Imperialism means war. Vladimir Lenin’s analysis finds renewed relevance today as US imperialism launches a relentless pursuit to redivide the world and gain access to strategic oil resources in the Middle East by waging a war of aggression against Iran.
Barely a month since the US and Zionist Israel first attacked Tehran on February 28, at least 2,000 civilians have already been killed amid their escalating bombardments. In neighboring Lebanon, Israeli missile strikes have likewise resulted in mass casualties and widespread displacement. At least 1,450 civilians, including more than 100 children have been killed in Israel’s attempt to invade and occupy Southern Lebanon.
In response to US-Israeli attacks, Iran has carried out calibrated missile and drone attacks on US military bases across the region such as Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Despite being at a disadvantage, Iran continues to fiercely defend its independence. Contrary to Trump’s desire to incite an uprising to overthrow the current anti-US government and install a puppet state, millions of Iranians and their allies are now even more united, pouring into the streets to denounce US military aggression. Iran has every right to defend itself against US attacks and is justified in its measured military responses.
In contrast, madman Trump’s warmongering posture and his brazen support for Israel has isolated him in the world stage. The supposedly “solid” NATO imperialist military alliance has shown signs of fracturing as multiple European states such as Spain, France, and Italy have distanced themselves from US demands to support the ongoing attacks against Iran. Even Trump’s own counterterror chief Joe Kent also resigned from his post decrying how “Iran posed no imminent threat” to the US. Trump used Iran’s supposed nuclear threat as a pretext to attack the nation and assassinate its leader Ali Khamenei and other top security officials, mistakenly assuming that the death of its officials would lead to regime change.
Trump is increasingly isolated from the broad masses of the American people, whose daily concerns from the rising costs of living, lack of access to healthcare, to rampant ICE deportations and killings, stand in sharp contrast to the priorities reflected in the war he initiated. Far from enjoying unified support, large sections of the population have expressed skepticism, frustration, and outright opposition to Trump.
Trump’s insatiable drive to exert control over Iran reveals the fundamental contradiction of monopoly stage capitalism. In seeking control over oil resources and deliberately depleting the energy sources that flow to its imperialist rival China, the US has triggered a global economic crisis.
Prof. Jose Maria Sison correctly pointed out how “the US will continue to generate crisis in the world capitalist system” and how this worsening crisis will inevitably lead “to the escalation of state terrorism and wars of aggression.” He further notes that “the imperialist powers continue to band together to shift the burden of the crisis to the working people and the underdeveloped countries.”
Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, where 20 percent of the world’s energy resources pass through, to the US. This move, in turn, has triggered higher oil prices, causing increased transportation and production costs. Supply chains which have already been strained by years of consecutive crisis, became even more fragile. Financial markets have reacted with instability, and governments scramble to manage the fallout.
The Philippine semicolonial and semifeudal economy, heavily dependent on imported fuel, has been particularly exposed. As oil prices spike due to the conflict, transport workers are unable to eke out a living; farmers now face higher input costs; workers see real wages eroded while small businesses struggle to survive. The burden falls heavily on the working class and peasantry, who have the least capacity to absorb such economic shocks.
The bureaucrat capitalist Marcos Jr. regime remains deaf to the worsening conditions of the Filipino people and continues to impose heavier burdens on the masses. Instead of protecting the public from soaring fuel prices, Marcos Jr. colludes with the oil cartel to allow unregulated price hikes consistent with the Oil Deregulation Law. Instead, Marcos Jr. offers token measures such as limited subsidies, short-term aid, and occasional “free rides.” Even the proposed four-day workweek is in reality a means for corporations to further squeeze daily wage earners who can least afford reduced incomes.
Even as millions of Filipino migrants in the Middle East face heightened danger amid escalating war, Marcos Jr. has proven incapable of ensuring their safety. At home, the regime calls for “belt-tightening” from a population already struggling to survive, while it indulges in lavish expenditures abroad. Billions of public funds are squandered on joint military exercises like Balikatan that could otherwise address urgent social needs. Amid all these, fascist repression persists, targeting the revolutionary forces and the mass movement whose resistance continues to grow in the face of deepening crisis.
Prof. Sison reminds us yet again that these conditions of multiple crises “cause political turmoil within the ruling system and incite the people to wage all forms of resistance.” The chronic crisis inherent in the semicolonial and semifeudal order and the simmering anger of the Filipino people creates the most fertile ground to organize and mobilize the masses in their millions.
The Filipino people must unite and collectively fight for their welfare amid war and deepening crisis, strengthen calls to end US aggression in Iran while supporting the Iranian people’s defense of national sovereignty. They must resist the use of the Philippines as a springboard for imperialist wars by calling for the dismantling of EDCA bases and other foreign military facilities, and the abrogation of unequal treaties that bind the country to US imperialist interests. At the same time, urgent economic demands must be advanced: the rollback of oil prices, repeal of the Oil Deregulation Law, removal of Value Added Tax (VAT) and other burdensome taxes, and salary increases to address the soaring cost of living. The just demands of jeepney drivers and operators for fare increases must also be supported as part of the broader struggle to defend the livelihood and welfare of the working masses.
In the final analysis, the US-Israeli war on Iran and the crisis that it creates presents an objective basis for the upsurge of our revolutionary struggle against imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism. As the revolutionary movement celebrates the 57th anniversary of the New People’s Army, we are reminded of the historic mission to advance the people’s democratic revolution by carrying out protracted people’s war. Winning the national democratic revolution is the biggest contribution of the Filipino people to the world proletarian struggle against imperialism and all reaction.
source: Liberation News