March 20, 2003: Condemn and Stop the US Aggression Against Iraq!

1. Today on March 20, 2003, the USA started the long planned war of aggression against Iraq. The beginning of the war has created a new, changed situation which will have far-reaching repercussions worldwide.

2. With the beginning of the war the psychological conduct of war of the responsible powers has changed: Their attempt to convince the masses of the necessity of war has failed. The imperialist aggression is being waged in direct confrontation with a world peace movement numbering hundreds of million of people. The psychological warfare is now shifting towards winning the masses for a support or toleration of the war. For this reason the war with its victims among the civilian population is played down, a media censorship is being imposed on war reporting, and it is hypocritically pretended that a "fast victory" would be the best thing for the Iraqi people and for the restoration of peace. US president Bush even announces a war with "few casualties among the civilian population".

The first air raids are to be followed by a phase of unprecedented bomb terror with 3,000 bombs and rockets. The tenfold explosive force compared to the first Gulf War in 1991 is intended to bomb Saddam Hussein out of power by means of a bloody ground war in which at least 50,000 people will lose their lives even according to bourgeois estimations.

At the same time, the object is to demoralize the peace movement and the just struggle of the Arab masses by giving the superpower USA the aura of invincibility based on glorifying its weapon systems. However, the victory of the people's war in Vietnam in the 70s of the last century proved that the struggle of the masses of people can defeat a big superpower

3. The war against Iraq is, after the aggression against Afghanistan, the second phase of Bush's "New War", which was announced in the fall of 2001 as a worldwide campaign against "international terrorism". In contrast to the Taliban in Afghanistan, Iraq is not a feudal-Islamic ruled country and there are no links to the Al Qaeda network. This obviously shows that Bush's "New War" has only little to do with the struggle against "international terrorism". It turns out to be an imperialist aggression in the struggle for the redivision of the world between international monopolies and the imperialist great powers. This new world order has initiated its own decline.

4. In contrast to the Gulf War of 1991, in which Saddam Hussein first invaded Kuwait, the present war is not waged against the regional great-power aspirations of Iraq. It is an open imperialist aggression of the superpower USA against a neocolonial dependent country which does not submit unconditionally to the interests of the American and British Oil companies. Even if there is no doubt about the reactionary nature of the regime under Saddam Hussein, the point is to support the just struggle of the Iraqi people to defend its sovereign rights. The US campaign and the intended military occupation of Iraq is a provocation of the Arab peoples and will lead to an upswing of the anti-imperialist struggle of the Arab peoples for national and social liberation. All foreign troops out of the Middle East!

5. The beginning of the war aggravates the inter-imperialist contradictions. The war coalition caused an open affront when the foreign ministers of the USA, Great Britain and Spain demonstratively boycotted the last meeting of the World Security Council. France, Germany and Russia cannot and will not stand idly by and watch when US imperialism tries to push through its claim to world domination on its own and at their expense. They as well pursue the goal of an imperialist restructuring of the region, though in their favor and by other means than war at the present time.

6. The task for the peace movement has changed: While up to now the focus of attention has been the struggle against the preparation and planning of the war, now the task is to fight and stop the war.

The MLPD supports and respects all people who stand up for the preservation of world peace and termination of the war. But we are especially doing the work of convincing people and are taking part in developing active mass resistance now with intensifying forms of struggle like demonstrations, strikes, blockades ... etc. This will more and more be combined with the struggle against the "social declaration of war at home" by the Schroeder/Fischer government for dismantling the social security systems and against the massive attacks on the wage and working conditions of the wage and salary earners.

7. The workers, especially the industrial workers in the corporations and big enterprises, must be the backbone and give the active resistance its punch. On 14 March 2003, hundreds of thousands of wage and salary earners in Germany took part in protest strikes against a war on Iraq. All over Europe there were even 19 million people involved! The call of the German Trade Union Federation (DGB), however, was not followed to the same extent as in other European countries because a part of the boards of the corporations and employers' associations massively suppressed these protest actions. This shows the necessity to push through a full legal right to strike in all matters, free trade union and political activity in the enterprises, and the unrestricted right of assembly and of demonstration on an antifascist basis.

8. We support the internationalist character of the peace movement to develop an active resistance across country borders which can stop and end the war. But it is important to disclose the social causes of the war, the imperialist striving for power, and, also in the midst of the peace struggle, to stand up for a society without exploitation, oppression and wars - for genuine socialism.

• Immediate cessation of military action by the troops of aggression led by the USA! Stop the imperialist aggression against Iraq - Active resistance against Bush's "New War"!
• No support for the war on Iraq by the German government!
• Solidarity with the struggle of the Arab peoples for national and social liberation!
• For peace, freedom- genuine socialism!
• Workers of all countries, unite!