Oppose war and imperialism – join the Socialists Against the Imperialist War Machine!
Tehran was awoken on Saturday morning to the sounds of explosions, with missiles from both the Israeli state and the US exploding all around.
Trump is aggressively attempting to reassert the US as the unquestionably dominant imperialist power throughout the world. This comes on the back of the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, stepping up military operations in Nigeria, Somalia, Yemen, Syria and Iraq, threats to Greenland, Canada and Mexico, and the starvation of Cuba.
Trump epitomises imperialism in its most naked form. And as he seeks to carve up the world’s resources, Keir Starmer is obligingly lining up behind him as a loyal poodle to US imperialism. Britain is now actively participating in what is already an extremely deadly war, in which hundreds of civilians have already been killed. British planes have been deployed, and British airbases are being used for so-called ‘defensive strikes’.
Despite claiming to have ‘learned the lessons’ of the Iraq War, Starmer is simply following in Tony Blair’s footsteps. Like Blair, he sees Britain’s role as being a (very) junior partner to the US.
In taking this stance, Starmer is once again showing the government’s contempt for the masses of the Middle East – just as has done in the midst of genocide in Gaza. He will also further seal his own political fate by once again appearing on the wrong side of history. His time as a Labour Prime Minister is fast running out.
Mass protests and demonstrations against the war are already beginning to take shape. Socialist Alternative will be taking part in these wherever we can, supporting the liberation of the Iranian working class from the threat of US and Israeli imperialism, but also its fight for freedom from the brutally repressive Iranian regime.
Starmer offers Britain’s military up on a plate
Barely 24 hours after the first bombs landed on Iran, Keir Starmer offered up the use of RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands to the US military for ‘defensive’ actions. There is nothing ‘defensive’ about US imperialism’s actions in the region! Thousands of civilians are already dead across Iran. Horrifically, this toll includes several hundred children after two schools were bombed.
This British involvement is being justified partly on the back of drone attacks on RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus. This is the same RAF Akrotiri that was reportedly used to launch UK surveillance planes over Gaza that may have made a direct contribution to the tens of thousands of deaths of Palestinians at the hands of Netanyahu. By involving himself in this new war, Starmer will, once again, have blood on his hands.
Britain’s complicity in US imperialist wars must be opposed. Already, initial protests have taken place over the weekend, and these will undoubtedly grow over the coming weeks. We need to build a mass movement and bring hundreds of thousands onto the streets against this war, just as we have done in solidarity with Palestine. But as vital as they are, demonstrations alone will not be enough to end the war. We need to go further.
We need mass, collective action to stop the war machine. This could start with a mass demonstration outside RAF Fairford, organised by Your Party, the trade unions, and the anti-war movement, in order to shut it down.
While members of Palestine Action were victimised for their direct action at RAF Brize Norton base, large-scale protest can be a strong defence against individual victimisation by the state. It was the mass solidarity with Palestine Action that saw almost all those imprisoned found ‘not guilty’. We cannot only rely on the British legal system to protect our rights, or on any capitalist force to protect the Iranian people. We need a mass struggle on the streets and in the workplaces in opposition to this latest phase of war.
A number of trade union leaders have signed an initial statement against the attacks on Iran. This is welcome, but much more is needed. The general strikes in Italy last year show the way forward. Workers have the potential power to block the production and distribution of these weapons that allow the likes of Trump to carry out their pernicious attacks. Because of their specific role, workers in the transport, arms and logistics sectors have an especially important potential part to play in this.
Time to get organised – join the Socialists Against the Imperialist War Machine
As we see more and more wars alongside an increase in military spending in Britain and around the world, the working class has a central role in stopping the capitalist elites carving up the world once more.
International Socialist Alternative has recently launched Socialist Against the Imperialist War Machine, a new anti-militarist campaign. We stand for the building of an international anti-war movement of the working class. We are having campaign launch meetings around Britain where we will be joined by anti-war activist, Lola, from Germany, who has been involved in leading student strikes against military conscription.
Come along to your nearest meeting, get involved with the campaign, and join Socialist Alternative to fight for a future free of war, inequality and the destruction of the planet. Instead of the capitalist system of war and imperialism, we must fight for a socialist society, based on a democratically-planned economy geared towards serving common interests of all working class people and the protection of the planet.
London
Tuesday 10 March, 7.30pm
Mainyard Studios, 679 High Road, Leyton
E10 6RA
Kent
Wednesday 11 March
Venue TBC
Leicester
Wednesday 11 March, 7.30pm
Secular Hall, 75 Humberstone Gate
LE1 1WB
Huddersfield
Saturday 14 March, 2pm
Huddersfield Irish Centre, 86 Fitzwilliam St,
HD1 5BB
Liverpool
Monday 16 March, 7pm
DoES Liverpool, 68-74 Kempston St
L3 8HL
Manchester
Wednesday 18 March, 7pm
Briton’s Protection, 50 Great Bridgewater St
M1 5LE
