Democratic Palestine : 1 (ص 37)
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- Democratic Palestine : 1 (ص 37)
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Nuclear Threat Escalated
Like the US’s invasion of Grenada, its military intervention in
Lebanon and the new accord with the Zionist state, the installation
of cruise and Pershing II missiles in western Europe confirms that
imperialism has chosen the war path. The decision to begin this
deployment, despite broad popular opposition and the qualms of
even some bourgeois circles, is not due to a Soviet “threat” or to
weakened western defense. Rather it is a result of the depth of
imperialism’s crisis, and the fact that the most retrograde strata of
the international bourgeoisie has taken the helm; this strata sees the
military option as the primary means for resolving the crisis.
The installation appears to signal the
end of the four-year period which
began with NATO’s 1979 decision to
deploy the US nuclear missiles, if the
US and Soviet Union could not reach a
prior arms limitations agreement.
Actually, it signals the beginning of a
new stage in the arms race launched
by US imperialism. It marks a
qualitative and quantitative leap in the
nuclear arsenal aimed at the socialist
community, first and foremost the
Soviet Union. It means a dramatic rise
in the chances of nuclear war, which
per definition cannot be limited, but
will inevitably threaten all mankind,
directly or indirectly. The population
of Europe in particular has been thrust
into a new state of existence, as
hostages in imperialism’s game of
nuclear blackmail.
Quite literally, this is only the first
step. In mid-November, as the first
components of the missiles were being
sneaked into Britain, West Germany
and then Italy, the US Congress
approved funding for the giant MX
missile and for developing the
Midgetman. While the MX _ is
threatening in terms of its sheer size,
one should not think that the label
Midgetman denotes a weapon any less
dangerous. On the contrary, its smaller
size and being a single warhead
missile, is to allow for the Midgetman
being incorporated into a mobile
storage system in order to insure
survivability. The Reagan Admini-
stration, having succeeded in implant-
ing new first strike nuclear weapons
in Europe, is obsessed with develop-
ing the means for carrying on a nuclear
war once it breaks out.
Sabotaged negotiations
Despite concerted Soviet attempts
to engage in serious negotiations, it is
not surprising that no agreement was
reached to stop or delay the
deployment. The installation of the
missiles is not due to the break-down
of arms control talks, much less to
Soviet “intransigence”, as portrayed
by imperialist officials and media. It is
a result of the Reagan Administration’s
rejection of nuclear parity, instead
insisting on posing a threat to the
Soviet Union, and the West European
governments’ commitment to the US
plans via NATO.
Throughout, the Reagan Admi-
nistration’s tactics were based on
the assumption that the Soviet Union
would not be ready for an agreement,
i.e., relinquishing parity and
compromising its security, until
missiles capable of reaching Soviet
cities in a matter of minutes were
firmly in place. US Defense Minister
Weinberger and _ others opposed
opening the negotiations until the
Administration’s military build-up
program was well underway. With this
assured, the “zero option” was
‘launched late in 1981, solely to “put the
Soviet on the defensive,” as stated by
Richard Perle, US Assistant Secretary
of Defense for International Security
Policy. Richard Burt, then director of
the State Department’s Politico-
Military Affairs Bureau, was even
more frank. In 1981, he told his staff,
“The purpose of this whole exercise is
maximum political advantage. It’s not
arms control we're engaged in, it’s
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alliance (NATO) management.”
(Time magazine, December 5, 1983).
For US imperialism, the question has
never been whether or not to deploy
the missiles, but how to handle the
political effects vis-a-vis its European
allies, who were faced with massive
opposition on the question.
The Soviet Union, however, did not
fall for imperialism’s blackmail. In the
context of the sharpened global
contradiction between imperialism
and socialism, only nuclear parity can
deter imperialism from using its
nuclear arsenal as a threat to enforce
its will, or in actual warfare.
Accordingly, the Soviet Union found it
necessary to announce plans for
increasing the defense of the socialist
community by stationing, for the first
time, tactical nuclear missiles in
Czechoslovakia and Democratic
Germany.
Challenging the anti-war
movement
The beginning of the deployment
contains certain lessons which must be
used by the anti-nuclear movement in
rising to the challenge of the new
stage. The first concerns the
connection between the imperialist
bourgeoisie’s domestic and foreign
policies. The determination of the
Reagan, Thatcher and Kohl govern-
ments in particular to push through the
deployment exhibits the same quality
as their domestic austerity programs:
blatant disregard for the welfare and
wishes of the majority of the people,
even in their own country. This goes
hand in hand with increased deceit on
the part of the top echelons, as
exhibited by Thatcher’s refusal to tell
the House of Commons under what
circumstances she and Reagan might
decide to use the British-based cruises.
More limits on democratic rights are
also part of the nuclear missile pack-
age. Increased internal repression has
been a prominent characteristic of
many capitalist states in the last
decade, and this will only increase
with the nuclear militarization of
Europe. Already, hundreds have been
arrested, especially in Britain and West
Germany, for demonstrating against
the missile deployment. One reported
incident in Britain is probably no
exception: In Birmingham, the Special
Branch (of the police) normally
concerned with combatting subversion,
investigated a local peace group en-
gaged in such activities as writing
letters to newspapers against the mis-
sile deployment. Most blatantly,
English Defense Secretary, Heseltine,
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