From Ukraine to Yemen: The Looming Shadow of the Third World War

-Rajesh Tyagi/ 3.5.2015

The contradictions of capitalism, that were left unresolved by the two world wars, have continued to haunt the humanity since then, resulting into innumerable armed conflicts between capitalist national states and are ripe again to repose the danger of a third world war. The danger is imminent. The imperialist powers are all out to attempt another resolution of these contradictions through a major armed conflict among themselves. This reckless conflict between imperialist powers for hegemony over the world economy, would far surpass the earlier wars, in its intensity and severity. As the rival powers are armed with weapons of mass destruction including the nuclear ones, the WWIII is logically speculated to be a major nuclear conflagration that threatens to extinct the whole human race.

In 1989, the then President of Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Stalinist ruler, promoting the farce of Perestroika and Glasnost, claimed that a new world order has emerged where capitalism has undergone a sea change and has lost its predatory character. Gorbachev was instrumental, like his other Stalinist predecessors, in paving the way for disintegration of the Soviet Union and restoration of capitalism in Russia and other countries formerly integrated into the Soviet Union.

The scenario that has emerged after dissolution of the Soviet Union, however, is just opposite to the fantasies of this Stalinist blockhead. World capitalism, stands before us in its worst form ever, ready to impose yet another world war, the most savage and devastating war in human history.

However the fall of Soviet Union also did not result in emergence of a unipolar world under hegemony of the US, as was anticipated by it. Rather the disintegration of the Soviet Union has given rise to a rat race among the imperialist powers for hegemony over the world. The destruction of the Soviet Union, coupled with colossal military power of the US itself, have failed to set-off the economic decline of the US, but could only delay it. All military attempts by the US, have miserably failed to arrest its decline as a super power and to keep-off the rise of rival powers like China, Germany and Japan, on world scenario.

The global imperialist offensive under the leadership of the US, masquerading behind the hoax of 'war on terror', that took off first in Afghanistan (2001) and then in Iraq (2003), has continued to spread through Libya, Syria, Ukraine, Iran, country after country. In order to keep its domination over the world economy, United States has overstretched its military forces, more and more depending upon them for its survival. In the last year only, the US has carried out military expeditions in over 133 countries i.e. about 70% of the globe. This global hunt of US imperialism for complete domination, supported by its western allies, is the major source of infinite wars, conflicts and political destabilization of whole regions, all over the world. Waged under farcical slogans of democracy, human rights and national independence, these imperialist wars are the wars for unbridled domination and unlimited plunder of global resources. Both wings of the US political establishment, the republicans and the democrats, have a tacit agreement between themselves in support of this US policy dictated by the US elite.

All round preparations for the war are in the offing, with dozens of armed conflicts appearing at its threshold for fairy long period of time.

The recent engagement of Saudi led Sunni Arab coalition in Yemen, to contain Houthi rebels backed by Shite Iran, the tensions between US and Iran, fresh deployment of US Navy warships at Strait of Hormuz- a pathway to Persian Gulf, the US tirade against Assad regime in Syria, the destabilization of entire middle-east after toppling of Gaddafi regime  in Libya, by the US, military exercises by US led NATO forces next to borders of Russia and China, and in response preparation for joint naval exercises by Russia and China in Mediterranean Sea, the arming of fascist coalitions by the US and its allies in Ukraine in support of fascist Kiev regime, military encirclement of China as part of ‘Pivot to Asia’ program of US to isolate and contain China, the reinforcing of forces in Phillipines and Vietnam against China, attempts of US and its western allies at toppling Putin regime and subjugate Russia, all demonstrate a massive built-up by imperialist powers for a third world war.

The Saudi led coalition of Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Sudan and Morocco, is directly aided by the US and its western allies, to fight against the Houthi rebels, a shite movement in Yemen, backed by Iran, and more to destabilize Syria and Iran. The battle that is being fought presently for control over capital Saana and cities like Taiz and Aden in Yemen, is spreading to other regions also. More than a thousand Yemenis have been killed and over four thousand injured till date in the conflict. Al Qaeda operatives in South and East of Yemen under the banner of AQAP and the ISIS, both support this Saudi coalition against Houthis. In 2012 coup, a Saudi backed government, supported by US and the West has taken to power in Yemen.

While Yemen is one of the poorest countries in Middle-East, Saudi Arabia, a Sunni Orthodox Monarchy ruled by spoiled Sheikhs, is the richest and biggest manipulator of the world markets and largest oil supplier in the world. However, for the fear of a military coup, Saudis have not developed a strong army, and have zero experience in military engagements. Yet it is imperative for them to ward off the conflict between the Sunni Al-Qaeda and Shite Houthis from their own borders, that may be a potential threat to the Saudi Monarchy.

In conflict over Ukraine, the imperialist rivalry finds its second major front opened between US and Russia. After the coup, that placed the US backed fascist government in power in Kiev, the Crimea, with open support from Russia, declared its independence from Ukraine. While Russian backed insurgents are fighting the Kiev government, the US is bent upon destabilizing Russia and overturning the Putin regime, as a step towards subjugating Russia fully into the net of world imperialism. After a full scale conflict was averted between US and Russia over the question of Crimea, with backtracking of the western countries, the US has renewed its pledge to send fresh consignments of weapons of mass destruction to the fascist regime in Kiev.

Iran conflict, that recently was on the verge of opening a third front of war, is merely delayed for the time being, with signing of an agreement between Iran and G-6 countries, i.e. five member countries of UN security Council plus Germany. The toothless agreement, subject to multiple interpretations, was part of the US maneuvers to contain Iran and deter it from pursuit of its acclaimed nuclear program. Establishment in Iran, however used this opportunity for bargaining a breathing space for itself, while Russia immediately responded with pledge to supply missiles to Iran that would provide a foolproof defence curtain to it in case of a US provoked attack from Saudis or Israel.

In its drive to dominate the world, the US is desperately attempting to expand its sphere of influence around the globe. Apart from the major powers of the West Europe- France, Britain, Germany- and in the middle east-Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, Bahrain, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar, US has found allies in Canada, Australia Japan, India, Philippines and Vietnam.

The coalition of NATO forces, that appears so formidable and united, has its own fault lines. Recently, the Western allies of the US had defied a US opposition to join the China sponsored Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, based in Beijing. Specially Germany is keenly interested in decline of the power US in the regions of its own influence, like Asia and middle east. Similarly, these allies are opposed to the policy of US to provoke an armed conflict against Russia. On the other hand the alliance between Russia and China has its own limitations as Russia has numerous border issues with China and itself looks upon China as a rival in international market.

These innumerable conflicts and rivalries between the capitalist national states are the chief source of an arms race over the globe, that find their  counterpart in imposition of austerity upon social spending in the national budgets. The US, with largest budget in the world, while sparing a whopping 562 billion dollars in base military spending, proposes to spend a meager 70 billion for education and 84 billion for food stamps for its entire citizenry. Similarly, India, one of the poorest countries, that is  unable to afford even basic needs like food, potable water and shelter for its citizens, has given a 70% increase in its military budget in last four years since 2011.

The contradictions of capitalism have continued to deepen more and more over the last century. Immense loss of lives and property was inflicted by the two world wars and innumerable armed conflicts between and around them. Yet those contradictions, instead of finding a resolution in these conflicts have grown steadily and were sharpened with each passing day. The gangs of capitalists, organized in national-states, are vying for ever larger shares for themselves in the proceeds of the world economy. This unending hunt for profits over the globe, provokes these gangs to trespass the territories under control of each other and demand a division and re-division of the proceeds all the time. This hunt is germane to a whole chain of conflicts among these national states. Needless to say, that this global war drive, is coupled with widespread assaults and reactionary suppression of all democratic rights and aspirations at home, in all capitalist countries.

The capitalist national states alongside the private property in which they are grounded, are the root cause of all wars and conflicts in our times. The world economy, with an omnipresent tendency to expand outside, remains rooted in these national states and private property. On their own, the economic forces cannot liberate themselves from the deadly stranglehold of these national states. It is for the working class, the most revolutionary of all productive forces in our times, to overthrow the shackles of private property and national states and liberate the world economy.

No pacifist program of cursing the wars or appealing to and pleading before the capitalist leaders and states against the wars, can reverse the relentless escalation of military violence, heading clearly towards a world war. Independent of the will and wish of the individual bourgeois leaders, the wars are inevitable result of the operation of an economy under control of capitalists and organized on a capitalist basis. Notwithstanding the wishes of the leaders of capitalist national states to achieve perpetual equilibrium and political stabilization, the objective forces of capitalism are impelling these national states to go for war and conflicts, one after the other. All negotiations, treaties and agreements among these national states, are proving futile to restore peace and stability. With each step ahead a new basis for fresh conflicts is being prepared. Mounting tensions among the rival camps of the capitalist nations are driving the world towards a global conflict. With each passing day, for which the major conflict is postponed, the impulse to such drive, becomes far stronger than before.

The very same contradictions that led to two world wars are re-emerging with much more force. However, these very contradictions, that lie at the helm of the imperialist drive to new wars and conflicts, simultaneously constitute the basis for a struggle towards destruction of capitalism and the world socialist revolution too. The core task of revolutionary Marxists, in response to the imperialist war drive, is thus to prepare a global offensive of the international working class against capitalism and capitalist national states. The fight against impending war, is the foremost task of this preparation. The 'war against war' is the war for socialism!

It is only the international working class that can prevent the devastating wars, and can avert the larger danger of a third world war, by overthrowing capitalism, the root cause of all wars, through a revolution, and replacing it with an economy organized on a socialist basis under the dictatorship of the proletariat.