August-31, 2020 - In addition to discussing the main plans for the joint administration and "reconstruction" of Iraq, the Joint Statement on U.S.-Iraq Strategic Dialogue of August 20 said, "The United States and Iraq reaffirmed their commitment to achieving common objectives through bilateral security coordination and continued cooperation between the Iraqi Security Forces and the U.S.-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS...The Iraqi government expressed its gratitude to the Global Coalition and asserted its willingness to facilitate this transition and confirmed its obligation as host country to provide protection for the Coalition’s personnel and diplomatic facilities in Iraq. Adapting to the requirements of this new phase, the Global Coalition has been able to depart from some Iraqi military bases and reduce combat forces in Iraq. The two sides plan on separate technical talks to manage the timing and transition to the new phase, including any associated redeployments from Iraq."

 

This latest announcement again shows that the deployment of U.S. and western armies to Iraq is not bringing stability. Rather it is only fomenting tensions and preparing the ground for further conflict and new wars.

 

The U.S. government insists that its continuous war on the Iraqi nation is necessary in order to protect the U.S. mission to defeat "ISIS" through which the U.S. attempts to dominate Iraq further and deny the sovereignty of the country.  As is well known, this mission was arbitrarily invented by the U.S. long after invading the country in order to guarantee "vital U.S. interests" including access to Iraq's "superior resources of potential wealth."

 

As has been pointed out many times, the continuing neo-colonial strategy of U.S. imperialism in Iraq is to talk about U.S. "victories" even while working to legitimize further U.S. aggression and occupation; to set no "artificial deadlines" even while training Iraqi forces, paying international troops, and at all times maintaining at least enough U.S. forces for "mentorship" and backup.  

 

The root of all the problems in Iraq is the U.S. war and occupation. U.S. imperialism is determined to keep Iraq under its thumb and deny the sovereignty of the Iraqi people. In addition to the carnage and destruction caused by the on-going war, Iraq is being prepared as a staging ground for U.S.-NATO forces.

 

The aim which U.S. imperialism is trying to achieve in Iraq is the aim of conquering the country and enslaving the people. From the very beginning, the

one and only motive behind the war was the thirst of the U.S. monopoly capitalist class to grab Iraq's oil, take over its economy and turn the country into a base for U.S. colonial domination of the entire region.

 

The American working class and people must especially target the U.S. government. The American workers have never and will never accept the ideology of American chauvinism, the ideology of submission to the capitalist exploiters and warmakers. In spite of the diversionist and liquidationist pressures of the Democratic Party and opportunism, every day people are ripping away the mask and making sure that everyone knows that behind the hypocrisy and chauvinism of the U.S. capitalist class and its two parties of war stands the real economic and strategic program of U.S. finance capital, vying for oil and empire in the strategic Middle East. In order to advance this struggle we need to stand up and speak out against war and imperialism. We need to strengthen the foundations of our movement by further politicizing ourselves. We need to build independent, anti-imperialist organizations that empower the people and which target the capitalist class and the imperialist system as the source of war.

 

Today, there are 2 fundamental contradictions in Iraqi society: 1) the contradiction between U.S. imperialism and the Iraqi nation; and 2) the contradiction between the reactionary, exploiting Iraqi upper class and the exploited and downtrodden masses. Today, the U.S. war of aggression and occupation has linked these 2 contradictions closely together and brought both to the bursting point. Left to pursue their ambitions in Iraq, imperialism and reaction will lead humanity to new wars and disasters. The only way forward for the nation and people of Iraq - the only way to resolve these contradictions - is through the war of resistance and national liberation against U.S. imperialism and its lackeys. This is the path that the Iraqi people have already taken and the only way to support independence and democracy in Iraq is to support this struggle against foreign occupation and its puppet government.