Strategy and tactics in the struggle against the US global imperialist war

Dear comrades,

We would like to extend our heartfelt greetings on behalf of the revolutionary masses of Nepal while we are gathering here in a seminar on a very important, very timely and very burning issue of the present day.

The Nepalese revolutionary masses have been confronting US imperialism since the very initiation of the People's War. In the present days, while the US occupation and people's resistance have been going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, and while its aggression has been going on against the people of the Philippines, Peru, Haiti, the Korean Peninsula and other parts of the world, its political intervention and military concentration over Nepal have been intensified. Despite the US has been waging a political offensive against the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) - the vanguard of the proletariat - and military offensive by its lackey (the feudal Gyanendra Shah), the US has been preparing to increase its military offensive against People's War, aiming at establishing strategic military bases, encircling China and watching over India.

While dozens of the best sons and daughters fighting for destruction of feudalism and imperialism have been killed and dozens of Maoist leaders and cadres including Comrade Kiran, Comrade Gaurav, Comrade Matrika and Comrade Suresh (Standing Committee and Central Committee members) have been arrested by India - some of them still being in prison and many others having been extradited to Nepal - this International Communist Seminar has been organised here to discuss very burning issue on the topics of Strategy and tactics against the US Global War. We would like to extend our heartfelt greeting to the organiser, the WPB, and a lot thanking for giving us the opportunity to express our views on this issue. We will concentrate our views on this very subject.

In the era of imperialism and proletarian revolution, basing on the analysis of the economic, political and military strategy of the imperialism, Maoist revolutionaries have characterised four basic contradictions in the present world. Contradiction between bourgeoisie and proletariat as a contradiction between labour and capital; inter-imperialist contradiction; contradiction between imperialism and oppressed classes, nations and people; and the contradiction between capitalist and socialist system are the basic or the fundamental contradictions in the present world. Among these four basic contradictions, contradiction between capitalist and socialist system does not exist now, but it is important to keep in mind that such contradiction existed before and will exist tomorrow with the birth of socialist states in the future. And, out of these four basic contradictions, at the international level, imperialism versus oppressed classes, nations and people is the main contradiction.

The imperialist system has developed to a more monopolistic, more parasitic and more decadent one then a century ago, when great philosopher Lenin defined and exposed imperialism, developed strategy and tactics of the Great October Revolution and guided the world proletariat for world revolution. In China, in the course of fighting feudalism and imperialism and coming through the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (GPCR) having liberated the Chinese people from feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism, Chairman Mao Zedong developed Marxism-Leninism to Marxism-Leninism-Maoism. After the fall of Soviet social-imperialism, the US imperialism today has developed as the single superpower of the world. Controlling over science and technology by handful fanatic elements of the monopoly capitalists of the imperialist countries, specially the United States of America, it has unleashed a war juggernaut, unjust, parasitic predatory in character, in the name of "human rights" "democracy" and "liberation" of the poor countries.

The US imperialism has been using strategy and tactics of so-called democracy and human rights as a political offensive, economic blockade and control through International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, and through military actions against the oppressed masses of the world. This process has created a huge gap between production and distribution on the world scale. Even imperialist's data say that rich countries that have 15% of the world population own 80% of the world's resources, whereas 85% of the population own only 20% of them. Consequently, two and a half a billion people have been victims of abject poverty. One billion people are under absolute poverty line. It has given rise to unemployment, poverty, anger and anarchy and rebellion simultaneously. The imperialist war on Yugoslavia, on Afghanistan and on Iraq is for the further expansion of the imperialist predatory, parasitic and plundering mission in the Central and South Asia, aiming at to engulf rich natural resources, huge number of cheap labour of China, as well as perspective rival force in the future, after tightening control over African and Latin American countries. Furthermore, the American policy of "pre-emptive action", the theory of "Project for New American Century", concept of "Global Leadership" and Bush and Co.'s theory of "either you're with us or with the enemy", makes the US monopoly capitalists and imperialists more fascistic than ever before. These objective realities of the present world provide great objective conditions for the world revolution.

Lenin's explanations on the era of imperialism and proletarian revolution and Chairman Mao's proposition that revolution is the main trend in the world, which he concluded from the correct identification of contradiction between imperialism and oppressed nations, is also equally scientific and valid in today's world. Imperialism that has developed to a global system through economic, political and military hegemony and domination at the global level as well as through ties with the brutal and fascist regimes in Third World countries, has been imposing war juggernaut against the oppressed people in the whole world. Despite the fact that the superpower has been imposing war in order to maintain its imperialist system and economy, the US has been forced more and more to adhere to imperialist terrorism by developing newer and newer generation of weapons. This situation of the imperialism makes it looking stronger but in essence, it is frustrated, feared and terrified by the political consciousness of the masses of the 21st century. Because of this objective reality of the present world, despite their "military supremacy", the demise of the imperialist lackeys and fascistic regime of the Third World as well as of the US imperialism itself has come under the ring of fire.

For instance, the Maoist revolutionaries can see and analyse objective conditions developed along with the US aggression on Iraq that along with the sharp confrontation and forceful resistance of the Iraqi people, the US imperialism in Iraq is surrounded by millions of oppressed Iranian, Jordanian, Turkish, and Arabian proletarians. The Communists in those countries must be able to hoist the red flag of the People's War and mobilise the revolutionary people against the regimes of their countries as well as against imperialism. Mao Zedong's scientific synthesis that either Maoist revolutionaries have to make revolution and the war will be prevented or war will lead to break out revolution will come true if the Maoist revolutionaries consciously uphold, defend and apply Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, and that means beginning People's War.

The imperialist monopoly on markets, material resources and military firepower have also intensified inter-imperialist contradictions. French and German opposition against Iraq war, however, marks nothing benevolence for the Iraqi people and make no respect to the millions of people who opposed war, but maintains contradiction against American hegemony and domination in the oppressed Eastern European countries, as well as in the Middle East. Any confusion that French, German, Russian imperialists opposed war and Spain's preparation to "withdraw" its troops from Iraq make something positive in fighting against US imperialism will be suicidal for the oppressed people in the world. Furthermore, the quest of favourable UN resolution either to prevent war or to handover Iraqi sovereignty to the Iraqi people are simply a bargaining cheeps of the European imperialists. The US monopoly in military power, economic domination and hegemony over European imperialist bourgeoisies and their market has further intensified the contradictions among themselves. These contradictions will not be solved unless the Maoist revolutionaries make socialist revolution in these countries. Again, inter-imperialist contradiction and contradiction between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat has been forcefully leading imperialist and capitalist countries to socialist revolution. In a nutshell, the expansion of the European Union to the Eastern Europe is the outcome of inter-imperialist rivalry, the competition between the US and the EU to dominate over cheap labour, rich resources and market for their stockpile products. But contrary to their wishes of exploiting cheap labour and natural resources of this region, the expansion of the European Union to the Eastern European countries has simply invited more and more gravediggers of the European imperialist bourgeoisies.

Despite a powerful expression of public opposition against the imperialist war, it is time and again proved that imperialism do not stop war unless it is overthrown from power. The Marxist-Leninist-Maoist principles have further proved Lenin's scientific synthesis that imperialism means war, because as long as there is imperialism there will be war(s). Hence, imperialism cannot be overthrown without a violent overthrow by using revolutionary power, and after revolution, such revolutionary power cannot be maintained without challenging imperialist internationally by proletarian internationalism.

A revolutionary crisis has been seen in the United States, the United Kingdom, Turkey and Iran during the US war against Iraq. It is a law of dialectics that a big action generates a big counteraction and such counter actions are clearer and palpable at weak links. Along with the US aggression against Iraq such weak links were interlinked with war and still persisting to be weak link in the region as well as in the United States of America. All revolutionary crises do not necessary lead to immediate victory, but every revolutionary crisis could and should be turn to bring greater and more decisive revolutionary crisis. Furthermore, any revolutionary crisis automatically cannot lead to revolution unless there is conscious vanguard Party of the proletariat to lead these crises to revolution. Contrary to the imperialist assertion that imposing unjust war against oppressed countries brings a "new world order", such wars always drag them to a spiral mode of crisis, more fragile, uncertainty and more complexities. Here just as Mao has said, "the proletariat should attempt to prevent the world war as far as possible, but if unsuccessful, they should work out the policy to turn the world war into world revolution", the Maoist revolutionaries should make all out efforts in making revolution.

But in the absence of a Maoist vanguard Party guided by a revolutionary line, having a People's Liberation Army under the leadership of such Party and exercising a revolutionary United Front to lead revolution or advanced revolutionary subjective conditions, revolution in any country is not possible. Here, it is very important to keep in mind that, just as having drawn lessons of the historical experiences of the fall of the Paris Commune, Marx had pointed out that the old state machinery cannot help for the new and revolutionary state machinery; in the same way there is no possibility of revolution without concentrating on these three strategic instruments of revolution.

In the context of Nepal, Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has scientifically upheld, defended and applied Marxism-Leninism-Maoism in the concrete objective reality of the Nepalese society. In the course of the People's War, the Party has synthesised its experiences as Marxism-Leninism-Maoism and Prachanda Path. Prachanda Path is a set of ideas developed in the course of Nepalese revolution on which, as in every revolution, the basic theory becomes yet developed ideology and guiding principle becomes the developing ideology: Marxism-Leninism-Maoism is the basic theory and Prachanda Path is the guiding ideas. In the Nepalese context, Marxism-Leninism-Maoism becomes basic principle, theory and philosophy for the revolution and Prachanda Path serves as guiding ideas. It is similar to what happened in the Russian Revolution, that Marxism was the basic theory and Lenin's ideas were guiding principles; and Marxism-Leninism was the basic theory and ideas of Mao Zedong were the guiding principles in the context of the Chinese Revolution. As per dialectical relation between general and particular, the ideas developed in the particularity of the Chinese Revolution serve as general ideas in the context of the People's War in Nepal and Peru. Similarly, the ideas developed in the particularities of the Nepalese revolution may certainly serve as general ideas in the course of making world proletarian revolution. Here, it would be important to note that the particularity of the ideas of Chairman Prachanda deserves generality in the context of world revolution. Chairman Prachanda has laid a general foundation to pave the way for the New Democratic and Socialist Revolution in the 21st century and thus to advance to Communism synthesising the first five years of practice of the People's War. In the Second historic Conference of the Party held on 2001, he documented: "21st century shall be the century of people's wars, and the triumph of the world socialist system". Apart from this, it also shows that there has been a significant change in the prevailing concept of model of revolution after 1980. Today the fusion of the strategies of armed insurrection and protracted people's war into one another has been essential. Without doing so, a genuine revolution seems almost impossible in any country. In the particularity of Nepalese revolution, Prachanda Path has developed the principle of fusion of two military strategies - the strategy of insurrection and the strategy of protracted people's war. This principle could be applied as a general principle in the particularities of other countries and even in the imperialist countries. The understanding of the comrades of the Maoist Parties of Italy and Canada also indicates that without leading People's War in the imperialist countries by making fusion of the two military strategies, revolution will not be possible.

While we are discussing about mapping out the strategy and tactics in the struggle against global US imperialist war, no real strategy and tactics could be forged divorced from the revolutionary war within the imperialist citadels. And whether revolution is possible or not depends on zeal and enthusiasm of the revolutionaries in fighting on all fronts against revisionism and opportunism, eclecticism and reformism as well as the war front of the enemy. In the context of Europe, Maoist revolutionaries must investigate revolutionary potentialities and navigate revolutionary activities in the concrete realities of the present conditions of Europe, and not on the conditions that existed before the 1950s. The present condition are the fact that the Western Europe has developed as one country - like without boarder, that it has been using single currency, that it has integrated economy and culture, that the people of every country have been suffering American military presence since World War II, that the European Union has been marching towards developing single European Parliament and its single Army of the Union, that the European bourgeoisie have let loose European nationals to earn, marriage and settle any of the European countries have brought a new reality in Europe and such conditions demand a new kind of organisational set-up of the Communist Revolutionaries to meet the needs of the European revolution. Furthermore, the need of market for the European bourgeoisie and a quest for way out against US imperialist domination however, brought a unity of the European states to a step progressive, yet because of their imperialist economic military and political nature, predatory mission and repressive character they have tightened military domination in many of the African countries, promoted a national chauvinism in Europe and maintained imperialist alliances with the US imperialism. Hence, under the given situation, unless the revolutionaries of Europe get unified under a single policy programme and plans and fight against both European and American imperialist bourgeoisies, making revolution over one country or its expansion will be very difficult. Furthermore, in order to meet the challenges posed by revisionism, reformism and liquidationism before the Maoist revolutionaries, the world revolution demands a New Type of Communist International. The Maoist Communist Parties and Organisations in the world over by now have the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement (RIM) which has been developing as an embryonic centre of such a new Communist International.

Hence, by this, and only by this process, as Lenin said "working whole-heartedly for the development of the revolutionary movement and the revolutionary struggle in one's own country, and supporting (by propaganda, sympathy, and material aid) this struggle, this, and only this, line, in every country without exception" will the Communist Revolutionaries be able to map out real strategy and tactics in the struggle against global US imperialist war.

Thank you,

(paru dans the People's War Digest magazine n° 1)