Where will the next war front open up? In Taiwan? In the Balkans? In
Asia or Africa? The process of redefining areas of influence knows no
stopping. The great and medium powers are working to secure energy
sources, which are essential to guaranteeing the strength needed to
impose their domination. While there is fear of the outbreak of a
devastating world conflict that would repeat the immense massacres of
the two wars that caused tens of millions of deaths in the twentieth
century, war continues to flow in the adoption of forms and words that
aim to be reassuring. War is no longer proclaimed, declarations of the
beginning of the conflict are no longer presented to ambassadors;
rather, its name is changed. The invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops
becomes a 'special military operation', the US and Israeli attacks on
Iran (and the missile responses) are not 'acts of war', as are the
periodic bombings on Lebanon and Syria. Proxy wars have become the means
to redefine areas without having to expose oneself directly. Those
behind the civil conflict in Sudan are the same ones who on other fronts
propose themselves as mediators of 'acts of war'.
Meanwhile, today in the world there are 123.4 million people forced to
abandon their homes due to a war or an environmental crisis (data from
UNHCR, the UN agency that deals with refugees and displaced persons):
one person in 67, with an increase of 6% compared to the beginning of
2024. Obviously these are civilians, the privileged victims of modern
wars. Like the one that has faded into the background, after the attack
on Iran, and which continues to be called a war while it is a real
massacre planned and aimed at the forced transfer of those who survive.
Obviously I am talking about the Gaza Strip where, together with the
bombings and the cannonades, a food distribution system has been
inaugurated, managed by agencies controlled by Israeli troops,
structured in such a way as not only to not satisfy the needs of the
Gazans, both in terms of methods and quantities (the food parcels - for
those who manage to get them - contain only 1750 calories per person);
but above all designed to be used as a pressure weapon to push the
population south. The result is that from May 27 to today more than 200
people have been killed while trying to get food. Small stuff, one might
say, compared to the numbers that have marked this strip of land since
October 2023 in the apathy of the majority of the world's population. On
the other hand, it is the same lack of empathy that is felt towards the
populations that are victims of other conflicts and other massacres,
fueled and fomented by the regime's commentators, by the paid hacks, by
the ruling classes, by all those who are only concerned with a possible
welding of the oppressed classes at an international level and are
strongly committed to stirring up the nationalist and identity fetish,
functional to divisions and antagonisms.
Increasingly sophisticated and powerful weapons are accompanied by
ancient methodologies; targeted killings go hand in hand with
indiscriminate massacres; repressive legislation accompanies the
illegality of teams in balaclavas (as in the USA with the hunt for
immigrants): the defense of Democracy and the West passes through here.
As it passes through the decisions of the recent NATO meeting, where an
increase in military spending to 5% was agreed upon, to the detriment of
those who are easy to imagine.
Never before have democrats and autocrats shown their true colors, and
one might say, paraphrasing a phrase from an old movie, 'when the going
gets tough, the tough get going'. When it comes to dividing up the
world, when it comes to getting out of their own crises and economic
contradictions, the great powers - USA, China, Russia, EU - are
gradually abandoning the old tools of control and social swindling to
show and exercise their muscles. The story involving Israel, Iran and
the USA is exemplary.
Netanyahu, to get out of an increasingly complicated situation due to
the emergence of criticism in the allied camp, the economic situation,
the increase in internal dissent, his own judicial situation, launches a
'surprise' attack against the enemy par excellence, the Iran of the
tyrannical ayatollahs, proposing a change of regime; Khamenei, already
on high alert, so much so that he had the most important parts of the
country's nuclear industry hidden, responds with missiles, showing all
the limits of Israeli defense; Trump, after having orchestrated the
farce of the nuclear negotiation tables with the Persians, rushes to
support his ally with super bombers and super bombs; Iran then threatens
to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20/30% of oil transport by
ship passes; China then intervenes on Khamenei and the threat falls; at
this point Trump declares himself satisfied, does not support the regime
change desired by Israel and agrees with Iran on a farcical bombing to
close the game and allow all the players in the game to proclaim
themselves winners. Netanyahu loudly proclaims that the possibility for
Iran to build a nuclear weapon has now been postponed for years,
enjoying the climate of popular favor created in the wake of the attack
on the historic enemy (at least since the affirmation of the Khomeini
revolution in 1979), favor certified by the latest polls that show his
party on the rise (while the governing coalition would not reach the
majority necessary to reconfirm itself); meanwhile, attacks by settlers
in the West Bank and killings of civilians in Gaza increase, in a
process of accelerating the annexation of territories and progressive
expulsion of Palestinian residents.
Even Trump - slavishly praised by former NATO chief Rutte - declares
himself the winner. Like a new Caesar he seems to say 'veni, vidi,
vici', I came, I saw and I won by imposing my peace, and woe betide
anyone who dares to question the extent of his victory. Trump cannot
afford to show any weakness; the US is experiencing a phase of deep
economic and social crisis, its debt has reached stellar proportions and
placing bonds is becoming increasingly expensive and uncompetitive with
other economies, the dollar is below parity with the euro and is
slipping further and further, raising a crucial question: how long can
it remain an international exchange currency and reserve asset in a
situation in which it is becoming increasingly difficult to print money
to refinance the debt? In one year, the cost of interest has gone from
753 to 1,235 billion dollars, exceeding military spending itself. The
imposition of an increase in military spending by NATO countries, as
well as the seesawing tug-of-war over the issue of tariffs, are part of
Trump's plans to try to remedy an increasingly slippery situation, to
which military interventionism must contribute. The measures taken
within the US also demonstrate how much Trump fears the growth of
internal opposition to his policies that inevitably spill over into the
working classes. The National Guard, ICE agents, and the Department of
Justice now depend on his directives, not on the mechanisms provided for
by the Constitution; Congress has been stripped of control of budgetary
power, assumed by the president, and there are numerous signs of a
crisis in the institutions that have marked the life of this country.
From a president who says he is convinced he was sent by God to fix
things, we can expect anything. Even several of his own have understood
this and are distancing themselves from him.
The Iranian government, for its part, took advantage of the attack,
which was foreseen and announced, to crack down further on its
opponents, while simultaneously rallying its supporters. But more than
its own military strength, Iran took advantage not so much of the hairy
declarations of solidarity from the Muslim world, which were mostly
instrumental, but of its status as a key country in a region of the
world that is essential to an increasingly interconnected and
interdependent global economy. Hitting Iran hard, seeking a regime
change, would have favored its disintegration as a unitary state entity,
given its ethnic composition with almost 40% of the population
non-Iranian (Kurds and Baluchis first and foremost), generating a
situation of further instability in an area in which Turks, Saudis,
sheiks, Chinese and Indians are playing their games to progressively,
but cautiously, assert their 'soft power'. So everyone is a winner!
Those who never win are those who are at the bottom, on the social
ladder, and unfortunately also in the bombings. Yet there would be the
strength to overturn the table if only we had the will and the ability
to recognize ourselves as equals in a human condition made of oppression
and exploitation. The path to take is long and complex, but perhaps the
speed with which the transformations are taking place will be able to
foster a collective awareness that prevents the mistakes of the past and
leads to a real anti-authoritarian revolutionary process. Let's continue
to work for this.
Massimo Varengo
https://umanitanova.org/rovesciare-il-tavolo-liberiamoci-da-guerre-oppressione-e-sfruttamento/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Asia or Africa? The process of redefining areas of influence knows no
stopping. The great and medium powers are working to secure energy
sources, which are essential to guaranteeing the strength needed to
impose their domination. While there is fear of the outbreak of a
devastating world conflict that would repeat the immense massacres of
the two wars that caused tens of millions of deaths in the twentieth
century, war continues to flow in the adoption of forms and words that
aim to be reassuring. War is no longer proclaimed, declarations of the
beginning of the conflict are no longer presented to ambassadors;
rather, its name is changed. The invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops
becomes a 'special military operation', the US and Israeli attacks on
Iran (and the missile responses) are not 'acts of war', as are the
periodic bombings on Lebanon and Syria. Proxy wars have become the means
to redefine areas without having to expose oneself directly. Those
behind the civil conflict in Sudan are the same ones who on other fronts
propose themselves as mediators of 'acts of war'.
Meanwhile, today in the world there are 123.4 million people forced to
abandon their homes due to a war or an environmental crisis (data from
UNHCR, the UN agency that deals with refugees and displaced persons):
one person in 67, with an increase of 6% compared to the beginning of
2024. Obviously these are civilians, the privileged victims of modern
wars. Like the one that has faded into the background, after the attack
on Iran, and which continues to be called a war while it is a real
massacre planned and aimed at the forced transfer of those who survive.
Obviously I am talking about the Gaza Strip where, together with the
bombings and the cannonades, a food distribution system has been
inaugurated, managed by agencies controlled by Israeli troops,
structured in such a way as not only to not satisfy the needs of the
Gazans, both in terms of methods and quantities (the food parcels - for
those who manage to get them - contain only 1750 calories per person);
but above all designed to be used as a pressure weapon to push the
population south. The result is that from May 27 to today more than 200
people have been killed while trying to get food. Small stuff, one might
say, compared to the numbers that have marked this strip of land since
October 2023 in the apathy of the majority of the world's population. On
the other hand, it is the same lack of empathy that is felt towards the
populations that are victims of other conflicts and other massacres,
fueled and fomented by the regime's commentators, by the paid hacks, by
the ruling classes, by all those who are only concerned with a possible
welding of the oppressed classes at an international level and are
strongly committed to stirring up the nationalist and identity fetish,
functional to divisions and antagonisms.
Increasingly sophisticated and powerful weapons are accompanied by
ancient methodologies; targeted killings go hand in hand with
indiscriminate massacres; repressive legislation accompanies the
illegality of teams in balaclavas (as in the USA with the hunt for
immigrants): the defense of Democracy and the West passes through here.
As it passes through the decisions of the recent NATO meeting, where an
increase in military spending to 5% was agreed upon, to the detriment of
those who are easy to imagine.
Never before have democrats and autocrats shown their true colors, and
one might say, paraphrasing a phrase from an old movie, 'when the going
gets tough, the tough get going'. When it comes to dividing up the
world, when it comes to getting out of their own crises and economic
contradictions, the great powers - USA, China, Russia, EU - are
gradually abandoning the old tools of control and social swindling to
show and exercise their muscles. The story involving Israel, Iran and
the USA is exemplary.
Netanyahu, to get out of an increasingly complicated situation due to
the emergence of criticism in the allied camp, the economic situation,
the increase in internal dissent, his own judicial situation, launches a
'surprise' attack against the enemy par excellence, the Iran of the
tyrannical ayatollahs, proposing a change of regime; Khamenei, already
on high alert, so much so that he had the most important parts of the
country's nuclear industry hidden, responds with missiles, showing all
the limits of Israeli defense; Trump, after having orchestrated the
farce of the nuclear negotiation tables with the Persians, rushes to
support his ally with super bombers and super bombs; Iran then threatens
to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20/30% of oil transport by
ship passes; China then intervenes on Khamenei and the threat falls; at
this point Trump declares himself satisfied, does not support the regime
change desired by Israel and agrees with Iran on a farcical bombing to
close the game and allow all the players in the game to proclaim
themselves winners. Netanyahu loudly proclaims that the possibility for
Iran to build a nuclear weapon has now been postponed for years,
enjoying the climate of popular favor created in the wake of the attack
on the historic enemy (at least since the affirmation of the Khomeini
revolution in 1979), favor certified by the latest polls that show his
party on the rise (while the governing coalition would not reach the
majority necessary to reconfirm itself); meanwhile, attacks by settlers
in the West Bank and killings of civilians in Gaza increase, in a
process of accelerating the annexation of territories and progressive
expulsion of Palestinian residents.
Even Trump - slavishly praised by former NATO chief Rutte - declares
himself the winner. Like a new Caesar he seems to say 'veni, vidi,
vici', I came, I saw and I won by imposing my peace, and woe betide
anyone who dares to question the extent of his victory. Trump cannot
afford to show any weakness; the US is experiencing a phase of deep
economic and social crisis, its debt has reached stellar proportions and
placing bonds is becoming increasingly expensive and uncompetitive with
other economies, the dollar is below parity with the euro and is
slipping further and further, raising a crucial question: how long can
it remain an international exchange currency and reserve asset in a
situation in which it is becoming increasingly difficult to print money
to refinance the debt? In one year, the cost of interest has gone from
753 to 1,235 billion dollars, exceeding military spending itself. The
imposition of an increase in military spending by NATO countries, as
well as the seesawing tug-of-war over the issue of tariffs, are part of
Trump's plans to try to remedy an increasingly slippery situation, to
which military interventionism must contribute. The measures taken
within the US also demonstrate how much Trump fears the growth of
internal opposition to his policies that inevitably spill over into the
working classes. The National Guard, ICE agents, and the Department of
Justice now depend on his directives, not on the mechanisms provided for
by the Constitution; Congress has been stripped of control of budgetary
power, assumed by the president, and there are numerous signs of a
crisis in the institutions that have marked the life of this country.
From a president who says he is convinced he was sent by God to fix
things, we can expect anything. Even several of his own have understood
this and are distancing themselves from him.
The Iranian government, for its part, took advantage of the attack,
which was foreseen and announced, to crack down further on its
opponents, while simultaneously rallying its supporters. But more than
its own military strength, Iran took advantage not so much of the hairy
declarations of solidarity from the Muslim world, which were mostly
instrumental, but of its status as a key country in a region of the
world that is essential to an increasingly interconnected and
interdependent global economy. Hitting Iran hard, seeking a regime
change, would have favored its disintegration as a unitary state entity,
given its ethnic composition with almost 40% of the population
non-Iranian (Kurds and Baluchis first and foremost), generating a
situation of further instability in an area in which Turks, Saudis,
sheiks, Chinese and Indians are playing their games to progressively,
but cautiously, assert their 'soft power'. So everyone is a winner!
Those who never win are those who are at the bottom, on the social
ladder, and unfortunately also in the bombings. Yet there would be the
strength to overturn the table if only we had the will and the ability
to recognize ourselves as equals in a human condition made of oppression
and exploitation. The path to take is long and complex, but perhaps the
speed with which the transformations are taking place will be able to
foster a collective awareness that prevents the mistakes of the past and
leads to a real anti-authoritarian revolutionary process. Let's continue
to work for this.
Massimo Varengo
https://umanitanova.org/rovesciare-il-tavolo-liberiamoci-da-guerre-oppressione-e-sfruttamento/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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