Above photo: Thick smoke rises following an airstrike by the US-led coalition in Kobani (Syria). Lefteris Pitaraki/AP.
NOTE: We cannot have a repeat of what happened during the Obama administration when the antiwar movement faltered as Obama started more wars, destroyed Libya, militarized Africa, pivoted to Asia and overthrew the elected government of Honduras. The United National Antiwar Coalition is working to strengthen the antiwar, anti-imperialist movement. Read more here. – MF
It has taken only 36 days in office for the Biden administration to show the world, through a bombing attack on Syria, that it is belligerent, aggressive and hell-bent on war. There was only a short respite from Trump’s vile words and actions. Now we have to face Biden’s vile deeds and resist them.
Even the excuse U.S. imperialism gave for bombing Syria was feeble. A rocket attack some weeks ago killed a mercenary in Iraq. Excuses like that open the door to new U.S. wars and interventions all over countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America where Washington has replaced official U.S. troops with soldiers of fortune.
You might think the Biden administration had enough problems at home to keep it busy. The COVID-19 pandemic still rages despite the vaccines – whose distribution has been a disgrace. The Democratic-led Congress, which has still not passed the pandemic relief bill, has already abandoned the $15 per hour minimum wage.
On top of this, the super-freeze of Texas – and of its millions of workers and poor people – has exposed once again the desperate need to rebuild the U.S. infrastructure. Not to mention the immediate need for emergency aid.
Even those who recognize the rotten role of the Republican Party, with and without Trump – in carrying out an aggressive assault on the working class in the United States – surely must see that the Biden administration is also their enemy.
Biden has employed less hateful rhetoric. His is a more inclusive administration. But he serves the same super-rich ruling class that presidents of both parties have served throughout their history.
This has been especially true regarding foreign policy. After hearing Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s speeches, it was apparent that the new Democratic administration planned a continuation of the same aggressive policies that characterized the Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations. And that Donald Trump carried out in his own fashion.
Now the Biden-Blinken gang has followed through on Blinken’s words. First Biden ordered U.S. B-1 bombers to Norwegian air bases, threatening Russia. And on Feb. 25 Secretary of “Defense” Lloyd Austin announced that the U.S. had bombed targets in Syria near the border with Iraq.
Anti-war forces inside the U.S. must step up to meet this new threat from the Biden administration. It’s time to measure the new president by his own actions, not by contrasting him with his predecessor (who set a pretty low bar!). It’s time to see him as a representative of the billionaire ruling class, in all its variations, and as such an enemy of the working class.
Emergency relief for the people of Texas! No money for bombing Syria! Pass the $15 minimum wage!