Afghanistan Report. Defeat Inevitable. New Movement.

The US government has a report coming out on its war and occupation of Afghanistan. There is a split in the regime over how to portray its developing defeat. Because that is what it is but they do not want to admit it. The US and its NATO allies are being defeated. In 2002 the US and its NATO allies had 10,000 troops in Afghanistan. Today they have close to 140,000. This is some increase. Yet in spite of this and the hundreds of billions of dollars spent the US and its NATO allies are losing the war. And they will continue to lose it.

Not only that but Pakistan is increasingly being drawn into the war. And this is no small thing. The Wall Street Journal explains: "Pakistan is becoming more like Afghanistan - only with a more advanced economy and nuclear weapons." The US government through its military and the CIA is increasingly working with the Pakistan intelligence agency the ISI which in turn is infiltrated and linked to the Taliban and militant Islamic forces. The ISI see the Taliban as a potential ally in Afghanistan, when as they correctly believe the US will be driven out, and they will have to deal with the regime that is left behind. They also see it as a weapon in their arsenal in any future conflict between Pakistan and India.*

US capitalism is in economic crisis at home and internationally. Its financial institutions and its fiscal and monetary bases are in crisis. It is also in political crises with its two capitalist parties so obsessed in their feud that they are in danger of losing sight of what is in the day to day interests of capital. Internationally China is rising and challenging the number one status of the US. Then we have the military crises of US capitalism. Bogged down in Afghanistan and Iraq, it will not be long before there is an open revolt in the US military. They are denying soldiers don't ask don't tell and they expect soldiers to fight and die. And as a background we have the the continual exposure of its dirty deeds through the wikileaks exposures.

What we need is a movement of the US working who are angry over the attacks on their living standards and conditions and who are ready for such a movement. Such a movement is being is held back by the union leaders who will not mobilize their millions of members. Unless they change and lead the union leaders will have forfeited their right to being in the leadership. The left and radical movement are not innocent either. They have not been able to get over their ultra leftism and left sectarianism and build a united front of struggle.

But on the other hand we do see this movement to defend wikileaks and we see the biggest prisoners strike in US history. The shape of things to come. Please send your messages of support and become active in building fighting organizations.

* For more on the US/ISI relationship, see War and Globalization by Michael Chossudovsky

Sean.