The crisis in Iraq is one example, and it prompted some actual truth-telling from the rulers.
New York Times columnist David Brooks told PBS Newshour (6/13) that the ISIL-led offensive in Iraq is:
"[A] gigantic problem. The idea--and this has been talked about by experts the last couple of years in particular--that it just becomes one big war, that the borders get erased, that the Sunni-Shiite splits--people are watching this--the Sunni-Shiite splits transcend borders and spread all over the region... Then you have regional powers. You got Turkey. You got the Saudis, the Iranians. Everyone's getting involved. And I just--what I read, what I hear from the people who really are experts, it's World War I. It's really a very perilous, extremely perilous situation."
Take Jordan, which is very important for the defense and stability of Israel and Saudi Arabia. Jordan is a small, relatively weak monarchy, with a majority Palestinian population bordering Syria, Iraq, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. It's now under enormous stress from the flood of refugees from first Iraq and now Syria, as well as the global economic downturn. And it's being targeted by ISIL and other jihadists who now reportedly control its border with Iraq. And then there's Saudi Arabia, long the world's leading oil producer. While the Kingdom has aided jihadist forces to advance its own interests, these Islamist forces are also vehemently opposed to the "corrupt" Saudi monarchy. The destabilization of Jordan or Saudi Arabia would send shockwaves globally and could prompt massive U.S. and/or Israeli military responses, further throwing the region into turmoil.
All these contradictions in the Middle East are interacting with other contradictions--globally and within the U.S.
The situation is very urgent--pregnant with possibilities and potential openings to hasten the advent of revolution, but also big challenges for the revolutionaries and grave dangers for the people. Things can happen very quickly. So it's urgent, as Revolution put it, that "We have to be alive to the world, and ready to respond in a heartbeat":
As Revolution editorialized:
"Prepare the ground, prepare the people, and prepare the vanguard--get ready for the time when millions can be led to go for revolution, all-out, with a real chance to win."
1. In the mid-1950s, socialism was overthrown and replaced by a form of state capitalism, although the Soviet rulers continued to operate under the banner of "communism." See You Don't Know What You Think You "Know" About... The Communist Revolution and the REAL Path to Emancipation: Its History and Our Future.
2. Sunnis and Kurds each comprise about 20 percent of Iraq's population, with Shi'as making up the remaining 60 percent.
3. In his memoir Duty, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates writes that the U.S. nearly always begins wars "profoundly ignorant about our adversaries and about the situation on the ground," and acknowledges the U.S. went into Iraq and Afghanistan "oblivious to how little we knew." pp 589-90
4. Analyzing the ongoing negotiations between Iran and the world's major powers over its nuclear program and the evolution of U.S. strategy toward Iran overall is beyond the scope of this article. However, in light of the extreme necessities they face, some sections of the U.S. ruling class seem to be exploring the possibility of a major shift in approach to Iran, including forging a new relationship, even alliance, with the Islamic Republic, while serving the reactionary interests of both states (including by maintaining the U.S. dominated regional order). I hope to speak to this in future articles.
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