By Anton
In the late seventies, the United States of America armed the opponents of the pro-soviet Afghan government- the mujahideen. Radical Islamists from around the world flocked to join the mujahideen in their American funded war, which were indoctrinated with Islamist texts-printed in America. M-16s, Stinger missiles, CIA agent, etcetera were all sent to the Islamists. Among these men fighting the afghan state was a Saudi Arabian oligarch- Osama Bin Laden. Arming Islamists to fight against people who are anti-American came around to haunt the United States, as the people they had trained, given weapons and explosives to, used them against the US at a later date- namely the US embassy bombings and 9/11.
You would think that the US would’ve abandoned its realpolitik approach on foreign policy, but we have seen that it hasn’t in places like Syria, where they armed the most dedicated opponents of the Assad regime- the Islamists, which have people coming to help them from across the world. Communists must be realistic here- when the rebels are executing Christians and atheists, we must support Assad. Assad, for a middle eastern ruler, is a secular one, does not force women to wear veils, and protects minorities. What’s more, Assad has the support of the majority of the Syrian people, compared to the Islamist rebels. Do not misunderstand me: I support Assad as a progressive force against the Islamists, but ultimately, as a communist, I oppose Assad as an agent of capital.
For the meanwhile, we must support Assad to stop a reactionary government coming to power and further stifling class consciousness ; long term we advocate the toppling of all capitalists from power, the destruction of their state and the means of production and political power being seized by the proletariat. Class consciousness can magically appear in every member of the populace spontaneously- what needs to be done after the crushing of the reactionary threat is the following:
1) Bourgeois democracy must be fought for, as it allows unions which can fight to gain concessions from the bourgeosie and increase the quality of life for proletarians.
2) The people must be trained in how to use guns and must be armed, either by the state or through their own devices.
With each strike the proletariat will gain more and more confidence; with each political gain the proletariat will become more powerful. Any attempt to take this hard earned power and ‘democracy’ away from the proletariat must be resisted, with force if it is required.
