February 7, 2022 -- On Friday evening February 4th, the US House of Representatives passed the “America COMPETES Act of 2022 (H.R. 4521).” The stated intent of the legislation is to strengthen “America’s national and economic security and the financial security of families, and advance our leadership in the world.” While this claim, found in Nancy Pelosi’s press statement on January 20th, seems to be addressing some of the most important political and economic issues currently plaguing the United States, from the supply chain to the shortage of semiconductors, the Black Alliance for Peace sees this piece of legislation as sinophobic and militaristic, and that only strengthens the imperialist designs of U.S. foreign policy. The premise of the America COMPETES Act is that China is a dangerous economic rival that represents a national security threat, and a “malign influence,” BAP rejects that position and sees this legislation as an unnecessary and unjustified expenditure of the public’s resources that should be targeted instead toward addressing the human rights needs of the working class and poor in the U.S. We believe that the Act continues the United States' policy of militarism first and poor and working-class people last, manifested in the recent passage of the $780 billion “defense” bill while the Build Back Better bill–which would have provided some relief for the most oppressed and exploited sections of US society–is moribund. The $1.7 trillion cost of Build Back Better was said to be the impediment to its passage. However, the issue of cost was never raised in sending $200 million in deadly weapons to Ukraine in December on top of the $400 million the US has already provided in 2021. The combined cost of the “defense” Bill, aid to Ukraine, and the money allocated for the America COMPETES Act totals over a trillion dollars for war and aggression. The House, in passing the Act, has doubled down on the United States’ endless funding of aggression while putting an end to funding the public’s basic needs. “As U.S. infrastructure and public services continue to collapse at an alarming rate, the Act cynically proposes to harness the Infrastructure Transaction and Assistance Network to impede the development of relationships between China and “partner countries” to shore up the United States’ geopolitical interests. In other words, the United States is not aiming to compete, but rather to continue its predation in areas of strategic import,” according to BAP Coordinating Member, Erica Caines. Included in the Act is Division D - Foreign Affairs Sec 30113 Supporting economic independence from the People’s Republic of China that explicitly states the United States’ intention to “counteract Chinese assistance and financing to foreign governments.” Jemima Pierre, coordinator of BAP Haiti/Americas Committee, points out that “As the Global South increasingly moves toward multipolar alliances to combat Western domination, the America COMPETES Act represents a desperate attempt to regain control over Latin America via USAID initiatives that use the War on Drugs to position China’s “education and cultural diplomacy” as a dangerous imposition and to punish China for not cooperating with U.S. foreign policy objectives in Latin America and the Caribbean” (secs.30251, 30252). The Black Alliance for Peace particularly opposes the latter as grounds for “economic and financial sanctions” on China and other countries that refuse to align with the United States in this area. Regarding Africa, the Act intends to monitor the impact of the Chinese “political, economic, sociocultural, and security sector” activity on the continent and its impact on U.S. strategic interests, with Director of National Intelligence (DNI) reports made directly to Congress (sec. 30271). Given our demand to demilitarize what is referred to as the “Indo-Pacific,” the Black Alliance for Peace further denounces any and all belligerent legislation that might escalate tensions between the U.S. and China on the issue of Taiwan. The effort of the America COMPETES Act to “entrench U.S. economic diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific” and “bolster American leadership” threatens such escalation. This thinly veiled military pivot to Asia can only serve to heighten tensions and increase global instability. With its aggressive posture and punitive aim, the America COMPETES Act directly contravenes Black Alliance for Peace efforts to support the call for Latin America and the Caribbean to be recognized as a “Zone of Peace.” We categorically reject this combative approach and support regional and global cooperation between states and peoples to solve common global challenges. We condemn the continuation of hostility toward China in the America COMPETES Act in the paternalistic guise of protecting the interests of “developing” countries. ###
Immediate Release Media Contact
press [at] blackallianceforpeace [com]
(202) 643-1136 Ukraine: Biden Administration’s “Wag the Dog” Diversionary War?
January 27, 2022 --- The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) along with the ANSWER Coalition, CODEPINK, Maryland Peace Action, Popular Resistance, and many other organizations will gather in Washington today at noon in front of the White House as part of an emergency mobilization of anti-war activists to express opposition to the unnecessary and extremely dangerous possibility of war in Ukraine. With a 39% job approval rating, more deaths from covid than during the Trump administration, and a failure to deliver on most of promises made during the 2020 presidential campaign, the intentional escalation of tensions by the United States with Russia appears as a clumsy attempt by the Biden administration and the Democratic Party to divert attention from the historic failures of the administration’s domestic policies. There could be no other rational explanation for why the Biden administration would encourage the Ukrainian coup government to reject the Minsk II agreement that provided a diplomatic framework for peacefully resolving the internal struggle between the Ukrainian government and regions that declared themselves independent of that government, unless, according to BAP National Organizer, Ajamu Baraka: “The manufactured crisis with Russia over Ukraine, demonstrates once again the incredible recklessness and outrageous opportunism that the U.S./NATO/EU Axis of domination is prepared to pursue in order to achieve its geo-strategic objective of full-spectrum economic and political global domination.” Whatever the explanation, it is clear that for African peoples, the U.S./NATO/EU Axis of Domination continues to represent the greatest threat to peace, human rights, and social justice on the planet today. That is why it is so absurd to see the Black Misleadership class lining up to demonstrate their support for war with Russia while Black people still face the structural violence of capitalism and the terror of state violence from the domestic army occupying our communities that are referred to as the police. BAP says that it is irrational for any African to embrace the agenda of empire by giving credence or legitimacy to the crude mobilization of public opinion for conflict on behalf of NATO, a structure created to perpetuate white power and the colonial/capitalist project. We are clear: we say once again, not one drop of the blood from Black workers, the colonized and nationally oppressed in defense of the U.S. capitalist oligarchy.
No Compromise, No Retreat!
Afghanistan News Update #8 The crisis unfolding in Afghanistan remains bleak. With an estimated 23 million Afghans—more than 50 percent of the population—still facing extreme levels of hunger, more people could die of starvation in 2022 alone than from the last 20 years of the U.S.-led occupation. While the duopoly in Washington, D.C., distracts the public with its most recent manufactured crisis in Ukraine, it is waging a far deadlier one in Afghanistan through the economic blockade the Biden administration has inhumanely imposed since last year.
To make matters worse, Biden signed an executive order on February 11 that suggests $7 billion in stolen Afghan funds may be split—without a single cent going directly to the Afghan people.
The pending order would allow 9/11 plaintiffs who won a judgment in the United States against the Taliban to seize half the funds and would funnel the rest into U.S. “aid” channels. Not only does this give money to Western non-governmental “aid” organizations that have historically functioned as weaponized forms of “humanitarian” intervention. It also furthers the false narrative that the Taliban had anything to do with the September 11, 2001 attacks, ultimately blaming the entire population of Afghanistan for actions carried out by mostly Saudi and Emirati nationals.
With a cold-blooded ruthlessness that for too long has been routine for the U.S. empire, rather than lift sanctions and actually return the billions in stolen assets—a move that would all but end the current humanitarian crises—the Biden administration has made a clear choice: Let Afghanistan starve.
In the context of this horror, the real “winner” of the war on Afghanistan could not be more obvious: The military–industrial complex. For members of this class—notably, retired top-level military officers—the war on Afghanistan was far from a failure.
For example, $10,000 of stock evenly divided among the top five “defense” contractors (Boeing, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman) on September 18, 2001—the day U.S. President George W. Bush signed the Authorization for Use of Military Force in response to the 9/11 attacks—would now be worth almost $100,000.
As for the rest of the imperialist ruling class—organized under the U.S./EU/NATO Axis of Domination—they are not finished. As the elites in Washington desperately attempt to maintain hegemonic control over a world in revolt, more profit has yet to be made. Despite having withdrawn from Afghanistan, Biden is predicted to propose another record breaking Pentagon budget for next year, potentially pushing the total to $800 billion in 2023.
The Pan-European, colonial-capitalist white-supremacist patriarchy is not going to go away quietly. The warhawks and imperialists of the duopoly in Washington are poised to profit even more in the coming years. As long as war remains this profitable, they will pursue it at breakneck speeds. However, that is only if they have their way with leading their waning empire headlong into wars with China and Russia. In the face of a rising counter-hegemonic resistance—both internationally and domestically—it remains to be seen if they will succeed.
For colonized, oppressed and poor people around the world, the struggle continues. More News and Analysis
Afghanistan Monthly–January February 1, 2022 by Ahmed-Waleed Kakar for the Afghan Eye A breakdown of the current political situation in Afghanistan, including an overview of recent policy actions taken by the Taliban government, from the founder of the Afghan Eye. Don't Sell Me, Mama!—Selling Children to Buy Food January 31, 2022 by RT The dire situation in Afghanistan has landed many in debt. If they don’t get any money to pay off debts and buy food, their families will starve and freeze to death. Horror at Kabul’s Gate to Freedom February 8, 2022 by CNN A multi-media investigative report inside the final deadly moments of the United States’ longest running war. U.S.-EU Hide their Role in Afghan Hunger Crisis February 7, 2022 by Zach Kerner for Workers World Afghanistan is one of roughly 40 countries (and counting) that is under attack from U.S. economic sanctions, which are but one tool Washington deploys against nations that refuse to serve the imperialist ruling class. The Biden Administration Must Immediately Unfreeze Afghanistan’s Assets and End the Devastating Sanctions February 18, 2022 by Noam Chomsky, Tariq Ali, Richard Falk, et al. for CounterPunch Nearly nine million Afghans are on the brink of starvation. Yet, it is entirely preventable. This man-made humanitarian catastrophe is a direct result of U.S. policies. United States Outruns Regional States in Race for Kabul February 9, 2022 by M.K. Bhadrakumar for Asia Times Regional states are worried that the U.S.’ nascent engagement with the Taliban behind the fig leaf of humanitarian aid enables the return of U.S. intelligence personnel to Afghanistan on the pretext of “counter-terrorism” operations. West finding ways to work with the Taliban January 28, 2022 by M.K. Bhadrakumar for Asia Times The United States will use financial and humanitarian aid to Afghanistan as an instrument in such a way that the Taliban government can remain in power without having to lean toward its neighbors. Former Biden Afghanistan Official Poised to Reap Financial Windfall from Billions in Seized Afghan Assets February 15, 2022 by Lee Fang and Ryan Grim for the Intercept The U.S. seizure of Afghan government funds has put millions at risk of starvation while lawyer and former Biden official, Lee Wolosky, is poised to make millions in payouts from the billions in stolen assets. When Cruelty Is The Point - U.S. Decides To Kill More Afghan People February 11, 2022 by Moon of Alabama A user post on the Moon of Alabama site gives a breakdown of Biden’s decision to split the $7 billion in stolen assets from Afghanistan, and the devastating repercussions this will have on the Afghan people. Biden’s $7 Billion Afghan Heist February 18, 2022 by Cheryl Benard, Medea Benjamin and Masuda Sultan for CounterPunch Barry Admunson, who lost his brother in 9/11 and is part of a group called 9/11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, is advocating against Biden’s decision. Setting Up Crises in Afghanistan and Ukraine February 14, 2022 by Jacob Hornberger for CounterPunch The people of Ukraine are as much pawns in the evil machinations of the U.S. national-security establishment as the people of Afghanistan.
No Compromise, No Retreat! |
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Afghanistan News Update #7
As a direct result of the ongoing hybrid warfare by the United States and its European allies, the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan has continued to worsen over the past two months. According to a December report from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), only 5 percent of Afghanistan’s population has enough to eat and a record number of Afghans — 23 million — face acute hunger. Yet, the humanitarian crisis that is rapidly unfolding across mostly rural Afghanistan is entirely mitigable, with everyone from activists to scholars showing that it is a direct result of the economic blockade imposed by the Biden administration following the Taliban takeover in August. Due to the shortage of cash this has created, many Afghans — if they can find work at all — are not being paid.
Warhawks and imperialists in D.C. who claimed to oppose the U.S. troop withdrawal last year for “humanitarian” reasons are silent now that the Afghan people are starving. In the face of this mass suffering, Washington has predictably doubled down on its economic siege, refusing to lift long standing sanctions against the Taliban or even unfreeze the nearly $10 billion in sovereign assets that it has blocked the Afghan government from accessing. These economic weapons are especially devastating given the neocolonial conditions of dependency that the U.S./EU/NATO Axis of Domination imposed on Afghanistan during its decades long occupation.
Under the former US-backed puppet regime, three quarters of Afghanistan’s government spending came from international grants, while 43 percent of its 2020 economic output came from international “aid.” A January United Nations appeal for assistance to Afghanistan implicitly revealed the conditions of dependency facing the people as it called for $5 billion to cover food delivery, agriculture support, healthcare, water and sanitation, and education; all things that a fully sovereign government — free from imperialism — would be able to provide for its people. The Biden administration, by refusing to lift sanctions or even unfreeze Afghanistan’s assets, seeks to weaponize the conditions of dependency — imposed during 20 years of occupation — to destabilize the region and to make self-determination of the Afghan people impossible.
Yet, consistent with its white savior worldview, Washington continues to cloak its imperialist criminality behind a narrative of “humanitarianism.” In mid January, the White House announced around $300 million in “humanitarian assistance” from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), according to the Associated Press. This “assistance” is only a small fraction of the nearly $10 billion that Biden is preventing Afghanistan from accessing. Thus, the U.S. ruling elite continue to deny Afghans their sovereignty by stipulating that any and all funds go through pre-approved, Western NGOs. These so-called non-governmental organizations historically function as weaponized forms of “humanitarian intervention” — used to diminish government's central role, erode overarching social services, and create conditions favorable to capital.
Despite the best efforts of Washington to prevent self-determination, stability, and progress in Afghanistan, many regional neighbors continue to take small, but significant, steps toward realizing peace and stability in Afghanistan. This past December, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a group of 57 primarily Muslim-majority nations pledged to create a humanitarian trust fund to be set up under the Islamic Development Bank. Such efforts to counter the murderous economic weaponry of the U.S. will ease the suffering Afghan people have been forced to endure, while also aiding in their struggle to achieve national self-determination.
More News and Analysis
Biden Lies (Again) As He Covertly Continues the US Forever War Against the Afghan People
January 18, 2022 by Zachary Scott The August 2021 withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan did not mark the end of the United States’ so-called “forever war” but rather a shift in U.S. policy—from direct military intervention and occupation to one based on economic sanctions and indirect political subversion. Are Western Wealthy Countries Determined to Starve the People of Afghanistan?
January 17, 2022 by Vijay Prashad The U.S. is responsible for the crisis in Afghanistan, and it “should play an active role” in repairing the damage it has done to the country. Inside US Afghanistan Pullout, CIA Opium Ratline, Pipeline Conflict, New Cold War
August 21, 2021 by The GrayZone Max Blumenthal and Ben Norton discuss the US military pullout from Afghanistan with journalist Pepe Escobar, who has extensive experience reporting in the country. Kazakhstan Coup Fails, US-Russia Talks Go Nowhere. Is War on Horizon?
January 17, 2022 by The GrayZone Pepe Escobar discusses the geopolitical implications of the failed coup in Kazakhstan, its ties to the degrading security situation in Afghanistan, and the U.S. manufactured security crises across Eurasia more generally. The US Plan of an Afghanistan Inside Europe
January 19, 2022 by Manilo Dinucci for Global Research Washington’s strategic design is to force Russia to intervene militarily in defense of the Russians in the Donbass, ending up in a situation similar to the Afghan one in which the USSR got bogged down. An Afghanistan inside Europe, which would cause a permanent state of crisis, to the benefit of the U.S., which would strengthen its influence and presence in the region. Reflections on Events in Afghanistan 39 - Souring of Taliban’s Relations with Pakistan
January 17, 2022 by M.K. Bhadrakumar for Indian Punchline External interference in Afghanistan has reappeared much sooner than one would have expected after the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan in August. Reflections on Events in Afghanistan 38 - Blowback from Afghanistan
January 3, 2022 by M.K. Bhadrakumar for Indian Punchline Reports of the recent period are indicative of tensions between the Taliban forces and the Pakistani military deployed on their border.
No Compromise, No Retreat!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact
press [at] blackallianceforpeace [com] (202) 643-1136
Black Alliance for Peace Condemns the Policies of the U.S./EU/NATO Axis of Domination in Ukraine
The Manufactured Crisis in Ukraine Confirms Why NATO Must be Dismantled
January 12, 2022 -- The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) concludes that the full responsibility for the dangerous crisis unfolding in Ukraine has its genesis in the illegal policies of the U.S./EU/NATO “Axis of Domination” beginning in 2014. As the corporate press presents a one-sided presentation of event in Ukraine as part of a massive propaganda effort to mobilize public opinion to support the reckless positions of the Biden administration, BAP believes that the public must be presented with a counternarrative of the chronology of events in Ukraine. BAP National Organizer; Ajamu Baraka summarizes some of those events: “During the latter part of 2013 until February 2014, the Obama/Biden administration gave material support and encouragement to anti-democratic right-wing elements in Ukraine to execute “regime change” against the democratically elected government of Victor Yanukovych. This plunged Ukraine into crisis because substantial sectors of Ukrainian society did not support the coup, especially sections of predominantly Russian speaking Ukrainian citizens in the Eastern portions of the nation. Those Ukrainian citizens rejected the legitimacy of the coup government and began to voice support for independence from the neo-Nazi government that took power. And what was the response from the illegal coup regime? It attacked their citizens in the East. In other words, they attacked their own citizens – a crime that the Obama administration pretended was the excuse for U.S. subversion in Syria. “ The conflict that ensued as a result of the invasion of Eastern Ukraine by the Ukrainian government with the full support of right-wing paramilitary forces like the neo-Nazi Azon battalions, did not succeed in forcing the republics that subsequently referred to themselves as the Donbas Peoples’ Republic to submit to the coup government. An agreement between Donbas and the coup government was arrived at that became known as the Minsk II agreement. Terms of the agreement included a commitment to a ceasefire along with relative autonomy for Donbas. The agreement avoided all-out war and provided some degree of “stability” until the Biden administration came back to power. Back in power, Biden and the democrats who have now become the party of war, begin to encourage Ukraine authorities to ignore Minsk and to forcefully take back control of Donbas. Even more dangerously, the U.S. and some European powers began to indicate that Ukraine might be invited to become a member of NATO. That could allow NATO with its nuclear weapons to be positioned right on the borders of Russia and with its nuclear arsenal. BAP regards NATO as an illegitimate offensive force in the service of Western imperialism. Therefore, we call on all social forces committed to peace to join us in demanding that NATO be dismantled. In the meantime, and specifically on Ukraine, BAP is calling on the international Anti-war movement to demand that the U.S. and NATO deescalate the situation. Concretely this means demanding that: All parties to the conflict adhere to the provisions reflected in the Minsk II agreement And that the Ukrainian situation is taken up by the United Nations Security Council, the only body by international law tasked with the responsibility to address international threats to peace – not the arbitrary and illegal activities of the United States and its allies.
The undermining of international law by the U.S./EU/NATO Axis of Domination committed to maintaining Western imperialist hegemony by operating outside the framework of international law, is now seen by much of the non-European world as the primary threat to international peace, security, and human rights. BAP shares that assessment and pledges to continue to oppose U.S. policies, understanding that today as it was more than fifty years ago when Dr. King first uttered these words – “the U.S. is the greatest purveyor of violence in the world.”
No Compromise, No Retreat! ### | 
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