Democratic Palestine : 40 (ص 27)
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- Democratic Palestine : 40 (ص 27)
- المحتوى
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~ US Intervention in the Gulf
With over 85,000 American troops in Saudi Arabia or on warships
patrolling the region, the Gulf crisis has reached unprecedented
proportions. The massive US intervention has overshadowed the
Iraqi-Kuwaiti dispute which precipitated it. This dispute has been
removed from the realm of Arab politics and turned into a global
contest between the Arab people and imperialism.
by Farida Al Asmar
Though the outcome of the cur-
rent confrontation is far from predict-
able, it has already elicited dramatic
new alignments in Arab politics. As
the crisis concerns global energy poli-
tics and comes in the age of peres-
troika, it will have lasting ramifications
for the upcoming reintegration of East-
ern and Western Europe, US-Soviet
relations and the balance between the
US, Europe and Japan. It will also
impact on other conflicts, such as the
one between Turkey and Greece over
Cyprus, and last but not least, the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
New hegemonic crusade
The US intervention, the largest
overseas deployment of troops since
the war on Vietnam, has now become
the central issue. The US administra-
tion saw in this regional dispute a gol-
den opportunity to reinforce its milit-
ary presence, and consolidate its polit-
ical and strategic control in the Middle
East. In the prevailing international
situation, the US can work to assert its
hegemony without having to worry
about an adverse reaction from the
Soviet Union. The antagonism bet-
ween the US and the Soviet Union has
given way to the contradiction between
imperialism and the third world. The
Bush Administration has pointedly
singled out the third world as the prim-
ary target for potential US military
intervention. In the administration’s
national security strategy report, it was
stated: «The growing technological
sophistication of Third World conflicts
will place serious demands on our
forces»(Associated Press, March 21st).
The global military build-up and low-
intensity warfare strategy cultivated
under the Reagan Administration has
blossomed into what can only be
termed high-intensity aggression.
Why all this fuss over Kuwait? Is
Washington really that concerned
about the Kuwaiti people? And why
Democratic Palestine, July-August 1990
has the US done nothing in the face of
23 years of Israeli occupation of the
West Bank, Gaza Strip and Golan
Heights? Is concern for human rights,
democracy and recognized borders the
real motive for sending thousands of
soldiers and the latest military technol-
ogy to the Gulf?
It is not difficult to answer these
questions if we study the record of US
military crusades whether in Vietnam,
Lebanon, Grenada, Panama _ or
elsewhere. Although this aggression
was carried out in the name of lofty
principles, the real question was always
the naked pursuit of interests - main-
taining channels for exploitation and
strategic control of resources and ter-
ritory.
In the case of the Gulf, the US
intervened for two major reasons. The
first is to exert unconditional control
over the oil fields. The second is to
maintain the degree of stability in the
area needed to protect Israel. Israel is
itself charged with protecting the oil
fields for imperialism by checking the
growth of the Arab national liberation
USS Wisconsin entering the Gulf, equipped with
cruise missiles
movement and development in the
Arab world. However, in the current
crisis, this job is too big for Israel,
especially in view of its being tied up
with combatting the intifada on the
one hand, and the strength of the Iraqi
army on the other.
The Israeli role
The participation of Israel in US-
sponsored aggression or subversion
cannot, however, be ruled out. This
will depend on the ensuing course of
events. Colonel Rod Paschall, former
strategic planner for the US Joint
Chiefs of Staff, says: «We'd better
start thinking about subversion as soon
as we can...and if we want to topple
the [Iraqi] regime, we should work
with the Israelis to do it»(International
Herald Tribune, August 9th). The
Israeli leadership appears to be
mitigating for a military solution to the
Gulf crisis. Speaking on Israeli televi-
sion on August 15th, Housing Minister
Ariel Sharon said, «The circumstances
necessitate a serious move and very
quickly...any move which does not
cause immense damage to Iraq, does
not eliminate this danger against
Israel, and this can only be done
through a military strike.»
The first week in August, Israel
made it clear that any Iraqi move into
Saudi Arabia or Jordan would be con-
sidered unacceptable. Based on the
Zionists’ historical disregard for Arab
land and borders,this can only be view-
ed as a threat of an Israeli invasion
of Jordan, if given the least excuse.
Typical of the imperialist-Zionist
double standard is the projection that
Iraq moved into Kuwait in the midst of
a totally peaceful, acceptable situation
in the Middle East. The reality is that
the chances of war in the area had
been building up for some time,
mainly due to Israeli sabotage of the
PLO’s peace initiative and even US
attempts to start an Israeli-Palestinian
dialogue. A major direction of Israeli
political strategy for some time has
been to divert attention away from the
intifada and resurrect the idea that
Israel is threatened by «bloodthirsty»
Arab armies, not children throwing
stones and waving flags. The crisis also
presents the Zionists with a golden
opportunity to stop the discussion that
had been raised among US policymak-
ers concerning the disproportionately
large amount of military and financial
aid given to Israel.
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