about the history of soldiers rebelling . We need to work with these soldiers and vets. I see that they are angry about this genocide.”
I said that we have to show them another way: that it’s not their fault, it’s the capitalists’ fault. That they can unite with the working-class to organize a revolution to get rid of capitalism and imperialism. I promised to bring her more information about mobilizing soldiers for revolution. Next time, we will talk about how she can help do that. Not just “resist” the war, but become an organizer for communist revolution.
—Comrade in Los Angeles (USA)
Read Our Pamphlet:
“Soldiers, Sailors and Marines: Crucial for Communist Revolution” here