Much is being
made of Barak Obama, with some trade union leaders in Canada going so far as
suggest that, if elected, he will represent a break with neo-liberalism and
imperialism.Of course this is nonsense.Barak Obama simply presents the best hope for
U.S.
imperialism at this time.He presents
the same view of America as the global world power that the U.S. has pursued
for the last 100 years, but cloaks it in the soaring rhetoric of freedom and
social justice.Modern Communism is excerpting some of Obama’s speeches below, in
which he makes the case for U.S.
domination in the world and offers a blueprint for U.S.
imperialist domination in Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
From: “The War We Need to Win”,
August 1, 2007, Wilson Centre, Washington DC
“After 9/11, our calling was to
write a new chapter in the American story. To devise new
strategies and build new alliances, to secure our homeland and safeguard our
values, and to serve a just cause abroad. … The tide of history seemed
poised to turn, once again, toward hope. But then everything changed. …
“And so, a little more than a
year after that bright September day, I was in the streets of Chicago again,
this time speaking at a rally in opposition to war in Iraq. I did not oppose
all wars, I said. I was a strong supporter of the war in Afghanistan.
But I said I could not support ‘a dumb war, a rash war’ in Iraq. I worried
about a ‘ U.S.
occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined
consequences’ in the heart of the Muslim world. I pleaded that we ‘finish
the fight with bin Ladin and al Qaeda.’
“…It is time to turn the page.
When I am President, we will wage the war that has to be won, with a
comprehensive strategy with five elements: getting out of Iraq and on to the right battlefield in Afghanistan and Pakistan; developing
the capabilities and partnerships we need to take out the terrorists and the
world's most deadly weapons; engaging the world to dry up support for terror
and extremism; restoring our values; and securing a more resilient homeland.…
“I will not hesitate to use
military force to take out terrorists who pose a direct threat to America. This
requires a broader set of capabilities, as outlined in the Army and Marine
Corps's new counter-insurgency manual. I will ensure that our military becomes
more stealth, agile, and lethal in its ability to capture or kill terrorists.
We need to recruit, train, and equip our armed forces to better target
terrorists, and to help foreign militaries to do the same. This must include a
program to bolster our ability to speak different languages, understand
different cultures, and coordinate complex missions with our civilian agencies.”
Speech to the American Israel
Public Affairs Committee in Chicago,
Illinois, March 2, 2007
“…At the same time, we must
preserve our total commitment to our unique defense relationship with Israel by
fully funding military assistance and continuing work on the Arrow and related
missile defense programs. This would help Israel
maintain its military edge and deter and repel attacks from as far as Tehran and as close as Gaza. And when Israel
is attacked, we must stand up for Israel's legitimate right to defend
itself. Last summer, Hezbollah attacked Israel. By using Lebanon as an
outpost for terrorism, and innocent people as shields, Hezbollah has also
engulfed that entire nation in violence and conflict, and threatened the
fledgling movement for democracy there. That's why we have to press for
enforcement of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which demands the
cessation of arms shipments to Hezbollah, a resolution which Syria and Iran continue to disregard. Their
support and shipment of weapons to Hezbollah and Hamas, which threatens the
peace and security in the region, must end.”
Speech in Chicago, April 21, 2007
“I still believe that America is the
last, best hope of Earth. We just have to show the world why this is so. This
President may occupy the White House, but for the last six years the position
of leader of the free world has remained open. And it's time to fill that role
once more.
“I
believe that the single most important job of any President is to protect the
American people. And I am equally convinced that doing that job effectively in
the 21st century will require a new vision of American leadership and a new
conception of our national security - a vision that draws from the lessons of
the past, but is not bound by outdated thinking.
“In today's globalized world, the security of the American people is
inextricably linked to the security of all people. When narco-trafficking
and corruption threaten democracy in Latin America, it's America's
problem too. When poor villagers in Indonesia have no choice but to
send chickens to market infected with avian flu, it cannot be seen as a distant
concern. When religious schools in Pakistan teach hatred to young
children, our children are threatened as well.”
Renewing America’s leadership in the Americas – speech in Miami, Fl, May 23, 2008
“In many ways, Miami
stands as a symbol of hope for what's possible in the Americas.
…Since the Bush Administration launched a misguided war in Iraq, its policy in
the Americas has been negligent toward our friends, ineffective with our
adversaries, disinterested in the challenges that matter in peoples' lives, and
incapable of advancing our interests in the region.
“No wonder, then, that demagogues
like Hugo Chavez have stepped into this vacuum. His predictable yet perilous
mix of anti-American rhetoric, authoritarian government, and checkbook
diplomacy offers the same false promise as the tried and failed ideologies of
the past. But the United States
is so alienated from the rest of the Americas
that this stale vision has gone unchallenged, and has even made inroads from Bolivia to Nicaragua. And Chavez and his
allies are not the only ones filling the vacuum. While the United States fails to address the changing
realities in the Americas,
others from Europe and Asia – notably China – have stepped up their own
engagement. Iran has drawn
closer to Venezuela, and
just the other day Tehran and Caracas launched a joint bank with their
windfall oil profits.
“It's time for a new alliance of
the Americas.
After eight years of the failed policies of the past, we need new leadership
for the future. After decades pressing for top-down reform, we need an agenda
that advances democracy, security, and opportunity from the bottom up. So my
policy towards the Americas
will be guided by the simple principle that what's good for the people of the Americas is good for the United States.
That means measuring success not just through agreements among governments, but
also through the hopes of the child in the favelas of
Rio, the security for the policeman in Mexico City,
and the answered cries of political prisoners heard from jails in Havana.
“The first and most fundamental
freedom that we must work for is political freedom. The United States
must be a relentless advocate for democracy. …Throughout my entire life, there
has been injustice in Cuba.
Never, in my lifetime, have the people of Cuba known freedom. Never, in the
lives of two generations of Cubans, have the people of Cuba known
democracy. This is the terrible and tragic status quo that we have known for
half a century – of elections that are anything but free or fair; of dissidents
locked away in dark prison cells for the crime of speaking the truth. I won't
stand for this injustice, you won't stand for this injustice, and together we
will stand up for freedom in Cuba.”