PRIME Minister Boris Johnson fancies himself as the ‘great dictator’. On Wednesday, he pledged to send British troops to defend Sweden and Finland from Russia, even if they did not join the NATO alliance.
Johnson gave this pledge, without consulting the British people as he signed a ‘mutual defence’ pact with the two Nordic nations during a visit to both countries.
At a press conference in Finland, Johnson was asked if this meant ‘British troops on the ground’ in any conflict with Russia, to which he replied emphatically: ‘Yes, we will come to each other’s assistance, including military assistance.’
Along with the pledge to send British troops to fight, Johnson was asked if this meant Britain would use nuclear weapons to defend Sweden. Johnson said: ‘That’s something we don’t generally comment upon. But what I made clear is that it’s up to either party to make a request, and we take it very seriously.’ Johnson should be removed from office at once!
Both Finland and Sweden are officially non-members of NATO but both have supplied weapons to the Ukrainian regime. The Finnish government announced on Thursday that it would be formally applying to join the imperialist war alliance, while the Swedish government is actively pushing for membership.
By Johnson entering into a unilateral defence pact, pledging troops on the ground and refusing to rule out the use of nuclear weapons, he has committed the UK to a war on Russia – a war that would involve a puny British military being sent out to Finland and Sweden to invade Russia – regardless of NATO membership, perhaps even with NATO looking on!
It goes without saying that this pledge was made without any attempt to get the approval of Parliament, let alone the workers, youth and middle classes that will be expected to bear the cost of war.
Who is going to provide the boots on the ground that Johnson brags he will send?
The British army certainly doesn’t have the numbers to provide anything more than token ‘special forces’ and advisors.
Any war on this scale would necessarily mean conscription of youth into the army to provide the cannon fodder for any imperialist adventure in Finland, a country which shares hundreds of miles of border with Russia, or in Sweden.
This is conscription into the army while at the same time conscripting the entire working class into accepting poverty and starvation to pay for the Anglo-US war to reorder the world and fulfil the long-held desire by the imperialist nations to return capitalism to Russia.
Johnson and the Tories in their delusions believe a weak British capitalist system that yesterday was revealed to be officially in recession and facing a cost of living crisis that is impoverishing millions of families, can wage this war of conquest.
They think that Britain is back in the 19th century when British capitalism was the economic powerhouse of the world, and its army and navy really did rule the world, imposing its will by sending in the gunboats.
This is not the 19th century. Today, British capitalism is on its knees, while Johnson and the Tories exhibit all the signs of demented madness.
Often it is said that those who the gods wish to destroy they first make mad.
In the case of the Tories, its not the gods that have driven them into insanity but the world crisis of capitalism, that has left Britain sinking into debt and forced to wage war to wipe out both Russia and China, while facing a working class at home that is rising up against having the lives of their families and children destroyed to keep a bankrupt capitalist system from collapse.
It won’t be the gods that destroy this Tory government but the powerful working class at home taking action by kicking them out as quickly as possible.
The mass National Day of Action called by the TUC in London on June 18th must be the start of real action, a general strike to close down the country, drive the Tories out of office and bring in a workers government.
A workers government will nationalise the economy under the management of the working class building a planned socialist economy, and will break with the imperialist NATO bloc.
Putting an end to capitalism is the only way to end capitalist exploitation at home and imperialist war abroad.
