Prepare to Storm the White House!

President Trump ordered the execution of ten Iranian citizens recently, including a high ranking member of their military. This killing took place on Iraqi soil, without the knowledge or approval of any Iraqi official. The Iraqi Parliament has immediately responded by ordering the removal of all American military personnel from the country.

The American military in turn released a memo, written in the convoluted language which is characteristic of all bureaucrats. As they phrase it, the American military ”in due deference to the soverignty of the Republic of Iraq, and as requested by the Iraqi Parliament and the Prime Minister, will be repositioning forces over the course of the coming days and weeks to prepare for onward movement…Coalition forces are required to take certain measures to ensure that the movement out of Iraq is conducted in a safe and efficient manner…We respect your soverign decision to order our departure.”

It is strange that the bureaucrats, both civilian and military, take great pride in phrasing simple statements in the most twisted manner they can imagine. Their expression ”to prepare for onward movement” is another way of saying that they are going to retreat. Perish forbid that they should use simple language that common people can understand.

According to the press, this memo was signed and delivered by an American general who is serving within the country of Iraq. It is clear that he respects the ”soverignty of the Republic of Iraq” and the authority of the ”Iraqi Parliament and Prime Minister”. As that is the case, it is equally clear that he does not belong in the American military.

The American high command, which is to say the Joint Chiefs of Staff, JCS, most emphatically disagree with that memo. They say that it was a mistake, a ”draft”, and should never have been released. They have no intention whatsoever of pulling troops out of the ”soverign Republic of Iraq”, regardless of the wished of the ”Iraqi Parliament and Prime Minister”. The American high command, including the JCS, has no respect for the Soverign Republic of Iraq. American troops are occupying that country and they fully intend to continue to occupy that country.

The squabbling does not end there, not by a long shot. It extends to the very top of the American high command, both military and civilian. As president, Trump is the ”Commander in Chief of the American Military”. As such, Trump has the final word. His final word is that the American military will not only continue to occupy Iraq, but in case of a war with Iran, will target ”cultural centres”.

This stands in stark contrast to the statement of the Defence Secretary and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They say they will ”follow the law of armed conflict”. That is the law which forbids the targeting of civilian or cultural centres. Such actions are considered to be war crimes.

It is safe to assume they are referring to the approaching war with Iran, as the American military already killed ten Iranian citizens. Perhaps they are of the opinion that this act of mass murder does not fall under ”the law of armed conflict”. They could be right, as such people like to ”split legal hair”. This in no way changes the fact that ten men are dead. It certainly makes no difference to the members of their families, whether the people responsible for this act of mass murder are charged with an act of terror, or murder, or war crimes, or crimes against humanity. But then the penalty is very likely the same.

This in no way changes the fact that the Secretary of Defence and the Chairman of the JCS have both stated that they will ”follow the law of armed conflict”, in direct contradiction to the orders of their Commander in Chief, President Trump.

The fact that they prefer to abide by the laws of war imply a certain level of intelligence on their part. They simply do not want to be charged with war crimes. It is doubtful that they have taken this stand on any humanitarian grounds, because they are staunch defenders of imperialism, and such people have no humanitarian tendencies. They are merely marginally more intelligent than Trump, which is not saying a great deal.

Assuming Trump orders the destruction of cultural centres, it remains to be seen if the members of the military will carry out that illegal order.

On the home front, so to speak, the situation is equally confused. The members of the House are already considering further articles of impeachment, even though the first two articles of impeachment have yet to be delivered to the Senate. In popular terms, this is considered putting the ”cart before the horse”.

The Speaker of the House is setting the standard, an example many other members of the House are quick to follow. She has yet to submit the articles of impeachment to the Senate, so that the trial by the Senate is postponed. She is also considering a vote on a ”war powers resolution to limit President Trumps military actions regarding Iran…military hostilities with regard to Iran to cease within thirty days”.

It is not often that we witness such touching displays of starry eyed optimism from such high ranking members of the American government. Perhaps the Speaker of the House has missed her calling. She really should have joined the Peace Corp.

Perhaps someone should remind her that Trump just ordered the execution of ten men, almost certainly provoking a war with the soverign country of Iran. He fully intends to target cultural centres, as soon as that war begins. He is well aware that these actions are in violation of international law, and he simply does not care. So now the best the Speaker of the House can come up with is to limit him to thirty days of ”doing his worst”? What makes her think that Trump will respect such a ”war powers resolution”? What planet is she from?

The only surprise is that the White House Resistance, those who published an editorial in the New York Times, have yet to take action. They vowed to stop Trump ”one way or another”, and yet have failed to do so.

It is clear that the American imperialists are deeply divided. They appear to be well aware that they cannot rule in the old way, and must change their method of rule. They simply cannot agree on the change. The immediate problem is Trump, and they cannot even agree on the best way to remove him from office.

This is class war, soon to break out into open conflict. It is the class of monopoly capitalists, the bourgeoisie, the ruling class, against the working class, the proletariat. Now is the time to strike, as the enemy is deeply divided, squabbling among themselves. It is entirely possible that they have decided that the best thing they can do, is nothing at all. They may have decided to allow Trump to run amok, to provoke a war with Iran, knowing full well that it is a war they cannot possibly win, as any alternative could well provoke a civil war, a revolution.

Even though a war with Iran could -and will- create terrible damage to the country, the American imperialists are prepared to pay that price.

Now the American bourgeoisie consider Trump to be a ”loose cannon”, which is precisely what he is, and formerly decided to stop him, ”one way or the other”. The trouble is that they are also well aware of the revolutionary movement which is taking place, and they are afraid that any action they take against Trump could trigger a revolution. There is nothing which scares them more than the threatened loss of their wealth and power, being crushed under the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat.

Perhaps we can compare the current situation to that of Russia in 1917. Karensky, as head of the bourgeois Provisional government, was well aware that the situation was revolutionary. His greatest fear was that the peasants and workers, the proletariat, would rise up and overthrow the government of the ruling class, the bourgeoisie. As a result of this, his plan was to surrender the capital, Saint Petersburg, to the Germans. Only the November 7 -new style calendar- revolution was able to prevent him from carrying out this act of treason.

In the current situation, Trump has apparently been given a free hand to go to war with Iran. At least, it is safe to assume that the Iranians will retaliate, if only because they said they will. This will almost certainly lead to a war in the Middle East, and not just with Iran. We can expect several other countries in the region to become involved, not because they love Iran, but because they hate America.

This Middle Eastern War is almost certain to cost countless lives and cause great damage to America. But just as Karensky was prepared to sacrifice the capital of the country, in order to prevent a revolution, so too the American ruling class is prepared to ruin this country. What ever it takes to preserve their wealth and power.

All indications are that the revolution is closer than most people realize. War is on the horizon, and as Marx phrased it, ”War is the midwife of revolution”. This is not to say that war is necessary to start a revolution, because it is not. It is to say that the First World War gave birth to the Russian revolution. The next war with Iran could give birth to the next American revolution.

As that is the case, and as most middle class intellectuals are familiar with the details of the Russian revolution, it is perhaps appropriate to suggest a slogan for the fortunate few. It may help to serve as a not so subtle hint for them to get active. They are well aware that at the time of the revolution, Karensky was holed up in the Winter Palace of the Czar. He and his fellow government officials were guarded by troops of the Savage Division, if I am not mistaken. The precise details are not as important as the fact that there were a limited number of troops available to protect the members of the Karensky regime. The reason for this is quite simple. Most of the army was at the front, fighting the Axis forces.

The point is that at the time of war, the ruling class is at its weakest, due to the fact that most of the troops are at the front, not available to crush any revolutionary out break. As a result of this, the revolution is more likely to be successful.

The intellectuals to whom I am referring are well aware of this, just as they are aware that at the time of the storming of the Winter Palace, other key sites were also secured. These included communication centres in Saint Petersburg and Moscow, as well as railroad stations, key bridges and sea ports, all across the country. A similar uprising must be carefully planned for the American revolution, but on a much larger scale. There are a great many cities in America, as opposed to the few in Russia in 1917. We can expect the American officials to hole up in the White House, much as the Russian officials holed up in the Winter Palace. So at the time of the uprising, it is necessary to storm the White House, but also numerous other key sites. Capital Hill and the Pentagon, for example.

With that in mind, I can only stress the fact that the uprising must be carefully planned and coordinated. That is where the middle class intellectuals come into play. Feel free to follow in the footsteps of Marx and Lenin, fellow middle class intellectuals. Make plans for the insurrection. Your slogan can be:

Prepare to Storm the White House!