An African Response to the American Invasion of Iraq
By Lester Lewis
pana-@yahoo.co.uk
The American invasion of Iraq with the United Kingdom as its junior partner in crime is a lesson that Africans must learn, learn well, internalise and pass on to future generations. That is how Africa was colonised, by brute military force. Now, Iraq is being colonised by brute military force. MIGHT IS RIGHT, the foundation that underpins European culture is on display in Iraq. But the Iraqi's are putting up a valiant resistance to the illegal, unjust, immoral, unprovoked invasion of their country.
This war was predicated on a lie, which was to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction. Now, the colonisation of Iraq is being bandied about as liberation to impose democracy. But the Iraqis never told anyone they needed liberating and never asked anyone to liberate them. This is a war to colonise Iraq, to set up a puppet administration answerable to United States imperialism and to steal Iraq's vast oil wealth. This is the first act of the implementation of the Project For the new American Century. Under this plan, America plans to dominate the whole world by dint of its military might.
So we witness the daily and nightly bombardment of Iraq. We witness the destruction of buildings. We witness the mass killing of civilians not only by bombing but the shooting of unarmed women and children. Who ever heard of a liberator destroying the country it is going to liberate, killing the people it says it is liberating and being mortally afraid of the people it is supposed to be liberating. This is a war of colonisation. That is why U.S. imperialism plans to impose military rule on Iraq if it manages to subdue the people and conquer Iraq.
America has already appointed a military governor of Iraq. This is the US retired General Jay Garner. He is waiting in Kuwait to take up his post. The U.S. has decided that there will be twenty-three ministries, each headed by an American. So the United Nations principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries has been arbitarily shattered by America and the UK. Under the PNAC, any country which is perceived as a threat to the U. S. plans to dominate the world in the twenty-first century is to be attacked, colonised and a colonial government imposed. The U. S. appears to have plans to invade and colonise Syria, Iran and North Korea. The PNAC envisages America fighting more than one war at any one time.
U.S. imperialism has a blueprint to rebuild Iraq in the image of America. The British newspaper, the Daily Mirror explained the plan. Using the United States Agency for International Development - USAID, eight contracts are to be given to American companies to administer a conquered Iraq. These contracts are for Health, Education, Construction, Local Government, Air Administration, Logistical Support, Personal Support and Port Administration. USAID is legally bound to give contracts only to American companies. This has led to a war of words between British and American companies as to which companies would be awarded contracts. Halburton, the company that pays American Vice President $1,000,000 1 year is set to get most contracts.
The argument between Britain and America over who should administer a post war Iraq, whether it should be the United Nations or America is about this issue of contracts. Fifteen British companies are lobbying for contracts. British Consultants and Construction Companies are lobbying for contracts for another fifty British companies. These include Thames water, Balfour Batty, the National Grid and Transco. The Australian government is seeking contracts for Australian companies. Japan is also seeking contracts to rebuild Iraq. This is the old colonialist imperialist principle of "To the Victor, the spoils."
The U.S. and Britain are looking for a total of $288 (US) billions to rebuild Iraq and to pay for the military colonial administration. Both Germany and France are opposed to this. The Germans have said that America must pay for all the damage since they are the ones who caused it. This is a position the African Union must support and fight for at all levels and in all international arenas.
This invasion is not only a military attack on Iraq; it is also a fundamental attack on Arab Islamic culture. When the Europeans met in conference in Berlin in 1884-85, they divided Africa amongst themselves. As Ngugi Wa Thiongo tells us, "It took the canon to implement the Berlin Agreement. Worse was to follow. This was the school and the school was more powerful than the canon in implementing the Berlin Agreement." That is why America wants to control Iraq's schools so that it can brainwash, indoctrinate and mentally colonise Iraqi children in order to control Iraq for a long time. Once it has trained colonials to administer Iraq on its behalf, it would withdraw its troops.
When one looks at the daily bombing of Iraq, the destruction of buildings, the bombing and shooting at civilians, the cold blooded murder of women and children, one wonders what kind of people are capable of perpetuating such evil deeds and feel comfortable with themselves. This basic lack of humanity is both amazing and astounding especially as this follows ten years of sanctions during which time, over 1,000,000 Iraqis died from the effects of depleted uranium used during the 1991 UN sanctioned war against Iraq. Once again, the US and UK are using depleted uranium weapons against the people of Iraq. This carries a cancer-causing agent so millions of Iraqis are expected to die of diseases such as cancer and leukaemia in the years to come. On top of all this, there is hunger caused by lack of food, thirst caused by lack of water and there is the destruction of the means of communication such as telephones, the television and radio services. So what kind of people are we dealing with?
Another fact that must be noted is that whereas prior to the launch of the military invasion, there was a huge majority in Britain against war, now that war has actually started, there is a majority in favour. Many European politicians who were previously against are now hoping for a quick American victory. What we are witnessing here is WHITE RACIAL SOLIDARITY and the DEFENCE OF WHITE SUPREMACY, rather than the just call for Britain and America to end its unjustified war and withdraw their troops from Iraq.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair called for national unity and white solidarity on the grounds that now they are actually at war, they must untie to support the British forces. Opposition to war has fallen and there is now majority support for the unjust invasion of Iraq, for the destruction of Iraq, the mass killing of civilians and the attempt to use hunger for food and thirst for water to drink as weapons of war.
Among Whites, the daily bombing of Iraq reinforces the bogus concept of White racial supremacy. The fear of losing to Arabs whom they regard as an inferior race has led them to abandon the principle of equality and justice for all. The white racial supremacist aspect of this war must not be lost on Africans. We must always remember that it was White racial supremacy that imposed slavery and colonialism on Africans on the basis that we were inferior beings. Now, it is the same White racial superiority that is on the march again to implement the Project for the New American Century. That is why Africa must act to ensure the defeat of United States imperialism and its PNAC. Otherwise, we will be condemned to another century of poverty, suffering and degradation.
The Decline in American Power Despite its overwhelming military strength, the American economy is in decline and the once mighty American dollar is losing its value. This will continue unless U. S. imperialism can continue to steal and exploit the peoples and the resources of Africa, Asia and Latin America. That is the nature of imperialism. For imperialism to survive, it must rape and plunder, oppress and exploit. My teacher, Ndeh Ntumazah, a past President of the Union of the Peoples of the Cameroon explained this way.
This is the story of why the lion ate the goat. Both the lion and the goat were walking in the forest when the met each other. The lion said to the goat, "Goat, I am going to eat you." The goat begged and pleaded with the lion to spare his life, but to no avail. Finally, the lion said to the goat, "Goat, I am hungry and if I do not eat you I will die." So the lion ate the goat. For imperialism to survive, it has to be constantly on the warpath against perceived weaker peoples and nations. One other point that must be noted is the 1973 Report from Iron Mountain which said that war was desirable for the American military industrial complex.
For most of the last century, the U. S. dollar has been the principal currency for the conduct of world trade. Many countries and peoples have their savings in U. S. dollars. Should the dollar continue in its downward decline, nations and peoples are likely to transfer their savings out of the U. S. dollar into a stronger currency such as then Euro. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein went for the jugular of the American economy when he stopped trading Iraq's oil in U. S. dollars and started trading in Euros. Iran did the same thing. Hence, the decline in the value of the dollar in international currency markets. In this process, the Euro has been rising in value. That is why the principal reason for the invasion of Iraq is to capture and controlIraq's oil so that once more it can be traded in U. S. dollars.
France and Germany, the principal architects of the Euro, have seen the rise in value of this new currency. They know that with the Euro becoming stronger as the dollar declines, they will reap the economic benefits as more and more international trade is conducted in Euros. They will then have the advantages through which America has benefited throughout most of the last century.
As it stands, America is the most indebted country in the world. Its debts are greater than he debts of the rest of the world combined. It is the use of the dollar for world trade, as a reserve currency and for holding other countries and peoples savings that gave America a comparative edge. If more and more countries conduct their trade in Euros, and if nations and peoples take their savings out of the U. S. dollar, their will be a further sharp decline in the dollar value relative to other currencies. This will lead to massive inflation within the United States causing severe economic setbacks. So the lion is hungry indeed. The African Union must seize the opportunity and act boldly. African trade must be switched out of U. S. dollars and start trading in Euros. Should Africa take this path, then the majority of countries in the world are bound to follow. Such an act will deal a severe blow to U.S. imperialism and accelerate its decline.
American crimes against Africans Slavery, the imposition of poverty causing International Monetary Fund and World Bank Programmes are not the only crimes that United States imperialism has committed against Africans. It was the U. S. Central Intelligence Agency that organised the first military coup in Africa that toppled the Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah from power in Ghana in 1966. This was a devastating blow to the African Liberation Movement and has caused enormous setbacks to African economic development from then until now. Nkrumah was the light of the African Liberation Movement. The newly formed African Union is now implementing his ideas. In the year 2000, Africans the length and breadth of the continent voted Kwame Nkrumah the African man of the millennium.
During the time of the wars of national
Liberation in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau, America armed and financed
Portugal so that it could continue to rule Africans in these countries and
continue to rape and plunder their resources. Yet, the Peoples movement For the
Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the front For the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO)
and the Great Amilcar Cabral's African Party for the Independence of
Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC)
inflicted a crushing military defeat on Portuguese colonialism. These victories
were victories for Kwame Nkrumah, for the Honourable Marcus Garvey and the hosts
of Pan Africanists who charted the African Independence movement over the
previous century.
During the war of Independence waged by the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union (ZAPU), the Americans used the Zionist state of Israel to arm the white minority colonialist settler regime of Ian Smith in what was then called Rhodesia. Smith had previously declared that Africans would never rule in Zimbabwe for a thousand years. Yet, when the Rhodesian army was facing a crushing military and psychological defeat, his regime offered negotiated a settlement. It is that negotiated settlement, which did not resolve the question of the restoration of land stolen by the White colonialist settlers that is the principal cause of the problems in Zimbabwe today.
In South Africa, it was the C.I.A, which gave the apartheid rulers the information, which led to the arrest of Nelson Mandela, and his incarceration in prison for twenty-seven years. Not only that, it used the Zionist state of Israel to help the apartheid regime to develop nuclear, chemical and biological weapons to be used against Africans. Thankfully, the Cubans inflicted a military defeat on the South African army at the battle of Cuito Canavale. Facing a psychological defeat as well, they offered negotiations to end apartheid. So Africans exercise political power in South Africa. But they do not control the South African economy of army or civil service. Neither was the question of stolen land resolved. That is why we see White farmers being killed in South Africa on a far greater scale than is the case in Zimbabwe. South Africa is also the home of White controlled Private Mercenary Companies and Zionist front organisations that have instigated civil wars in West Africa and are still planning to instigate another civil war in West Africa.
When Angola became independent, it was the U. S. that financed and armed Jonas Savimbi's National Union For the Total independence of Angola (UNITA) to wage a twenty five year civil war against the MPLA Government. This American proxy war severely disrupted Angola's economic development and caused the death and injury of tens of thousands of Angolans. Realising that UNITA could never defeat the armed forces of the Angolan State, the Americans deserted Savimbi and allowed him to be killed by the MPLA forces. The nature of the deal done with the MPLA is yet to be revealed. What must be noted is that immediately following Savimbi's death, Angolan President Jose Eduardo Santos flew to Washington for a meeting with U. S. President George Bush. He declared that the U.S.A. as Angola's development partner. But the MPLA has made a mistake. It is playing with fire and will get burned unless it turns inward to Africa and work out a united African plan for Africa's overall development.
Perhaps the greatest crime that U. S. imperialism has committed in Africa is its proxy war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The DRC is the richest piece of land on earth. Every conceivable mineral is found there. It has the largest deposits of the mineral coltan, which is necessary for producing mobile phones.
In the proxy war fought on America's behalf by Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, over four million Congolese were killed and its minerals looted by the invading armies of Rwanda and Uganda and Burundi. Yet, neither the so-called international community or the fifth columnist international charities or NGOs raised their voices against this silent genocide in the DRC. It was the combined military might of the armies of Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe that defeated this American proxy war. This defeat set back America's plans to loot the vast mineral wealth of the DRC under the guise of assisting Yoweri Museveni in the setting up a Tutsi Hema Empire.
I personally confronted Museveni in a BBC World
Service phone-in-programme on 20 June 1998. I told him then that he was an agent
of foreign imperialism.
Whereas previously he had denied sending Ugandan troops to invade the DRC, he
admitted it for the first time on that programme. In the American war against
Iraq, Uganda and Rwanda are two of he three African countries that are openly
supporting this new colonial war. The third is Ethiopia. Considering that the
African Union is collectively opposing this illegal, unjust, racist war and the
headquarters of the AU is in Ethiopia, Ethiopian support for the invasion of
Iraq must be regarded as an insult to the other members of the AU who stand fast
in upholding the anti-war decision of the AU. The Ethiopian President has
conveniently that his ancestors had to fight a war of liberation when Ethiopia
was invaded by the Italians in the last century.
U. S. imperialism has recently stepped up its propaganda campaign against Zimbabwe. Together with Britain and the European Union, it has imposed illegal travel bans and economic sanctions against Zimbabwe. This is White racial solidarity speaking and acting as one. The reason for this is that Zimbabwe has taken economic power out of the hands of the White colonialist settlers and has given it to Africans. They are opposed to Zimbabwe's restoration of land to the African owners from whom the land was stolen in the first place. White farmers set up their own Black political party known as the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC.
They claim that the last presidential elections in Zimbabwe were not free and fair. But the African Union, Sadec, and independent observers from Southern Africa and Nigeria all agreed that the outcome of the elections reflected the will of the Zimbabwe electorate. So what the U. S., Britain and the European Union are collectively saying is that Africans do not have the ability decide whether elections held in Africa are free and fair. It seems to me that there is a need for a Pan African Electoral Commission to supervise elections throughout the continent.
The whole world knows that U. S. President George Bush stole the U. S, Presidency by denying Black people the vote in Florida. He was aided by a Republican controlled Supreme Court. Bush received 49 per cent of the 50 percent of the electorate who voted. So he is ruling with the positive endorsement of only 24.5 per cent of the American electorate, In Britain, Tony Blair's party received 40 per cent of the 60 percent of the electorate who voted. So he has the positive endorsement of only 24 per cent of the British electorate. What we are seeing therefore is that European style democracy is the rule of minorities and of a tiny cabal within these minorities. Africa must not go along this road. It should return to the African tradition of taking decisions by consensus.
In relation to two bye elections in Zimbabwe
over he last weekend, MDC Secretary General Welshman Ncube broadcast a statement
on BBC World Service on Sunday 30 march. He accused the ruling ZANU-PF party of
violence at polling stations and of rigging the by elections. Neither Robin
Lustig the programme presenter or its producers gave ZANU an attempt to put its
view on what was happening. Nevertheless, the claims of violence and poll
rigging were broadcast in later news programmes and published in British
newspapers the following day.
But the MDC won both bye-elections by wide margins. Following the announcement
of the results, The BBc then repotrted the weekend polls were described as
largely peaceful by diplomats and police, but marked by strong opposition claims
of voter intimidation and ballot fixing. Who ever heard of a ruling party
rigging elections so that the opposition wins. What the result of these
bye-elections demonstrates is that democracy is alive and well and kicking in
Zimbabwe.
White supremacy also demonstrated its racial superiority when ignoring Nigeria and South Africa by extending Zimbabwe's suspension from the Commonwealth. Of the triumvirate appointed by the Commonwealth to deal with Zimbabwe, only Australia was in favour of the continued suspension of Zimbabwe. Australian born Commonwealth Secretary general had no authority to extend Zimbabwe's suspension, yet he did. One can only understand this when one considers that the Whites who now control Australia committed genocide against the native Black populationof Australia, reducing their numbers from 4,500,000m to just 500,000. In Tasmania, they exterminated the entire Black population, killing every single black man, woman and child. Killing the people and taking their land is a trait of European settler colonialism and imperialism. It seems to me that a collective decision should be taken for all African countries to leave the so-called Commonwealth. That would be the end of it.
Now, United States imperialism is claiming that Zimbabwe is a threat to its foreign policy. One wonders whether its bellicose campaign against Zimbabwe and its involvement in the violence carried out by the MDC is a foretaste of things to come. African diplomats from Angola, Algeria, Botswana, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia, the DRC and Nigeria deplored the recent campaign of violence carried out by the MDC. This included burning of buildings, stoning and burning of buses and attacking a mini bus carrying children to a crèche. One wonders whether under its Project for the New American Century, the USA is planning to do to Zimbabwe, what it is doing in Iraq.
Africa must seize the time
Africa must be the rock on which America's plan for world domination is broken.
Despite supporting Portuguese colonialism, apartheid in South Africa, settler
colonialism in Zimbabwe; promoting civil war in Angola and launching a proxy war
in the DRC, Africans have fought United States imperialism at every stage in
their battle for liberation and economic development. U.S. imperialism has been
defeated every time, just as it was defeated when it intervened in Somalia. So
Africa must act and act now to confront the new dangers posed the new
colonialism inherent in the Project for the New American Century.
Africa must demand the immediate end to the American invasion of Iraq and the immediate withdrawal of all American and British invading troops. This can be done both collectively at the level of he AU, and individually at country level in all arenas. It must demand that America pay compensation to the Iraqis for all the destruction they have caused and all the soldiers and civilians killed as a result of the illegal invasion. It must stress the right of countries to self-determination and the principle of non-interference in the affairs of countries.
We have seen that when it suits them, the Americans use the United Nations as an instrument of its foreign policy. However, now that the majority of countries and the majority on the Security Council are opposed to the US war against Iraq, they are prepared to disregard and ride roughshod over the UN. It can never be the same again. Africa must begin to build a new international order based on the high principles of African culture. It can do this by working through the Group of 77 and the Non-Aligned Movement.
Africa must move decisively to be self reliant in all aspects of economic development. This calls for a complete break with American controlled financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. It must call a moratorium on financially crippling debt and interest repayments and use the $billions thus saved to launch Africa on a home grown path of economic development. This is what the African Man of the Millennium Kwame Nkrumah called for more than forty years ago. It was in order to prevent such a plan being implemented that predatory American imperialism removed Nkrumah from power.
Africa must build the military capacity for the defence of the continent, its peoples and its vast mineral oil and potential agricultural wealth. This calls for the rapid development of a multi-faceted Pan African Institute of Military Science and Technology. The opening session of the First African Experts Meeting of the Establishment of a Common African Defence and Security Policy was held in South Africa last week. Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma reminded delegates that Kwame Nkrumah raised the idea of a continent-wide defence and security policy at the launching of the Organisation of African Unity forty years ago.
Africa must promote and maximise the study of modern science and technology in all her institutions of learning. In his book Civilisation or Barbarism, the late Senegalese historian and writer Cheikh Anta Diop showed that science and technology are the inventions of Africans. Only those who lack foresight and wisdom believe in the benevolence of Euro-American imperialism and continue to call for a transfer of technology. No one transferred technology to India or Korea or to Taiwan, China or Japan. There is the same percentage of intelligent people in every population, no matter its size. Africa's vast brain power must be put to work for the its defence and its development, and the structures of the African Union must be used to transform the continent. There, lies our path to glory.