Below is a statement by Debra Sweet, representing the anti-war group World Can't Wait ( worldcantwait.net ), on the Afghanistan War, launched October 7, 2001. The second statement is from the Black Alliance Peace ( blackallianceforpeace.com) campaign against the US military's Africa Command; BAP recently organized an International Day of Action of AFRICOM, on the anniversary of AFRICOM's creation October 1, 2008. Since then the US military has carried out cooperative operations in several African countries; carries out airstrikes in Somalia, at an increasing tempo under Trump; shattered Libya, which had been one of the most prosperous countries in Africa (Obama's 2011 Libya War was probably the biggest US attack on an African country), and there has been talk of splitting the wartorn country into 2 or 3 parts, not due to actual national differences, but instead over who will control Libya's oil; and adjacent to Africa, the US is part of the Saudi-led war against Yemen, aids Israeli aggression and colonialism, and the strategic Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia was held and depopulated by the UK for US military use, which continues today.
The Democrats speak of 'restoring America's leadership in the world,' which sounds like a call to carry out more wars and coups. Would a Biden-Harris administration, no doubt better at governing than Trump, and better at lulling the public, intervene (again, in some cases) in Libya, Syria, Iran, Yemen, Belarus, Nagorno-Karabakh, Ukraine, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Korea, on the maritime borders of China, or somewhere yet unknown, to demonstrate what happens to those who oppose US dictates? Trump is a reactionary and speaks like a warmonger, but so far he hasn't started any new wars (though he came close with Iran in January), unlike Obama and Biden in their first term. The US supported the 2009 coup in Honduras and the proxy war in Syria began during Obama's first term, followed by the 2014 coup in Ukraine, while under Trump there was the November 2019 coup in Bolivia. Democratic Congressional leaders condemn Trump's foreign policy from the right, opposing attempts to improve relations with Russia and DPR Korea and they support overthrowing the government of Venezuela (in addition, media aligned with the Democratic Party undermined attempts to negotiate an end to the war in Afghanistan). They have long advocated moving the US embassy to Jerusalem and lavish Israel with military and civilian aid, even as it brutalizes the Palestinians and nearby countries, and undermines US foreign policy. The US planned to spend huge amounts of money on nuclear and conventional weapons under both Obama and Trump and the Obama administration wanted to “pivot to Asia” from the Middle East to oppose China. Trump and Biden both set up China as a major strategic enemy, justifying huge military spending, while other needs go unmet and austerity may be on the agenda. The “War on Terror” still isn't over after 19 years, and it isn't clear which of the two major parties will be the greater warmongering interventionist and enemy of peace over the next four years (despite the WCW and others considering Trump the greater enemy).
Also, the 25th National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression, and the Criminalization of a Generation will be October 22nd: www.october22.org/
WCW: U.S. War on Afghanistan: an outrage for 19 years
19 years. The longest foreign war in the bloody history of the U.S. empire. Afghanistan: geographically in the way of imperial conquerors for centuries, historically preyed upon by various military forces and further torn apart by the U.S. and its NATO allies in the global "war on terror."
The U.S. aggression on Afghanistan, one of the poorest countries on the globe, has to be condemned for its devilish destruction of life. The Watson Institute at Brown University [ watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/costs/human/civilians/afghan ] says, "As of October 2019, more than 43,000 civilians are estimated to have died violent deaths as a result of the war." But, as we know from first-hand accounts by journalists, the deaths were mostly uncounted. It's from Afghanistan that hundreds of Muslim pilgrims and farmers were kidnapped for bounty, ending up in Guantanamo for years, many having nothing to do with al Queda or the Taliban. Despite the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld claim that the war would be launched to save Afghan women, it remains one of the most dangerous places for a woman. 43% of people have "basic" sanitation and the maternal death rate remains high. All sides use rape as a weapon of war. All three U.S. administrations are responsible: Bush, Obama, Trump.
The Washington Post's Afghanistan Project revealed the sheer incompetence, brutality and lying of the U.S. occupation. "Over the course of 18 years, three administrations have deployed nearly 800,000 troops (2,400 of whom were killed), dropped 40,000 bombs, filled the skies with high tech drones to spread terror and direct air strikes, and spent at least a trillion dollars. Again and again their best political and military strategists have come up with new plans and spent years trying to implement each one." But, as the Afghanistan Project sums up, “military commanders have been unable to deliver on their promises to prevail.” Read more in “The Afghanistan Papers”: The Lies Exposed — and the Deeper Truths That Need to Come Out [ revcom.us/a/631/afghanistan-papers-lies-exposed-and-deeper-truths-that-need-to-come-out-en.html ].
This situation continues to this day, as Pompeo negotiates with the Taliban, after getting essentially nowhere. Then there's his boss: “If we wanted to fight a war in Afghanistan and win it, I could win that war in a week. I just don't want to kill 10 million people” (stated by Trump in 2019).
BAP: Is AFRICOM Moving to South Carolina?
Individuals and organizations from around the world joined the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) on International Day of Action on AFRICOM [ blackallianceforpeace.com/dayofactiononafricom ], calling for the U.S. government to shut down its African command (AFRICOM) and withdraw its bases and military personnel from Africa.
When AFRICOM was launched October 1, 2008, U.S. authorities—understanding the political ramifications—realized it would be impossible to house the command headquarters in Africa. Hence, the German city of Stuttgart was chosen as the base of operations.
The Obama administration and NATO attacked and destroyed Libya, whose leader, Muammar Gaddafi, chaired the African Union, the continent-wide structure committed to African unity and cooperation. But with Libya in disarray and no African leader to voice opposition, the U.S. Department of Defense has floated the idea of moving AFRICOM’s headquarters to Africa. Then this past week, it suggested placing it in the U.S. state of South Carolina because the Trump administration has plans to move thousands of U.S. troops out of Germany.
The arrogance involved in considering basing AFRICOM in South Carolina is exactly why an International Day of Action on AFRICOM and our ongoing campaign, U.S. Out of Africa: Shut Down AFRICOM [ blackallianceforpeace.com/usoutofafrica ], is so important. The hubris and psychopathology of white supremacy could easily lead it to make the error of attempting to bring AFRICOM to the Black-Belt South, where it would be met with ferocious opposition—all despite U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-South Carolina).
BAP is clear. We are not moved by paternalistic pandering from politicians, who pretend Black lives matter in the United States while they support racist U.S. subversion, sanctions, and warmongering against Africans and other non-European peoples and nations.
We intend to shut down AFRICOM, close all U.S. foreign military bases, and dismantle the U.S. war machine for ourselves and for the world.
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