VICE-PRESIDENT BIDEN took the stage at the 45th Munich Security Conference on Saturday to spell out that the US understood that it now needed willing allies and could no longer act like a bull in a china shop, as Bush-Blair had done.
He spelt out that such were the dangers to the capitalist system that the US was prepared to kiss and make up with Putin, after the war with Georgia, in order to prosecute the war in Afghanistan and to try to bring Iran to its knees without an all out war.
He told the Conference last Saturday: ‘I come to Europe on behalf of a new administration determined to set a new tone in Washington, and in America’s relations around the world.’
He urged that we must ‘listen to and learn from one another and to work together for our common prosperity and security. That is what this moment demands. That is what the United States is determined to do.’
Biden made it clear that Obama understood that the capitalist system was in danger both at home and abroad.
He said: ‘This year, more than ever before, we know that our physical security and our economic security are indivisible. . . In the United States, we are taking aggressive action to stabilise our financial system, jump start our economy and lay a foundation for growth. . .
‘Even as we grapple with an economic crisis, we must contend with a war in Afghanistan now in its eighth year, and a war in Iraq well into its sixth year.’
The US is fighting against the working class at home and the oppressed nations abroad.
He described what he called the ‘basic principle’ of the US ruling class. This is: ‘There is no conflict between our security and our ideals.’
He added: ‘America will do more. But America will ask for more from our partners’. America is asking for tens of thousands more troops to wage a savage imperialist war in Afghanistan.
However if the US does not get the response that it wants: ‘First, we will work in partnership whenever we can, alone only when we must.’
The form of US imperialism will be different, the content will remain exactly the same!
‘We are willing to talk to Iran, and to offer a very clear choice: Continue down your current course and there will be pressure and isolation; abandon your illicit nuclear program and support for terrorism and there will be meaningful incentives.’ The form is different, the content remains the same. Either do what the US wants or face destruction.
For this reason Obama has gathered around him the same Richard Holbrooke-led team that was responsible for organising the war against Yugoslavia.
The battleground is marked out: ‘No strategy for Afghanistan can succeed without Pakistan. We must all strengthen our cooperation with the people and government of Pakistan, help them stabilise the Tribal Areas and promote economic development and opportunity throughout the country.’
The tribal areas will be stabilised with drones and ‘hot pursuit’ troops. Bush’s policy is to continue.
Third, America will extend a hand to those who unclench their fists. Top of this list is Russia, led by the Stalinist Putin.
Biden said: ‘It is time to press the reset button and to revisit the many areas where we can and should work together. Our Russian colleagues long ago warned about the rising threat from the Taleban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Today, NATO and Russia can and should cooperate to defeat this common enemy.’
He is proposing Russian intervention in Afghanistan! The Stalinists have responded that they are willing to supply the Kabul regime with arms and that they understand that they will have to send troops to secure the weaponry that they have sent.
The imperialists are seeking to make an alliance with the Stalinists of a type that has not been seen since the Stalin-Hitler pact. We all know how that alliance ended, at the gates of Moscow!
What the world crisis requires is the building of the Fourth International to take advantage of the capitalist crisis and lead the world socialist revolution to its victory.
