A CHANGE IN WAR POLICY?

Regime Change in Libya

This policy has nothing to do with liberation or humanitarian concerns, as is peddled to the public. It is entirely based on the cold calculations of geo-political politics guided by the interests of corporate profit and the intimidation of anyone who tries to impede these interests. In the case of Libya, it is not difficult to determine what is involved in these calculations.

However, this move led to falling living standards and growing inequality which, in turn, greatly contributed to the discontent that sparked the uprising against Qaddafi. This uprising was part of the Arab Spring that has overturned U.S. friendly regimes in Tunisia and Egypt and posed a potential threat to European and U.S. business arrangements in the region. It was necessary for these powers to find a foothold in diverting the Arab Spring away from challenging these profitable relations. Seeing that Qaddafi was unable to control the internal situation in Libya, the U.S. and some NATO member states orchestrated military incursions to secure their own interests and to make sure to remind those rebel Libyans who was really in charge.

Peace and Occupy Movement

If a fundamental change is to be made regarding a less militaristic foreign policy, the powers behind the presidency will have to be confronted. Wars abroad, though used to divert the people in the U.S. from their real enemies, are also an extension of the war on workers at home. They are the byproduct of a system geared to enrich a tiny elite at the expense of those whose collective labor produces all wealth.

This is why the Occupy Movement and its re-energizing of the unions presents such a potential force for ending the wars and mobilizing working people to defend themselves against corporate attack. By placing the interests of all working people and their allies in direct opposition to Wall Street, this emerging movement is challenging the forces that profit from war and is establishing the basis for genuine international solidarity.

Mark Vorpahl is a unionist and anti-war activist and writer for Workers Action. He may be reached at portland@workerscompass.org

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