Basic Points of Revolutionary Orientation for the Rapidly Changing Situation in the Middle East
May 25, 2015 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
This week the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) has reportedly made big gains, capturing the cities of Ramadi in Iraq and Palmyra in Syria. This has intensified the debate among the U.S. rulers over how to respond. There are other rapidly evolving crises and clashes across the region. In this light:
Some key things revolutionaries and opponents of oppression need to understand and act on:
1. ISIS and U.S. imperialism are both utterly reactionary forces which have nothing to offer humanity and have caused horrific suffering, oppression, and death—the U.S. by far the lion’s share. Supporting either strengthens both.
2. The growth of ISIS and other reactionary Islamist forces shows, yet again, that nothing good comes from U.S. wars and occupations. The U.S. rulers claim they are fighting to liberate downtrodden peoples so they can determine their own futures. This is a lie. “The essence of what exists in the U.S. is not democracy, but capitalism-imperialism and political structures to enforce that capitalism-imperialism. What the U.S. spreads around the world is not democracy, but imperialism and political structures to enforce that imperialism.” (BAsics 1:3)
3. Communist revolution is the only way out of this madness, and it is urgent to make revolution in this country at the soonest possible moment and to fight for revolution everywhere by spreading Bob Avakian’s new synthesis of communism, encapsulated in COMMUNISM: THE BEGINNING OF A NEW STAGE A Manifesto from the Revolutionary Communist Party, (available in seven languages), and revcom.us worldwide to bring forward another liberating pole for humanity.
4. Revolution is possible. Developments in the Middle East and elsewhere show that the U.S. rulers are not all powerful. Their grand designs have backfired and they’re in deep trouble and have no solutions to the horrors they’ve created.
5. Their troubles are not OUR troubles—they are the troubles of mass murdering oppressors and we shouldn’t side with any faction of the ruling class in their arguments over how to maintain their global power and system of exploitation and plunder.
6. Instead, their crises and defeats must be seen as an exposure of the bankruptcy of their system and an opportunity to accelerate work for an actual revolution: “Prepare the ground, prepare the people, and prepare the vanguard—get ready for a time when millions can be led to go for revolution, all-out, with a real chance to win.” (See “On the Strategy for Revolution“ by the RCP).
7. These preparations must include opposing the crimes of imperialism, oppressive powers, Islamic fundamentalists and all reactionary forces, but most especially the towering crimes of our rulers here in the U.S.: Stop Wars of Empire, Armies of Occupation, and Crimes Against Humanity!
8. This also means repudiating their poisonous ideology of America #1 and only American lives count and putting world humanity first. “American Lives Are Not More Important Than Other People’s Lives.” (BAsics 5:7)
“Internationalism—the whole world comes first.” (BAsics 5:8)
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