Jan 06・13, 2012 No.1214
【MDS Statement on the U.S. military withdrawal from
Iraq and the dissolution of IFC】
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On December 14th, U.S. president Barack
Obama declared the Iraq war over and on December 18th, all the U.S.
occupying forces completed the exit from Iraq. This marks the end of
the occupation of Iraq by the U.S. military that has continued for
eight years and nine months since 2003.
This is a gigantic victory for the people of Iraq as well as for the
anti-war movements around the world.
The people of Iraq developed a strong civil resistance movement. The
U.S. anti-war movement has organized Iraq war veterans who formed Iraq
Veterans Against the War (IVAW) and have resolutely struggled to
establish the government's responsibilities. Moreover, the democratic
revolutions sweeping North Africa and the Middle East have frustrated
the U.S. strategy in the Middle East. The global anti-war movements
have tried to hold accountable those governments that promoted the war.
Vast military expenditures have pushed the U.S. government to the brink
of bankruptcy, preventing it from continuing the occupation of Iraq.
All these forces combined have brought about the U.S. military
withdrawal from Iraq.
The U.S. leaves Iraq without achieving its original intention, to
maintain permanent military bases in Iraq for the purpose of
monopolizing Iraqi oil resources. The U.S. ruling class admits its
defeat, too, as is seen in the remark made by Newt Gingrich, former
speaker of the House of Representatives, that ‘We will leave in defeat.’
This U.S. military withdrawal means the defeat of the most bellicose
circle amongst global capitalists. Namely, we have won the great step
forward to completely confining the war system of global capitalism.
In response to the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, Iraq Freedom
Congress (IFC) has decided on the dissolution of its organization based
on the judgment that it has achieved one of its main objectives of
realizing the withdrawal of all the occupying forces from Iraq. IFC has
announced at the same time its lines of actions that ‘the revolutionary
movement in Iraq will continue its struggles in a different and new
organizational as well as political framework. It will be a framework
that will correspond to the new phase of the post-occupation Iraq where
we have witnessed the dawn of people's uprisings against sectarianism,
poverty and corruption since February 25, 2011, and to the new era of
the world where we are witnessing the great revolutionary movement
against tyranny, hunger and unemployment.’
We welcome this decision. Let us take this opportunity to express our
deep condolences to the people of Iraq and our IFC comrades who fell in
the process of their struggles to end the occupation. We also express
our determination to fulfill, till the end, the responsibilities of the
Japanese anti-war movement in setting up the Iraq War Inquiry Committee
to hold the Japanese government accountable for the role it played in
carrying out the war. We will also continue to struggle to prevent the
Japanese global capitalists from looting Iraqi oil resources.
At the same time we express that we will struggle in solidarity with
the organization to be formed to counter sectarianism, poverty and
corruption, in order to abolish the domination by the global capitalism
and to build democratic socialism.
The time has come when we enter upon our struggles to abolish global
capitalism in solidarity with the global ‘Occupy’ movements and the
democratic revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East.
MDS Central Committee
December 25th, 2011
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