This is completely untrue, by a simple look at the history of American imperialist wars in the last century.

They can never "provide freedom" as they always supported the reactionary dictatorships everywhere in the world, for example the killing of Mossadegh in Iran and Lumumba in Congo.

If American workers couldn’t use their standards of democracy against their rulers, so can we be sure that the Iraqi workers will do so?

Also, Ahmed Chalabi is a previous bank robber, so if what is going to be there is a democracy, it will simply be a "democracy of thieves" in the ministry of oil.

Nasser El Hossary
By e-mail
 
 
Destruction of history
The U.S. government allocated its massive resources in accordance with its priorities. It had Special Ops inside Iraq for months making sure that the intended war booty would not be damaged. But U.S. military officers did not lift a finger when millennia of cultural history was destroyed when first Iraq’s national museum was sacked and then its national library burned to the ground.

If anything, the destruction of Iraq’s cultural and bibliographic history fits in perfectly with Washington’s plans. I believe it was Malcolm X who pointed out that an integral part of conquering and enslaving a people is convincing them they have no past--and hence no future.

Robert Dees
San Francisco, California
 
 
Indispensable coverage
I will be moving in a couple of months to be closer to a branch [of the Socialist Workers Party] and the center of working-class politics, and to participate in activities.

The Militant has been indispensable in the recent period by bringing such crystal clarity. This war and the events and openings that will unfold for our side have caused me to rethink what I need to do with my time and energy.

Although we remain mostly in a situation which is characterized by what the ruling class is doing to the working class, nevertheless, the signs of growing resistance and the initial boiling out of a vanguard layer of working-class fighters is there, and the leaves are also shaking at the top of the tree.

Important, though small, layers of people are unsatisfied with their framework for interpreting world events and I think Pathfinder titles will become attractive to growing numbers with questions.

Jim Kendrick
Seattle, Washington
 
 
Dignity
I’d like to solidarize with our five Cuban comrades. The voice of the people succeeded in taking them out of the "hole," and we have to continue this battle that has no frontiers until they obtain their freedom.

The "war on terror" is putting in prison a large number of families from the Middle East and South Asia. This class of despotism is based on lies--jailing, deporting in groups, "disappearing" people, as they do in this prison in York, Pennsylvania.

My situation is critical and I ask you to listen: for 48 days I have been in an iron box, in solitary confinement, 24 hours per day. There are only 45 minutes for the cleaning of the "box," to speak on the telephone, and for visits to the clinic.

The food is passed through a crack that is placed near the floor (as for dogs).

A guard came to have me sign something because they were returning the Militant, because it did not come from the publisher. I asked him to show me the envelope; instead he began swearing and calling me a "terrorist."

I will never let them destroy my dignity and principles.

No one can take us away or separate us from our communities, and no one has the right to stop our mouths from expressing our opinions.

I ask every person who reads this letter to please give a "moment of silence" for the thousands of dead--children, women, elderly, the people of Iraq--as well as for the invaders who fell offering their lives as cannon fodder.

Farouk Abdel-Muhti
York, Pennsylvania

Farouk Abdel-Muhti, an outspoken advocate of the Palestinian struggle for self-determination, was jailed without charges one year ago. While facing the threat of deportation from the United States, where he has lived since the 1970s, Abdel-Muhti has been imprisoned indefinitely, first in a series of jails throughout New Jersey and more recently in a prison in York, Pennsylvania, notorious for its harsh conditions. See page 4 for details of New York protest on the anniversary of his jailing.--Editor

The letters column is an open forum for all viewpoints on subjects of interest to working people.

Please keep your letters brief. Where necessary they will be abridged. Please indicate if you prefer that your initials be used rather than your full name.  
 
 
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