Fighting Wars

The war in Afghanistan has cost the United States the lives of 2,240 US soldiers (as of June 28th, 2013) and over $660 billion.

Quoted here, the Washington Post reports that the US plans on destroying $7 billion worth of military hardware, 20% of all US military hardware deployed in Afghanistan, before its withdrawal. It will be cheaper to just sell it as scrap (for pennies on the pound) rather than ship it back to the US. Items being junked are 2,000 mine resistant armored vehicles known as MRAPs. These were quickly rushed into production in 2007 to protect US troops from the devastating effects of improvised explosive devices. Unfortunately, the vehicles – which cost $1 million each – proved no more effective at saving US lives than less expensive alternatives.

With the war in Iraq over and the war in Afghanistan winding down for the first time since 1998, worldwide defense spending has fallen. U.S. defense spending is set to be cut by about 25% over the next five years and by at least $500 billion over the next 10 years. For the aerospace industry the days of easy war profits are over and companies will now be forced to compete on the open market for civilian orders if they wish to survive. Defense firms are being told that they might want to look into “federally funded civil projects, including security services such as the the billions of dollar budget of  the Department of Homeland Security.

 Unless, of course America is drawn into a full scale war with Syria and/or Iran. What a  business opportunity that would be!

  War means men, women and children die or end up with terrible physical and mental injuries. War means crucifying the truth-tellers and men held in detention for long terms without trial, and even without any charge.

Whose wars are they? Not ours, for sure. We don’t know much about international politics but we puzzle at the why it is a violation of international law for Iran to seek a nuclear weapon but permissible for Israel to produce and possess them.

The ruling class and their politicians  manufacture the lies and their  retainers in the media with their sophistries of double-speak whip up our emotions until we are enraged —and then we go fight and die for them.

 Our job is to overthrow the capitalist system and this is also war. The class war. We know our enemies. Our army are the organised workers of the world. The war to end wage-slavery, to end capitalism with its evils of misery and degradation and crime. The war to end war. And until that war is ended we do not want peace—because such peace will be the peace of the beggar and the slave.

By now, have we not learned enough about war to lose our illusions about it and declare class war on war.

AJJ