American War in Iraq from Marxist Perspective

American-led war on Iraq from a Marxist perspective

Marxism is the theory developed by the influential thinker Karl Marx. Marxist theory is the central opposition to capitalism; it revolves mainly on the class struggle between the exploited and the exploiter. Theory holds that economy is the central thing that every other aspect of daily life revolves around, politics and power can only be attained by first harnessing economic superiority Marx argued that Capitalism was inherently evil due to the fact that it facilitated a society in which greed, corruption and self serving individuals are bred. The invasion of Iraq on May 20th 2003 led by American troops facilitated by George Bush had deeper more sinister causes than just the search for oil. The American-led war on Iraq is clearly a neo-imperial based invasion and one that has no contextual basis to it. It is simply another ploy by American corporate capitalists to keep the working people of developing countries submissive.

The entire legality of the invasion of Iraq is also a major issue due to UN weapons inspector Hans Blix questioning the basis and blatant violation of international agreements and the law . This essay will argue the contention that American-led war and invasion on Iraq is simply a neo-conservative plan to solidify the American dominance over the rest of the world. The other point as that will be made are that the war in Iraq was a needed catalyst for a new age of American policies and also the fact that the American war in Iraq was an unjustifiable war but is a tool of the neo-conservatives who make up the Bush administration to cover up or to overshadow the constitutional infringements going on in America against the American people. One must also ask the question of what other plausible connection can the President of the United States give for initiating the war in Iraq, aside from completely falsified linking of Saddam Hussein to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and helping Osama Bin laden when it is evident that the Iraqi dictator had no part in either of those.

Due to America wanting to assert their dominance over the world, it is evident that they have to spread capitalism and puppet governments throughout the world. If a country does not conform to the strict standards of the people in power in the white house then either an economic embargo or a military invasion is imminent. As a result, this usually spells doom for the country trying to be independent and function away from the imperialistic giant named The United States Of America. Taking into consideration that the rise of America on the post world-war two stage depended solely on superior economic import and export production. Since their economic power was greatly increased so was their iron totalitarian control over every other aspect such as military and monetary power. Global Capitalism is just a code word for repressing basic human rights and corporations taking advantage of innocent people and maximizing profits of a select few individuals. Current American foreign policy has been formulated by Dick Cheney which he wrote back in 1992.

His approach is to assert dominance on the world stage by an aggressive show of force and a prime example of this "Project for the New American Century" as the think tank which is responsible for the foreign policy initiative is referred to would be the war in Iraq. In order to be the only dominant power in the civilized world, then America must have total control over the world’s economy. Therefore, it is essential to keep in mind that total control over the world can only be accomplished from a economic standpoint. Economic leverage is necessary to establish a foothold on a strong political stronghold. Oil is central in every nation’s development, veiled lies by the government of the United States about the basis of the war in Iraq were used to convince the people that the war was only about freedom yet it is for economic and geographical gain also and has nothing to do with freedom or liberty. "Democracy cannot be forced onto a unwilling population". [Anderson and Stansfield 2004, 189]

The illegal occupation of Iraq and even the terrorist attacks of September 11th was an essential catalyst needed to put in place pre-conceived domestic policies. . "The USA is not the "liberator" of masses in Iraq. It is not the masses’ "savior". The collapse of the Baath regime is a yield of a reactionary war waged by America to enthrall the world and impose its hegemony on it." [The Worker-Communist Party of Iraq, 2003] Without the attacks of September 11th occurring then there would be no plot to overthrow Saddam Hussein or build oil pipelines through Afghanistan that would only benefit Dick Cheney and Halliburton. Like John J. Maresca the Vice President of International Relations of the Unocal Corporation said in a congressional speech, "From the outset, we have made it clear that construction of the pipeline we have proposed across Afghanistan could not begin until a recognized government is in place that has the confidence of governments, lenders, and our company." [John J. Maresca, One Hundred Fifth Congressional Second Session, February 12, 1998] The war in Iraq is simply something that was planned by three prior administrations and finally carried out by George Bush Jr. It can be seen as a something planned by government to keep the working people of America in the dark about what was and continues to happen inside the borders of their own country. As a result of the war in Iraq gross the constitutional rights of individuals have been repressed and wholly disregarded.

For example, the Bush administration has completely suspended the right of due of law the government has suspended the most basic right that individual American citizens whether in fault or not can be detained without having access to a lawyer or even a proper court procedure. This is an absolute enshrining example of a brutal tyrannical capitalist dictatorship, repress basic rights and keep the people in a state of confusion while maximizing profits for yourself and your associates. The war in Iraq was also used an excuse to monitor all electronic devices such as telephones, emails, even face to face conversations of ordinary Americans in an effort to root out "possible terrorist threats" operating on American soil. Another point in unseen or unacknowledged infringements is the oppressing of immigrant workers in America. Considering that immigrant workers have built America into the superpower it is now, the workers are not given a valid voice for them to tell their opinion. The workers are the ones that are used to maximize profit for the corporations and in return are treated worse than animals; there is no justification the American regime or any other corrupt capitalist country can give for that. How is America going to attempt to fight for freedom in other countries where they don’t belong when there is no freedom in the land of the free itself? The working class people are also the ones who are overseas fighting for something that has no basis, like lambs to the slaughter innocents are being massacred for the evil of capitalism. Why do not any of these individuals who are in power send their daughters and sons to Iraq? The answer is simple; they would rather have poor oppressed workers die for material momentary economic gain. The rich are dining on the souls of the poor and destitute as a result of the war in Iraq, the rich are becoming richer and the poor are becoming even more blinded by the half-lies and forthright misleading statements made about the war in Iraq.

The legality of the war must come into question as should the basis of the imperialistic invasion and blatant disregard for United Nations rulings. All of the justifications given by the bush administration for invading Iraq have still yet to be proven and many have been proven to be outright false lies. It is a fact that "the U.S. cannot democratize Iraq, still less the Middle East at the point of a gun". [Anderson and Stansfield 2004, 189] One of the major allusions made by George Bush for the basis of invading Iraq was that Osama Bin laden somehow had connections with Saddam Hussein, "but Osama Bin Laden was no more likely to have an alliance with Saddam Hussein than he was,say,with Kim Jong Il."[Dyer 2003, 109] Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden were at odds with each other because each did not approve of the way they handled their affairs, Osama did not like the fact that Hussein had turned Iraq into a secular Islamic state. This propaganda is the technique that is as old as capitalism itself of dividing and conquering. "One-and-a-half years after the U.S. invasion, unemployment in Iraq is over 50 percent, sewage fills many streets, and basic services like electricity and clean water are in short supply." [People’s Weekly World Newspaper September 23, 2004] The united resistance to the American occupation of Iraq is not because the fighters are loyal to Saddam it is because they are fighting to keep illegal imperialist occupiers out of their land. "The peoples of the Arab world view Operation Iraqi Freedom as a grisly charade, a cover for an old-fashioned European-style colonial occupation, constructed like its predecessors on the most rickety of foundations-innumerable falsehoods, cupidity, and imperial fantasies." [Ali 2003, 155] One must ask the question that if international agreements and international law can be broken so easily and with no consequences then there is no point of having diplomacy and the whole world will fall into the capitalist trap of colonization. "The war was contrary to international law and it was contrary to international law whether or not they find weapons of mass destruction. The illegality was based on the absence of a Security Council resolution authorizing the use of force. I think that is the view of almost every independent commentator." [Professor Philippe Sands, QC, Director of the Centre on International Courts and Tribunals, University College London] Numerous non-left leaning individuals of academic standing have stated time and time again that the American invasion of Iraq is simply a reversion of colonialism and yet the capitalist machine continues to grind on undeterred.

Therefore, we can draw several conclusions, one would be that the United States of America’s attempt to conquer the world would "suggest that the American public is ill-informed and therefore ill-equipped to deal with the complexity and longevity of many foreign-policy problems" [Guyatt 2000, 214]. Another would be that the attempt of the Bush administration to control all economic outlets and colonial conquering has failed due to increasing greed and self profiteering of corporations and individuals of which a corrupt capitalist society exemplifies. The war in Iraq is something that will translate into a successful revolution for the workers in Iraq and for the Workers communist party of Iraq as well which will drive out the imperialistic greed driven occupiers of the free land of Iraq.

Reference List

Ali, Tariq. 2003. Bush in Babylon: The Recolonisation of Iraq. New York: R.R Donnelley & Sons.

Guyatt, Nicholas. 2000. Another American Century: The United States and the World after 2000. Fernwood publishing Canada: Halifax

Dyer, Gwynne. 2000. Ignorant Armies: Sliding into war in Iraq. Toronto, Ontario McClelland & Stewart Ltd.

Anderson, Liam and Gareth Stansfield, The Future of Iraq: Dictatorship, Democracy, or Division? 2004 Palgrave Macmillan New York, NY.