On April 26, the Senate, in a 51 to 46 vote, approved a bill authorizing billions in continued funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and urging a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. forces. The House voted 218-208 for the final bill, a compromise between the legislation it had adopted earlier this month.
When the Senate bill was approved, the mainstream corporate media and political pundits immediately began to hype
|
Before joining in the excitement, it’s a good idea to take a step back and ask a few questions. First, will this political drama have any impact at all on the war—on the Iraqi people who are dying in the thousands and seeing their country destroyed by the U.S. occupation? Will it have any impact on the U.S. troops who are killing and being killed in an imperialist war? The answer to both is no.
The appropriations bill provides a total of $124 billion, over $90 billion of which will directly fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It does nothing to bring the war to an end. It calls on Bush to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq by either July 1 or October 1, 2007.
According to the legislation, if Bush certifies that the puppet regime in Iraq is making progress in disarming militias, reducing “sectarian violence” and forging political agreements, then the start of troop withdrawal can be put off until October 1. If he does not, it must start on July 1.
The bill then requests that all U.S. troops be removed by April 1, 2008. It’s appropriate that the bill’s supporters chose April Fool’s Day for that deadline: The deadline is non-binding.
Suggested timetable meaningless
There is a huge loophole in the bill. It allows for troops to remain in Iraq “as needed” to fulfill a broad range of repressive functions. These include conducting “counter terrorism” missions, protecting U.S. personnel and facilities—including the largest embassy on the planet in Baghdad—and training Iraqi “security” forces.
Instead of a timetable for withdrawal, the bill looks more like a blank check for the endless military occupation of Iraq.
But the bill is being characterized by the capitalist press as daring and politically risky anti-war legislation. It is not.
The bill, toothless as it is, is even weaker considering Bush’s promised veto. The bill’s sponsors know they don’t have enough votes to override the veto.
So, why all the drama?
The bill is nothing more than a statement, a display of cynical grandstanding by bourgeois politicians.
Polls show a large majority of people in the United States want an end to the war on Iraq. Democratic politicians know that, to stay in office and to increase the likelihood of a Democratic victory in the 2008 presidential elections, they need to appear to support the public’s overwhelming sentiment. A CBS News/New York Times poll taken on April 20-24 showed that 71 percent of respondents disapproved of the war.
A popular tide of anger against the war led to Democratic Party victories in the House and Senate last November. But what followed was not a troop reduction or anything signaling an end to the war.
Instead there was a “surge,” or more accurately, an escalation, of the troop levels. There was no meaningful opposition to the war from Democratic Party leaders. The voters, who want U.S. troops to come home to their families, were ignored.
Congress will not end the war
The struggle between Bush and the Congress is essentially a sham—a staged drama—hyped by the corporate media, but meaningless for those Iraqis and U.S. soldiers trapped in the real nightmare that Bush and Congress have caused in Iraq.
Already, Democrats and Republicans have softened their tone and met to resolve their differences on the bill and the war itself. Ultimately, they will work together to achieve the goals of U.S. imperialism. This is what they always do.
The only conflict between the twin capitalist parties is how to “win” in Iraq—not whether or not the U.S. should dominate the country and the region. Neither the interests of Iraqis or working-class people in the United States matter to Congress.
It should be abundantly clear by now that the notion of “American democracy” is smoke and mirrors; money and lies. Politicians manage the state for the ruling capitalist class. They do not and cannot offer any clear path to peace.
Just as in the Vietnam War, it will take a massive, militant movement of people to shut down the imperialist military aggression in Iraq.
