Reagan's hawks GULF WAR Contragare, never mind the misadventure of good measure — just in case the president is UsS Stark with its 36 dead marines; the Whire House policy makers picked up the Underneath, however, they knew that only iniracles could steer them clear from the chief of stalf Baker and nacional securiry adviser Carlucci are prepared to throw him to the vultures, remarking that the vaganes of an erratic Gulf policy were unavoilable as the president's juices are not flowing any But the president's comarose and rejuvepared hawkish leadership. Never mind VENICE sammit. Reagan's top aides were at pains to project the image of a thousand and one pirfalls lying ahead. For named as a Contragate co-conspirator — ball and ran as far as they could go. AT THE longer'-
The recent events in the Gull highlighr the with The mushrooming of the any arrangement in the Kuwait'* esenhandedness in respect of buth superpowers and ever to China, wire are belaredly considering registering some Kuwaiti cankers under their flag, is a rebul? in LS impenalism whose long term policies have always supposed their being the sole decline of US world hegemony Historicalls. this hegemony has been based on coonomic tankers, Weinberger rushed in congress 1o demand permission to reflag Kuwaiti ships despite douhrs and lukewarm suppors from the Soviet Union the lease of three Kuwaiti coupied and Centres supranty: Inuncial military: strength America's allies beneliciarics: bt political several and American ship in the Gulf once more put the Iran-Iraq war in ANTHONY looks at the gather The Iraqi attack on an the headlines. JOHN in the Gulf Stories of Reagan's forty winks, white emptive strike, the histrionics of Reagan's top aides are more sabre-ratling, a device to popular with most media, cannot in all policies in the Gulf. Such policies are not the president. They are the product of a whole historical period where the Us military soften the blow of vet another humshation for seriousness explain the rambling state of US the Despite the mnunting tension over the Us's major objective was to attempt to tap the reserve of harred Against Iran which has slumberous mushiness was a side iscue, the missiles by Tran and bard ralk of a pre thoughts of an old flake. lasted since the 1979 hostage crisis. deployment of Chinese-made US imperialism. scattered
strategists are now prepared to substitute of of numerous non- or even anti-communist tactical In instances where brutal selective negotiatinns. A conciliatory line has diversification of markets have brought a relarive weakcome of 115 pusitions: Against their decline in the share of world economy. Us strategists have attempted to bolster ics military interventions. This 15 not without Intervention: li Central America and in A negative balance sleet coupled with today's new realities, such as the emergence forces hostile to the Us. is lorcing a major Us deleat results counterproductive, Jung-term problems, as the disastrous messy other and the Africa have shown proves: considerations problems. as Lebannn. rethink force manouevres of the Iraqi regime and the dilemmas of US policy in the region. Syria, Algeria, South Yemen, Libya and the clients. The attack by the Iraqi mirage jet ruled out, however, in particular that the ruthless regime desperate to internationalise Sharp shifts and swings by the Iraqi seventies, as Sadat's capitulation to Israc] sharply divided the Arab world and a *accident' was a brilliant cynical ruse by a powerful radical pole emerged based on death of US marines in the Gulf is another blow to the confidence and morale of US warmongers. But unlike Lebanon, this time, the 15 administration is jostled by irs own fighter was passed off as an accident, a mere human error Other tbeories should not be regime are notling new. Already in the machine repeatedly finds itself on the verge of humiliation. As in Lebanon in 1982, the the conflict with its neighbouring Iran.
interventions In the casc of the Iran crisis putting on offer the only resource that has however, and in time of crisis, the hard line doctrine is simple and ease to grasp. There - allies kept in line through diplomaric and economic pressures enemies who must be destabilised whatever the onst, either by socret operations today, it is the voice of the hard-liners chat emerged among the most pragmatic sections of the Us administration wite an hoping to budd new alliances and test new clients by been wrengthened by Reagan's economic This line remains shaky and uncertain. militarists resurface with a vengcance. Their SOCIALIST OUTLOOK no 2 July/Augue 1987 or, in che last resort, by open military policies — tilirary technology Fines out louder and clearer. are alhes and coomies endanihallen Balathists ended up siding with imperialism directly tied to Us strategic plans for rhe on numerous issucs while remaining distinct from their other Arah allies — Jordan and Saudi Arabia — whose rulers fare is more Killed in the Gulfworning those It is in this historical contest that the Iraqi: people and finally started preparing the PLO. Trag became prominent as a major Baghdad Arah summit which drew in all the reactionary rulers and defused a momentons Having frustrated a development thar could have threatened Us Imperialism's plans for the region, Trag then sct out to bolster irs alliance with Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Atthe same time, it embarked on a systematic suppression of all domestir particular, strengthened its onslaught on the Kurdish First, it boycotted the newly-formed radical alliance sabotaged it by calling for and hosting the swiftly platform, then spoiler of the Arab dynamic?, climate for a war against Tran communists historical situation. on an ultra-left opposition, 14
Neil and Glenys Kinnock in the period before honeymoon June 11
15 and outside parliament if the Tories are to be finally defeated. difficult to generate working class res- isrance to the attacks of the Tory employers: However, the arithmetic of scats lost and gained — Labour won an addi- obscures the real meaning of the election results in tenius of the shifts that have raken The result represents, above all elsc, a class polarisatim, which benefited both the Labour Party and the Tories at the experise of the soe/Liberal Al- This class polarisation, government and the tional 20 seats liance: place. government To order to pick up the pieces atter the severe electoral defear dul resume the fight, the left needs to The result is, of course, a major blow to the working class and rhr embarrled and weakened new Tory oppressed. The Tory victory, albeit with a lightly reduced majority, was the result which the ruling class had MOveMent which will make it remporarily mon Immediately there is a sense of demo pulled ouc all the stops to achieve. analyse what happened and why ralisation in the labour FOR THOUSANDS Of socialises arrond- half an hour of the first resulr, ir was: another runaway victory, Not thar many hard been expecting a Labour the very least a small overall Tory ing Tabour Party socials on election ught, a profound disappointment and sense of ginom deseended as soon as the results started to come in. Within Wear thar Thatcher was Headed for victory — none of the polls gave rea- sun for that But there did serm a possibility of a hung parliament, or at majority which would have led to an SOCIALIST OUTLOOK no 2 July/August 1967
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