The 3rd World War: A Message to the Anti-Globalization

Movement by Lorenzo Komboa Ervin



5,000 people have been killed in a murderous attack just a
few days ago, clearly stemming from past events in the
Middle East. Although the President of the United States
correctly refers to this as "acts of war", he does not tell
us that this war has been raging for many years, and is
fueled by long standing American support of Israel, acting
as its military proxy. The US is "no peace loving country,"
it is the world's largest salesmen of military armaments and
has its hands in most of the wars waging around the globe.



 
Although millions have died around the world because of
these wars, thousands have now died in this country because
of the militaristic policies of this government, not just
because of some scapegaot "Mad Mullahs" in
Afghanistan, Iran or Palestine. The USA is the world's most
hated colonial power. But in the name of those thousands
recently killed in the USA, the President is planning for
what he calls a "global war against terrorism". This global
war, based on the new "Bush-Powell interventionist doctrine"
will allow them to assemble an international war coalition
of western powers to invade, occupy, and destroy numerous
countries in the name of retaliation and "fighting
terrorism. President Bush says that this war will last for
years, and
will essentially allow political assassination of heads of
state, terrorist suspects, and other individuals and groups
on the anti-American "death list" of the CIA and military
forces. This is state terrorism itself,
if not outright imperialist aggression, even if it is
cloaked in the gard of "national defense." It
could lead to World War 3 and it must be opposed.



But instead of opposing this new stage of capitalist
military and political domination, the anti-globalization
movement is retreating. It is mourning, instead of
organizing. The Movement for Global Justice (and other
organizations which make up the movement) recently postponed
its demonstrations in Washington, D.C. against the
International Monetary Fund because of the attacks on
September 11th. it is not clear that they intend to do
anything in this period of crisis at all, and may even be
dismantling its coalition entirely.



Even though this act of terror in the USA could be just the
beginning of an all out war, the anti-globalization
movement, a mass movement of millions and probably the most
active anti-capitalist movement to be seen in decades, is
taking a position of neutrality, if not outright abstention.
However, if they
passively stand by, these events could ultimately result in
the slaying of millions, even resulting in the use of
nuclear weapons. Further, the USA is not immune to another
attack, killing even more like at the WTC.
Where does it stop? According to Bush "if we hit them hard
enough, they will give up". This will not happen.



Because there can be no peace without social justice, we
must oppose this war on political and moral grounds.
International poverty and racial/neo-colonial oppression
are at the root of the conflict in the Middle East
and many parts of the world. The same international elite
that exploit the 3rd world and poor people at home are the
same ones who would benefit from a war. They make and sell
the military armaments, they benefit from Defense Department
government contracts, and they have the coziest relationship
with the Wall Street. The International Monetary Fund, World
Trade Organization, and other capitalist international
institutions would love a war, and clearly covet Middle East
oil reserves, which would be theirs outright if they can
take
over from those "meddlesome" Arab nationalist regimes and
the oppressed peoples of those countries. And if they can
silence the anti-globalization movement and other
international movements, they can do that with ease. Clearly
this movement cannot police itself for international
capitalism, no matter the nature of this war, that is
whether it seems "just" from the U.S. side. We cannot see
the world as Americans, but rather as
internationalists.



It is racism and national chauvanism to only be concerned
with American deaths instead of consistent international
mass murders of innocent civilians. Using right-wing
patriotism, the U.S. politicians are pushing us towards a
global catastrophe. The task of the Anarchists especially in
the anti-globalization movement has to be to build an
*anti-war* movement in opposition to any further military
engagement. This
retaliation is not for the good of the people of the USA or
the rest of the world, it is for global domination. 



This anti-war movement has to understand that it must call
for an end to international terrorism, both that of small
internal non-state resistance groups and that of
nation-states. It must use its force of numbers and ability
to gum up the works to prevent what clearly could be world
war 3. After a few years of war, it will not matter who
started it, the blood of civilian victims will flow like
wine or water. We need to put ourselves in harm's way to
stop this military preparedness, and prevent further attacks
by the war-mongers
on both sides. Clearly, the anti-globalization movement has
the numbers and the organization to be a major factor in
building an international anti-war resistance, now whether
it has the political will to do so
is another matter entirely. One thing for sure, whatever it
does now will impact its legacy, and either the victims of
the future will curse its inaction or praise its bravery.