\The anti-war movement here and abroad must give its unconditional support to the Iraqi anti-colonial resistance."" With this statement, which was published in brochures and repeated in recent public demonstrations, the international group Act Now to Stop War and End Racism has finally made clear its alliance with fascists.
ANSWER's support is unconditional. This means not just opposing the American-led war, but also actually backing Baathists and foreign terrorists. This entails not condemning such disgusting tactics as using ambulances to bomb the Red Cross. The bombing of the United Nations building in Baghdad should also be supported. Moreover, do not forget the truck bombings of mosques, which have claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent worshippers, because these actions must be encouraged as well.
Why care about ANSWER? This organization has been the key organizer of anti-war marches in the past year and has been using this legitimate platform to foist upon unsuspecting protesters an extremist Stalinist agenda. Let me be clear: I am attacking the organizers, not the people who attended the protests. Trying to end the U.S. occupation now is akin to telling a surgeon to stop half-way into an organ transplant. But at least most protesters, misguided as they may be, believe they are acting in the interest of Iraqis and American troops. International ANSWER, on the other hand, cares about neither.
Who is International ANSWER? It is in fact a front created by the Workers World Party shortly after Sept. 11, 2001. The WWP provided the offices and manpower for organizing the protest sponsored by ANSWER. Moreover, the spokesman of ANSWER, Brian Becker, is an important member of WWP. The WWP has clearly been controlling ANSWER behind the scenes and its goals are disturbing.
The World Workers Party was started in 1956 as an offshoot of the Socialist Worker Party. The WWP split because it wanted to actively support the Soviet Union's invasion of Hungary. Apparently invasion and occupation is justified when it leads to the establishment of a communist state, but not when it removes a despotic state. WWP's ultimate goal is the elimination of private property. However, unlike most people who flirt with communism today, the WWP refuses to condemn the terrible forms that communism has taken in the 20th century.
Its Web site states, ""We don't jump on the bandwagon when Third World leaders are demonized."" That is truly an understatement. The WWP has written numerous articles in support of Kim Jong Il's prison state. They fall all over themselves with praise for the heroic effort that North Korea has made in the face of the Western capitalist imperialism and are unable to find a single reason for criticism. They make no mention of the vast gulag system that swallows up thousands of Korean citizens each year. If you do not know about the gulags, the prison camps that were a quintessential component of the Soviet Union, then go read ""The Gulag Archpeligo"" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn immediately. These camps and their horrors have been confirmed by refugees and satellite photographs.
The WWP claims to be ""independent Marxists who respect the struggles for self-determination and progress of oppressed nations,"" yet they side with Castro when he decides to imprison 75 pro-democracy journalists, librarians and activists seeking self-determination. It defends former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic against charges of war crimes, because it believes the international war-crimes tribunal is nothing more than a ""war by other means"" that is waged to destroy people, like Milosevic, who stand up to western imperialism. Who cares what terrible things Milosevic did-at least he hated the West.
The WWP sees no reason to criticize Saddam either. He did socialize most of Iraq's industry. In an editorial, WWP wrote that he has ""done absolutely nothing wrong."" The state-sponsored execution of an estimated 280,000 Iraqis, the gassing of Kurds, and the invasion of neighboring countries is apparently perfectly fine with the WWP.
Do not be fooled. The WWP and its front ANSWER desire the destruction of free and liberal countries in favor of communist states. In this effort they are willing to side with any enemy of the United States.
I encourage those who disagree with the policies of George Bush to make their dissent known through debate and protest. However, do not allow those protests to be organized by ANSWER. If you are fighting for human rights and peace, please do not make common cause with those who defend communist tyranny. International ANSWER and the WWP deserve to be treated with as much scorn as the fascist thugs to whom they have given their unconditional support.
