Arms Race - WW Edit'l Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit -------------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the June 24, 1999 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------------- EDITORIAL: ARMS RACE Throughout the 10-week assault on Yugoslavia by most of the world's biggest imperialist powers, U.S. and European capitalist politicians of all political shades tried to give the impression that the NATO forces were united, whatever trade rivalries and military maneuvering--the hallmarks of inter-imperialist rivalry--were going on behind the scenes. But no sooner had Yugoslavia been brought to its knees than the European imperialists made a remarkable statement: the European Union, up to now a primarily economic alliance centered around German imperialism, plans to emerge as a military power. Leaders from 15 European countries announced the move on June 3--the same day that the Yugoslav leadership announced its acceptance, on paper, of NATO's onerous terms. "The union must have the capacity for autonomous action," the EU statement read, "backed up by credible military forces, the means to decide to use them, and a readiness to do so, in order to respond to international crises without prejudice to actions by NATO." The Pentagon has long pushed the European powers to shoulder some of the burden of these military actions--as long as they followed U.S. leadership and bought U.S.-made weapons. But the sign of Europe's major capitalist powers chafing at the bit of the Pentagon's domination of NATO-- especially as the United States tries to impose its own terms for the occupation of Yugoslavia--could only have been viewed as a challenge to U.S. hegemony. Make no mistake. The emergence of a new European military power does not bode well for workers or oppressed people anywhere. European workers in particular can look forward to having more of their labor robbed to fund the new military apparatus while social services are cut--an experience U.S. workers have been forced to endure for decades. Nor is U.S. imperialism likely to sit idly by while its European rivals arm themselves. A 1992 Pentagon "White Paper" warned of exactly this likelihood. It gave notice that U.S. imperialism must be prepared to go to war to prevent any "potential competitors" to its dominance in any world region. It is worth quoting a few words from that document: "While the United States supports the goal of European integration, we must seek to prevent the emergence of European-only security arrangements which would undermine NATO, particularly the alliance's integrated command structure." Which, of course, is dominated by the Pentagon. The shape of the proposed EU military command may change considerably before the proposed late-2000 launch date. But the outlines of coming struggles are clear. The collapse of the Soviet Union has undermined the basis for the anti-communist cohesion of the imperialist countries under the hegemony of the United States. It's not that the imperialist countries won't temporarily unite to try to stop an oppressed nation from liberating itself. But inter- imperialist rivalries--ultimately ending in wars of division and re-division of the world's markets and resources--are again becoming the order of the day. Anti-war forces in the United States need to redouble their efforts against the Pentagon's murderous adventures. It is time to forge lasting links with the progressive and communist movements in Europe that are challenging their ruling classes' wish to build new and more powerful war machines. Without the intervention of a united working-class movement--based on international class solidarity--the carnage in Yugoslavia will be magnified a million-fold in cities and villages around the world. - END - (Copyleft Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: ww@workers.org. For subscription info info send message to: info@workers.org. Web: http://www.workers.org) ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nyteeu-06.21.99-00:22:53-26163