Iraq 2003 - 2005: Colonial occupation and plunder
End the Occupation - Build a Socialist Iraq

Text of a Socialist Youth/Socialist Party leaflet distributed at the Dublin anti-occupation protest on 19 March 2005

Every government minister will have a US appointed overlord who will have the final say on policy and how money is spent. The Iraqi puppet regime is powerless and is only able to participate in the charade of being the "official government" because it is protected by 150,000 foreign troops. Most Iraqis who voted in the elections were voting for a process that they believed would speed up the withdrawal of US and British forces.

Their hopes will quickly turn to anger as it becomes clear that imperialism has no intention of leaving because it is still committed to making profit out of Iraqi resources, and as the Iraqi government fails to solve the massive economic and social problems. The brutality of the occupation forces has also continued. In Falluja, they have attacked hospitals and medical facilities to stop any reporting of casualties and dropped napalm bombs on civilian areas.

The motivations for the war and occupation (oil, profit and US domination of the Middle East) are demonstrated daily. Insiders in the Bush administration have recently admitted that planning for a coup d'etat in Iraq began long before September 11th! ExxonMobil was declared the world's biggest company last month, while British Petroleum (BP) announced record profits.

The greed of the multinationals involved in the mass rape and privatisation of the country's resources knows no bounds, Haliburton has even come under pressure from the Pentagon, as an audit found $108 million worth of "questionable fuel delivery costs"! The US is currently flexing its muscles, with what the media portrays as a "progressive sweep of democracy" from the Ukraine to the Lebanon. This is all part of the strategy for increased US dominance worldwide.

Two years of capitalist war and plunder:

- 100,00 Iraqis dead
- Unemployment stands at 60%.
- Majority of Iraqis have no access to clean water or proper sewage system.
- $300 billion spent on the war and occupation for oil and profit.

Where now for the anti-war movement?

The highpoint so far for the anti-war movement in Ireland was 15 February 2003, where over 100,000 people protested. This was a massive show of strength and opposition to the imperialist war on Iraq. However, many who protested then have not returned to protests. Some feel powerless because the war went ahead despite the millions on the streets around the world.

The anti-war movement must explain why this was the case – the war and occupation were rooted in the domination of profit in world politics. Demonstrating public opinion or lobbying the capitalist leaders was not going to alter the drive to war. Therefore what is needed is a more powerful anti-war movement, based not just on demonstrations or direct action, but on the massive potential power of the working class.

The one force that could relatively easily have prevented the US airforce from landing at Shannon was the airport workers. If they had taken strike action and had been backed by their Trade Union, SIPTU, and mass demonstrations, the Irish government could have been forced to back down.

The same is true worldwide. One of the key reasons Berlusconi falsely promised to withdraw Italian troops was because of a series of general strikes by the Italian working class. He wanted to dampen workers’ opposition and action by appearing to withdraw. The basis for building a powerful anti-war movement also exists in the US, where Bush is slashing public spending, making the American working class pay for his $300 billion colonial adventure!

Iraqi Resistance Grows

According to the CIA, the Iraqi resistance movement is 200,000 strong and outnumbers the occupation forces. We fully support the right of the Iraqi people to fight against the imperialist forces of occupation. However, we do not support the aims of the forces of Islamic fundamentalism, who are intent on establishing a regime in Iraq akin to that of the Taliban or the Iranian Ayatollahs. Nor do we support those groups who carry out sectarian attacks aimed at sparking off conflict and even civil war between Sunni and Shia communities.

The Socialist Party and Socialist Youth stand for the building of a struggle of the Iraqi working class and poor masses, Shia, Sunni, Kurd and Turkmen, united against the occupation, neo-liberalism, and the conditions of abject poverty which blight their lives. The struggles of the working class and poor should be linked to the building of a mass democratic united armed resistance movement, committed to the aim of replacing the rule of capitalism and imperialism with a democratic socialist society.

Build a Socialist Alternative

It is not enough just to oppose the occupation of Iraq. The 21st century will be dominated by resource wars as competing imperialists and neo-colonial powers literally battle for control of diminishing resources such as oil. Capitalism is the root cause of these wars, and of the exploitation of the working class and poor masses in every country on earth.

We can only end war, exploitation, poverty and the barbarity that has engulfed the neo-colonial world by struggling to overthrow the capitalist system. Only socialism offers us a future in which all of the world’s wealth and resources can be democratically planned and used for the needs of the many not the enrichment of the parasitic capitalist elite.

Join us in the struggle for a global society free from war, poverty, oppression and want – join us in the struggle for socialism.