Capitalism Means War and Terror: Build The Socialist Alternative

Capitalism Means War and Terror:

Build The Socialist Alternative

"YOUR WAR – our dead" chanted crowds on the
streets of Spain last weekend. The mass outpouring of grief and rage at the
horrendous Madrid bombings became intertwined with anger at the government.

Aznar, then Spanish Prime Minister, led Spain into the Iraq
war in the face of opposition from over 90% of Spaniards. Last Sunday his party
paid the price. But losing the election was a small enough price to pay
compared to the 200 people who, almost certainly, paid for Aznar’s policy with
their lives.

There is horror in Britain and the world at the events in
Madrid. But Blair’s horror is of a different order. He knows Aznar’s fate could
be his own. If the worst happens and we suffer an attack in Britain, millions
of people will hold New Labour and the rest of the warmongers responsible.

Horror 

The Socialist Party condemns the barbaric attacks on the
Madrid commuter trains, as we condemned 9/11 and the killing of ordinary
civilians in Iraq. These acts of ‘mass terrorism’ aim to kill ordinary people
who bear no responsibility for the policies of their rulers. The perpetrators
claim to be acting in the defence of the victims of imperialism. But they only
create more victims and do nothing to further the struggle against imperialism.

As the statements of former US Treasury Secretary Paul
O’Neill made clear, Bush wanted to go to war on Iraq from the moment he was
elected. But it was 9/11 that gave him the possibility of winning public
support for his brutal war.

THE MADRID attack has immediately weakened, rather than
strengthened, the warmongering politicians, because they are seen to have laid
the basis for this atrocity. But it has also led to an increase in racism
against North Africans and other minorities.

It will also undoubtedly lead to further attacks on
democratic rights, in the same way that 9/11 has been used to justify the
locking up and torturing of innocent people in Guantanamo Bay.

Anger 

Because there is a deep-seated anger at imperialism in the
neo-colonial world, and particularly given the lack of a mass alternative, some
will be driven to the desperate methods of terrorism. Of course, anger with
imperialism did not begin with the latest war on Iraq – it is a consequence of
endless years of economic and political oppression.

But the war itself has massively increased the anger and
humiliation of the Arab masses throughout the Middle East, which has in turn
increased the likelihood of horrific terrorist attacks.

In Iraq itself, quality of life has plummeted for the great
majority. Young people face a life of grinding poverty and unemployment. And
the numbers being killed, either by the ‘state terrorism’ of the US-led
occupiers, or by the attacks on Iraqi civilians from various terrorist groups,
surpasses the horror of the Madrid tragedy.

If al-Qa’ida was not able to organise in Iraq before the
war, they certainly are able to do so now.

Campaign 

The anti-war movement must combine the call to end the
occupation of Iraq with a campaign to force the warmongers out of office. It is
they who are responsible for the deaths of many thousands of Iraqis, hundreds
of coalition soldiers and scores from other countries.

And it is also, as millions of Spaniards so rapidly
grasped, their ‘war on terror’ that means the inhabitants of every major city
in Europe are living in fear of a terrorist attack.

However, it is not enough to drive Blair and Co. from
office. We have to find something to replace them. New Labour, the Liberal
Democrats and the Tories are all parties of big business, who stand for the
protection of the profits of the big corporations like British Petroleum,
whilst destroying public services and attacking the living conditions of
working class people.

We need a new mass party that stands up for the interests
of working class people.

The Socialist Party is fighting for such a party – a party
that brings together the anti-war movement, trade unionists, anti-privatisation
campaigners and the anti-capitalist movement. And we are fighting for a
socialist alternative to war and terror.