PreventNuclearWar

DonCurrie,EditorFocusOnSocialism,ChairCPS
February17,2012

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PreventNuclearWar
CanadiansforPeace&Socialism www.FocusOnSocialism.ca Box168SlocanBCV0G2CO 12503552669 DearFriends Wehavebeenreceivingalotofmaterialfromgoodsourcesandearnestcommentaryabout manycausesfromalotofpeoplewepayattentiontowithinterestandrespect.Hereisa small partial response to some big issues that are being discussed, offered in the full knowledge that we are a modest voice engaged like everybody else, in attempting to understandourtimeandtomakeacontributiontothecauseofpeacehumansurvivaland progress. Wearenotscholarsandmakenoclaimtohaveanydeeperknowledgeofeventsthanthat ofothers.Onebriefemaildoesntcutit,yetthereisanimperativeforeveryonetostatea positiononwhattheybelievetobeprimaryatthistime.Thisisours.Silenceisnotanoption. TheworldisonthevergeofanothermajorUSNATOinstigatedwarofregimechangeinthe Middle East and our federal government is actively involved in promoting it. That reality must trump all other issues at the moment since it has the potentialof ignitinga regional conflict in which the use of nuclear weapons is clearly a possibility. http://www.focusonsocialism.ca/random.asp?ID=645 ThedemonizationofIranandSyriainthemediaattheactiveinstigationofunelectedshills operating out of the PMO, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Defence, is the means being used by the Harper Conservative Government to befuddle and nullify the instinctive beliefofmostCanadiansthatrejectmorewarastheanswertoanyofourproblems,foreign ordomestic. The war solution is a minority solution of a separate corporate interest that makes profit from war. It has never been the preferred option of workers, farmers, pensioners and all whorelyonwagesandhardworktolive.Workingpeopleareoneandarealwaysthevictims ofwar.WeharbournoanimositytoourbrothersandsistersinIranorSyria.Weexpressour solidaritywiththeirstrugglesforabetterlife,thatarenotdissimilartoourown,inthefirm
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belief that their problems cannot be solved by NATO regime change war. Foreign interventionwillimposeaforeignsolutiononthepeopleofSyriaandIrananddeprivethem oftheirrighttodeterminetheirowndestiny. TheSyrianandIranianpeoplearecapableofsolvingtheirownproblemswithoutthehelpof ourPrimeMinister.Thelasttimewelookedwecouldfindnoevidenceofgratuitousadvice fromtheleadersofIranorSyriaorderingPrimeMinisterHarpertostepdownforthwithso Canadians can govern themselves according to the precepts of Prime Minister Harpers politicalopponents. Fear mongering has gone viral. Iran we are told is on the cusp of developing nuclear weaponsandassoonasitdoesitwillunleashthemagainsteveryone. Allrationalpeacelovingpeopleareopposedtonuclearproliferation.Canadaisasignatory totheNuclearNonProliferationTreaty.SoisIran.Chinahascalledforaccordingthesame right to Iran as enjoyed by other signatories to the peace use of nuclear energy. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012%5C02%5C17%5Cstory_1722012_pg14_5 Canadahasadevelopednuclearindustryandutilizesnuclearpowerforpeacefulpurposes. That is not an exclusive right that is a universal right. At the same time Canada exports uraniumtoothercountries.IranisnottellingtheCanadiangovernmentdailynottodareto producenuclearweaponsandtostopsupplyingtherawmaterialtothosecountriessuchas theUSAthatdo.IranseemstoacceptCanadasdeclarationthatitisanuclearweaponsfree country and has no interest in producing such weapons and restricts its use of nuclear energytopeacefulpurposes.ThatiswhatIranassertsitisdoing. JohnBaird,StephenHarperandPeterMacKay,miredintheCF35boondoggleandwithouta shred of credibility on that file, seek to convince Canadians that they know best when someone is truthful or a liar. It is becoming a bit rich even for the main stream media to acceptsuchunctuousdoublestandardsthatpouroutdailyfromthePMO. WhetherIranistruthfulornotisasmallpartofthematter.Therealquestionisfromwhere does the threat of nuclear war emanate today? Which states are likely to instigate it? The obvious answer is those states that possess nuclear weapons in abundance and have the technicalcapabilityofdeliveringthemnowtotarget.Irandoesnothavethatcapabilitynor doesNorthKorea.

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At a moment when the leading nuclear powers between them have about 14,000 nuclear warheadsandthecapabilityoftheirdeliverytoalmostanypointontheplanetandwhen Israel has at a minimum a hundred nuclear war heads within striking distance of its neighbours, and when there is only one country in the world, the USA that has ever used nuclearweaponsoncivilianpopulationsandretainsafirststrikenucleardoctrineasthecore ofitsmilitarypolicy,isitnotludicrousandpresumptuousintheextremeforourapoplectic ForeignMinistertoidentifyIranastheonlymortalthreattoworldpeace? TheUSNATOIsraelicabalwantIranianoil,justastheywantedIraqiandLibyanoil.Period! Andthiscriminalenterpriserisksthepeaceoftheworldtogetit.Theconnectionbetween NATO wars of regime change and appropriation of the oil resources of other nations is obvioustoeveryoneexceptthosewhooutoffearorselfinterestwishtobedeceived. ThereareCanadiansthathavethecouragetosweepasidemediahysteriaandtellthesimple truth. The Codir website seems to provide factual and credible information on events unfolding betweentheG7NATOIsraeliplanstoattackIran,andtheleftprogressiveforcesinsideIran and globally that are struggling for peace and attempting to avoid what can escalate to a massive regional war and the use of nuclear weapons. Yves Engler is a knowledgeable sourceofinformationaboutCanadianforeignpolicy.Hiswork,TheBlackBookofCanadian Foreign Policy should be at hand for all advocates of an independent Canadian foreign policyofpeace. The most credible analytical source in our view http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29234 is Global Research.

The World Peace Council statement on the Middle East is a must read and should be circulated widely. http://www.solidnet.org/worldpeacecouncil/2579wpcstatementonthe situationinthemiddleeasten ThecurrenttourofCanadabyDaveMcKeethePresidentoftheCanadianPeaceCongress willbeasignificantcontributiontoastrengtheningoftheantiimperialistpropeaceforcesin Canada.Seetheaboveattachmentfordates.AregularvisittotheCanadianPeaceCongress website will keep all informed about the Congress and WPC statements and activities. www.CanadianPeaceCongress.ca

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Forthosenolongerintimidatedbythecoldwaradailyvisittowww.solidnet.orgwillkeep oneawareofwhatishappeningintheInternationalCommunistandWorkersPartiesofthe world. We also recommend www.northstarcompass.org for a Canadian view of events in Russia. TheroleofChinaininternationalaffairsistransformativeofallinternationalandeconomic relations. It deserves special study because it is a dual power state in which the struggle between socialism and capitalism is not historically resolved. However until we can be convincedotherwise,webelieveitisincorrecttodefineChinaasanimperialiststateofthe same type as the G7. History has not decided that matter as yet. The Chinese people will havesomethingtosayonthatscore. Atthesametime,asChinaexportscapitalitexploitsworkingpeopleofotherstates.Basic internationalismrequireseverycommittedlabourmilitanttoactinsolidaritywiththosewho arethevictimsofcapitalistoppressionregardlessfromwhereitemanates. While China is exporting capital and seeks natural resources, we see no evidence that it seekstoachieveitsdevelopmentgoalsbymilitarythreatsorwagingworldwar.Atthesame time there is little doubt that it will defend itself and its claim to Taiwan and what it considersitsterritorialwatersandintegrity. What renders the analysis more complex is the fact that China is also extending trade benefits to newly emerging economies in South America including Cuba and Venezuela. ChinacastingthevetointheUNSecurityCouncilforthefirsttimeinalongtimeagainstUS plansforregimechangewarinSyriaistobewelcomed. The petty bourgeois radicalized left, motivated at the outset of the Chinese revolution by antiSovietism,hasoverthedecadeshadaninconsistentChinapolicyrangingfromhysterical anticommunism,andlatersupportfortheDalaiLamasTibetanfeudaldespotism.Theother extremewasuncriticalidealizingofwhatwasadifficultandrevolutionarypathbyChinato independenceandworldprominence. Wearewherewearetoday.ChinaisrisingandhasbeenidentifiedbyUSimperialismasits mainstrategicrival. WhatconcernsCPSistheneedtoopenlydiscussanddevelopaconsistentinternationalist stance towards ChinaCanada relations based on what is in the best interests of Canadian andChineseworkersandthecauseofpeace.Thatwilltakeworkandcannotbedeveloped
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in the framework of anticommunism that was imposed on organized labour by its right wing leaders during the coldwar. To cling to that outmoded analysis is just what the Conservativegovernmentwants. CanadaChina relations has its own history. It falls in the realm of nonbelligerence and mutual self interest in the area of trade but corrupted by anticommunism in the realm of foreign policy that continues to this day. The trip to China by the Harper Conservative Government was dictated by Canadian finance capital and its strategic profit and inter capitalist competitive goals for power and influence in Asia. It speaks to a rising appetite amongsomecirclesoffinancecapitalforamoreassertiveimperialroleforCanada.Harper, a bit player on the international stage, received his marching orders from big oil and high financeandhewinced,marched,andputhispatheticclaimstoideologicalpurityinhisback pocket.Quitethevolteface.HoweverwhenthechipsaredownCanadaselitesareunlikely asyettobreakwithWashingtonsdesignationofChinaasitsprincipalrisingcompetitor. As the international working class forges its own understanding of what a principled class approachtointernationalrelationsentails,thetasksofthepeaceandprogressiveforcesof Canada are clear. The utmost vigilance must be shown towards the foreign policy of the Harper Government and its successor towards China. All uncritical support for the US imperialist strategic goal of destroying China by nuclear encirclement, military threats and war must be opposed. We have made some preliminary comments on that problem, far from definitive or conclusive but our stance to now can be viewed at http://www.focusonsocialism.ca/random.asp?ID=644 www.FocusOnSocialism.ca concentrates on Canadian foreign and domestic policy. Our recent reading of the capitalist press tells us that there is a growing criticism of the duplicitous double standard of the Harper Governments foreign and domestic policy beginningtoappearintheGlobeandMailandothermassmedia.Suchcriticismisweakand indicative of divisions occurring among the ruling elites. It will grow in the lead up to the nextfederalelection.Itisanindicationthattheglobaleconomiccrisisisfarfromoverand that the upcoming Flaherty budget will be an antilabour, antiworking class, antipeople, bigbusinessausteritywagecuttingprogramdictatedbytheIMF,theWorldBankonbehalf ofCanadaselitesofwealthandprivilege. The timidity of the NDP top leadership and the muzzling of its substantial Parliamentary oppositionatthiscriticaltimeisinourviewdeliberateandbeingorchestratedbytheDavid MulchaircampanditsproZionistbackersintheNDPleadershiprace.TheNDPsweakkneed
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proNATO and proIsraeli foreign policy stance is fatal for its parliamentary ambitions. Canada doesnt need another Conservative Party with a pretty face. Timidity on foreign policyissuesweakenstheNDPseffectivenessondomesticissuesaffectingwageandsalary earners and the majority of Canadians dependent on publicly funded and universal health careandpensions.http://www.focusonsocialism.ca/random.asp?ID=646 TheHarperConservativeGovernmenthasnopeacepolicyitonlyhasaproNATOwarpolicy. If the NDP opposition doesnt have the courage to expose that fact and enunciate a new foreignpolicyofpeace,itisincumbentontheentireleft,withoutexceptiontodoso.The NDPshouldgetnofreepassonaflawedforeignpolicy. The cynical detachment of the Harper Government from its active participation in NATO atrocities in Libya and now possibly Syria and Iran cannot be the stance of the NDP, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), the Green Party and the many well motivated environmental and social activist coalitions in our country. These movements also have to declarewheretheystandonforeignanddomesticpolicy. ThefictionthattheCanadiangovernmenthasasupportablehumanitarianforeignpolicybut an unsupportable antisocial domestic policy is political opportunism plain and simple. Fawning before the Conservative governments plans to participate in the next USNATO regime change war in Syria or Iran guts the left progressive forces and weakens the supportable stance of organized labour in its struggles for jobs, trade union rights, rising wagesandliftingallboats. The source of the weakness of mobilizing a united and powerful popular resistance to G7 NATO wars and an effective antimonopoly labour strategy at home, continues to be the openandtacitsupportaccordedbysocialreformismtoimperialism,inthemistakenbelief that imperialists can by exposure, be persuaded to be less imperialist. When has that happened? Our definition of imperialism is the merger of finance capital with the military industrial complexnowdominatedbyprivatelyownedandcontrolledenergyfinanciersandthebanks that manage the whole cabal. Today that complex seeks to rule more openly without the inconvenienceofParliament.UpagainstthebeliefofCanadiansindemocracy,theimperial powerseekstorenderParliamentstrictlyformal.Itdoesthatbymakingdecisionsofpeace andwarandenergyacquisitionatNATOheadquartersinBrusselsandfiscalmonetaryand socialpoliciesattheIMFandtheWorldBank.ThenthesepoliciesareimposedonParliament

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by an orchestrated chorus of Flahertys, MacKays, Harpers and Bairds declaring anyone thatopposesthemasbeingunpatriotic,softonterrorismorwiththepornographers.Such sophistry is what passes for politics in our country today. Media pundits, malleable academicsmakeacomfortablelivingoutofspreadingsuchpap. TheentireleftsuffersfromtalkingtoitselfinsteadofdirectlytotheCanadianpeoplewhoin theirmajoritywantpeace,armsreductions,nucleardisarmamentandresolvinginternational disputes by negotiations. Canadians want to keep and further develop what they have workedsohardforsinceWW2.Socialprogramsforall.Labourrights.Careforchildrenand pensioners. Protection for our beautiful countrys natural heritage. Friendship and cooperation and mutual support among all of our people from Quebec, Canada, all First Nationsandnewarrivals. TheHarperGovernmentisacrudedivideandrulepoliticalapparatus.Itinsiststhatitcando whateveritwantsbecauseithasaParliamentarymajority.Noitcant.Itcanonlydowhatit wantssolongastheCanadianpeopleallowit. TherealParliamentisabout33millionstrong.Itwillhaveitssay,Conservativemajorityor not. DonCurrie,ChairCanadiansforPeaceandSocialism www.FocusOnSocialism.ca

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