IT has long been Prime Minister Blair’s contention that the strategic interests of the British ruling class demand 100 per cent support for the US ruling class, specifically its foreign policy.
At one stage, he referred to British military support for the US invasion and occupation of Iraq as the ‘blood price’ that must be paid to maintain the strategic special relationship between the UK and the US.
He follows the US line in Iraq to the letter. Bush says that ‘our troops will leave only when the job is done’, and his puppet Blair repeats the same words just hours, and sometimes just minutes, later.
So where has this loyalty to US imperialism got Britain’s rulers.
They are involved in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, in which up to £10 billion has already been spent and up to 100 British soldiers killed, with no way out of either conflict except ignominious defeat.
The idea was that Britain would get a jackal’s share of any of the spoils of those wars.
However, the wars are continuing, and Britain has had zero share in any of the business contracts concerned with either Iraq’s or Afghanistan’s ‘reconstruction’ – they have all gone to the big US corporations.
Now the G8 summit is about to start, under Prime Minister Blair’s chairmanship. Blair was hoping that with a little help from his friend George – who after all had cause to be grateful to Britain over Iraq – he would emerge as the hero of the hour, not just as the saviour of Africa but as saviour of the planet!
Bush however, is not only not grateful for Blair’s help over Iraq, he is, in fact, dismissive of Blair. He views British capitalism’s situation as being so weak that a good kick in the crutch would do no harm at all, and would probably do some good and teach the Brits not to take Uncle George’s gratitude for granted. Tough love indeed.
Bush has announced, on the issue of climate change, he is only willing to concede that human activity was ‘to some extent’ to blame.
He has ruled out any new Kyoto-type deal with legally binding cuts in carbon emissions. Speaking to ITV, he said he would instead be talking to fellow leaders about new technologies as a way of tackling global warming.
Bush said: ‘If this looks like Kyoto, the answer is no,’ adding: ‘The Kyoto treaty would have wrecked our economy, if I can be blunt.’
On Africa, Bush said he was ready to abandon US farm subsidies – but only if the European Union was prepared to scrap its Common Agricultural Policy.
He was told that all this would make Blair look bad at the G8, and that the least he could do as a thankyou for Britain’s support, was to help Blair look good.
He replied: ‘Tony Blair made decisions on what he thought was best for keeping the peace and winning the war on terror, as I did. . . So I go to the G8 not really trying to make him look bad or good, but I go to the G8 with an agenda that I think is best for our country.’
Loyal to the end, Blair’s office put out a statement saying that Bush was correct, and that both leaders acted in the interests of their country.
But a country is divided into classes.
Grovelling in front of the US ruling class may be the only possible policy for the bankrupted and almost broken British bourgeoisie, but it is not a policy that is in the interests of the British working class, the vast majority of the population.
Bush has highlighted that Prime Minister Blair, the President of the EU and the Chairman of the G8, is an Emperor who has no clothes on. He is a loudmouth with no economic or political muscle, who has no alternative but to accept, with gratitude, from a kneeling position, whatever the US decrees.
The future of Britain rests with the working class, a class that to live and prosper must overthrow British capitalism and advance to socialism, as part of the development of the world socialist revolution.
