Wednesday, October 26, 2005
In the televised speech Bush gave on October 25 to military spouses (and this is very similar to one he gave earlier this month to the National Endowment for Democracy) he asserted once again and argued very aggressively for a whole vision and plan for what can only be accurately described as an open-ended and endless war–which will not only continue in Iraq but will target any country, government, or other force that the Bush regime declares to be a supporter of terrorism and an enemy of freedom. And Bush specifically and explicitly raised the level of threats his regime is directing against not only Iran but Syria as well. This is Bush’s response to the growing criticism of his war policy and what it has led to in Iraq. And this is a dramatic illustration of what is in the WCW Call–and specifically the very first point that "YOUR GOVERNMENT, on the basis of outrageous lies, is waging a murderous and utterly illegitimate war in Iraq, with other countries in their sights."
Bush insisted once again in this speech that the people of the U.S., and of the world, have no choice but to accept American imperial domination in the world, and the endless wars to enforce and extend that domination. The only alternative, according to Bush, is to face the prospect of living under–and to be cast as supporters and "enablers" of–an "evil empire" of fanatical Islamic fundamentalists who are intent on ruling over the whole world…when, as Bush sees it, only the U.S.–and in particular the Bush regime, with its own brand of fanatical religious fundamentalists, including Bush himself–have the right to do that! But these are not the only possible choices: Bush’s perverted version of reality, and catastrophic vision of the future of humanity, cannot and must not be accepted–it must be massively and actively rejected, opposed, resisted and defeated–by people in the U.S., together with others throughout the globe.
This speech by Bush, with its vision and call for unending war, was given in the midst of mounting scandals within the Bush regime and among its allies in Congress, and in the context of intensifying investigations and possible indictments of key people associated with this regime. Once more, this speech is Bush’s response to these scandals and to the fact that his regime is increasingly embattled and unpopular. This is the articulation of a vision and agenda that is indeed worthy of a Hitler. This is yet another powerful demonstration of why this regime must be driven from power, why the world can’t wait!–and why there is a growing basis for actually driving out this regime.
Is the Bush regime actually in trouble? Yes, definitely. Does that mean that it is no longer powerful and dangerous? No, in a very real sense, it is all the more dangerous and determined, and will bring about more and even greater horrors, until it is driven out. And no investigations, or even indictments, are going to change this, in and of themselves. In fact, there is a way in which the growing scandals, difficulties and, yes, real crises of the Bush regime can contribute to something good, but that is if, and only if, they are recognized as illustrating, all the more strikingly, the need to, and the basis to, drive out this regime–and if they are seized on to build, ever more powerfully, a movement of massive resistance to do just that, beginning in a big way on November 2 (the first anniversary of Bush’s "re-election").
Of course, there are still people who hate everything the Bush regime represents, and its whole agenda, but who are holding out the hope that the difficulties it is facing will make things more favorable for electing a Democratic Congress in 2006 (and a Democratic President in 2008) and who therefore think that, rather than mobilizing to drive out the Bush regime, we should pin our hopes on, and wait for, those elections. But the questions must be honestly, and urgently, posed: Can we afford to wait that long before doing something decisive to defeat this regime and its whole agenda? And by voting for Democrats would people really be doing anything to change the whole course on which this regime has set the country, and indeed the world? The answers are NO and NO.
If, instead of bringing forth, from here forward, the kind of massive resistance, of millions, that is both urgently needed and is possible, we focus our attention on elections and on electing Democrats, this will only mean that things will be in an even far worse place by a year from now, in terms of what is happening in the world and what it is possible to do to oppose it. And, anyway, what exactly is it we would be "waiting for" in terms of these elections? Can anyone honestly say that in 2006 (or 2008) it will be possible to vote for a Democratic Party that would:
Bring an end to U.S. occupation in Iraq and other wars to enforce and extend American imperial domination in the world?
Put a stop to the torture being carried out by the U.S. government and others cooperating with it?
End the imprisonment of people without rights or legal representation and the heightened repression embodied in the Patriot Act?
Actively and uncompromisingly oppose Christian fundamentalist attacks on evolution and on science and the scientific method in general, and on the separation of church and state?
Vigorously defend the right to abortion, and to birth control?
Consistently and systematically defend the rights of gay people?
Seriously address and do something to actually end the continuing discrimination and institutionalized racism, oppression and poverty that were once again and dramatically brought to light through hurricane Katrina and in the way the government has dealt with that natural disaster and its aftermath?
The answer to these questions, as well as the actions of Bush himself, in the face of growing difficulties for his regime and its agenda, show once again why the Call, "The World Can’t Wait! Drive Out The Bush Regime!" is speaking to a profound truth and a profound need when it says:
"There is not going to be some magical `pendulum swing.’ People who steal elections and believe they’re on a `mission from God’ will not go without a fight.
"There is not going to be some savior from the Democratic Party, This whole idea of putting our hopes and energies into `leaders’ who tell us to seek common ground with fascists and religious fanatics is proving every day to be a disaster, and actually serves to demobilize people.
"But silence and paralysis are NOT acceptable. That which you will not resist and mobilize to stop, you will learn–or be forced–to accept. There is no escaping it: the whole disastrous course of this Bush regime must be STOPPED. And we must take the responsibility to do it.
"And there is a way. We are talking about something on a scale that can really make a huge change in this country and in the world. We need more than fighting Bush’s outrages one at a time, constantly losing ground to the whole onslaught. We must, and can, aim to create a political situation where the Bush regime’s program is repudiated, where Bush himself is driven from office, and where the whole direction he has been taking society is reversed. We, in our millions, must and can take responsibility to change the course of history."
Once again it is crucial to understand that the growing difficulties and mounting crises of the Bush regime, and Bush’s response to all this, only serve to underline both the urgent need, and the growing possibility, to drive out this regime, through the mobilization of millions of people who know in their hearts that in fact they must, and are coming to see that they can, change the course of history through their own independent historical political action. And, as the "Call" for November 2 concludes:
"The point is this: history is full of examples where people who had right on their side fought against tremendous odds and were victorious. And it is also full of examples of people passively hoping to wait it out, only to get swallowed up by a horror beyond what they ever imagined.
"The future is unwritten. WHICH ONE WE GET IS UP TO US."
THE WORLD CAN’T WAIT! DRIVE OUT THE BUSH REGIME!
MOBILIZE ON NOVEMBER 2.