War and militarism
Russia, France denounce Turkey as Armenian-Azeri war escalates
By Alex Lantier, 1 October 2020
As reports emerge that Turkey is sending Syrian Islamist mercenaries to Azerbaijan to fight Armenia, the risk of a Russian-Turkish clash and a broader regional war is rising.
US strikes Iraqi targets from aircraft carrier in Persian Gulf
By Bill Van Auken, 30 September 2020
The airstrikes from the USS Nimitz were launched as Washington steadily escalated threats to “liquidate” Iranian-aligned Shia militias in Iraq.
Armenian-Azeri war threatens to trigger Russia-Turkey clash
By Ulaş Ateşçi, 30 September 2020
Fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan in South Caucasus continued a third day after conflicts erupted over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
“They view soldiers as expendable”: Mother speaks out on son’s suicide at Fort Hood Army base
By Chase Lawrence, 30 September 2020
Patrician Troyan explained that her son, Pfc. Logan Castello, was isolated and neglected by the Army before his tragic death at the Texas military base in late 2019.
Indian and Chinese militaries dig in for prolonged border standoff, as “de-escalation” efforts flounder
By Rohantha De Silva and Keith Jones, 30 September 2020
Encouraged by Washington, India has taken an increasingly belligerent and provocative stance in its tense five-month-long border confrontation with China.
Armenian-Azeri fighting escalates as war danger surges across Middle East
By Alex Lantier, 29 September 2020
News that Washington may withdraw its diplomats and troops from Iraq point to the rising danger of global war before the November US presidential elections.
US military suicides spike 20 percent in 2020
By Chase Lawrence, 29 September 2020
US Army leaders have suggested that the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic has played a part in the sharp rise in suicides this year.
Assange faces a fate “worse than death” in US prisons, witnesses tell court
By Thomas Scripps, 29 September 2020
No amount of lame denials can hide the fact that if Assange is put in the clutches of these people, he will be disappeared into the darkest corner of the US prison system.
Armenian-Azeri conflict erupts in Caucasus, threatening wider war
By Ulaş Ateşçi and Alex Lantier, 28 September 2020
A war could spiral out of control and escalate into a broader conflict between Russia, Turkey and other NATO states, potentially involving nuclear weapons.
Is Trump preparing an “October Surprise”?
By Bill Van Auken, 28 September 2020
With the US presidential election barely five weeks away, Washington is stoking conflicts across the globe, first and foremost with China.
US Congress threatens to cut funding for Philippines police and military
By Tom Peters, 26 September 2020
Congressional Democrats are attempting to establish a more pliant regime in the Philippines to join the US build-up to war against China.
Canada’s military forced to admit growing number of far-right extremists in armed forces
By Matthew Richter, 24 September 2020
In July, a heavily-armed Canadian Armed Forces’ Ranger crashed through the gates of the temporary residence of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in what had all the hallmarks of an assassination attempt.
Further revelations about sterilizations and medical malpractice at ICE detention facility in Georgia
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 24 September 2020
The latest revelations, including the naming of the doctor who performed them, strengthens the account given in a recent whistleblower complaint, while giving lie to the US government’s dismissals.
US escalates military intervention in Syria
By Bill Van Auken, 22 September 2020
The bolstering of the US force with another 100 troops, armored vehicles, and air power heightens the threat of confrontation between the world’s two biggest nuclear powers.
Explosive evidence from Trump insider
Assange dragged from embassy “on the orders of the president”
By Laura Tiernan and Thomas Scripps, 22 September 2020
Cassandra Fairbanks testified that Arthur Schwartz, a wealthy Republican Party donor and key Trump ally, had provided her with evidence of plans by the Trump administration to impose the death penalty.
Thirteen former national presidents demand an end to the British show-trial of Julian Assange
By Oscar Grenfell, 22 September 2020
The statement demonstrates that the attempt to prosecute Assange for exposing war crimes is widely viewed as an act of imperialist banditry that brands Britain and the US as rogue states.
President Trump gives preliminary approval to takeover of TikTok by Oracle and Walmart
By Kevin Reed, 21 September 2020
In an unprecedented act of imperialist piracy, the assets of Chinese-owned video sharing app TikTok are being handed over to Oracle, Walmart and group of private investors.
Corporate publications hostile to revelations that CIA spied on Julian Assange and their own journalists
By Oscar Grenfell, 21 September 2020
Corporate publications rebuffed requests that they publish information on the spying, even when it targeted their own journalists.
US, Colombia stage war games as Pompeo threatens Venezuela
By Bill Van Auken, 19 September 2020
Pompeo’s Latin American tour is aimed both at escalating aggression against Venezuela and countering China’s influence in the region.
Trump’s Middle East deal and the dead end of bourgeois nationalism
By Bill Van Auken, 18 September 2020
The so-called “peace” agreements between Israel and two Arab monarchies signed on the White House lawn Tuesday are only the latest in the long record of betrayals of the Palestinian people.
Military research at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
By Gregor Link, 18 September 2020
As Germany again takes up aggressive great power politics, German universities are once more serving the needs of war and dictatorship, just as they did before the First and Second World Wars. A major centre of German weapons research is the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).
Trump repeats threats of post-election military repression as Barr calls for charging protesters with “sedition”
By Patrick Martin, 17 September 2020
While Trump and his political aides and advisers openly speak of civil war and martial law, the Democrats are largely ignoring and covering up the moves toward dictatorial forms of rule.
“I thought this was like an experimental concentration camp”
Nurse alleges forced sterilizations, medical malpractice at Georgia immigrant detention center
By Niles Niemuth, 16 September 2020
The chilling report provides further evidence of the sadistic abuse meted out by the Trump administration in its fascistic war on immigrants.
US defence secretary phones Sri Lankan president about increased military cooperation
By Vijith Samarasinghe, 16 September 2020
Washington wants enhanced military relations with the strategically-located island in order to intensify its war drive against China.
Assange would not have fair US trial, witness tells Old Bailey
By Thomas Scripps, 15 September 2020
A damning picture was painted of the degrading treatment which would characterise Assange’s detention in the US and of the impossible restrictions which would be placed on his legal defence.
As Trump incites police, fascist attacks on social protests
Biden pledges to keep troops in the Middle East and maintain record military spending
By Barry Grey, 12 September 2020
Since Labor Day, Biden has focused on appeals for support from the military and national security establishment, along with economic nationalist demagogy and pledges to prosecute “violent” left-wing protesters.
India-China border conflict remains on knife’s edge
By Jordan Shilton and Keith Jones, 12 September 2020
US support for India and efforts by major European powers to boost their military-strategic presence in the Indo-Pacific could cascade the border crisis into a catastrophic war.
No to a Greek-Turkish war in the eastern Mediterranean!
International Committee of the Fourth International, 12 September 2020
Amid the escalation of threats and naval maneuvers between Turkey and Greece, backed by France, Europe and the Middle East are teetering on the brink of war.
Two decades of US “war on terror” responsible for displacing at least 37 million people and killing up to 12 million
By Jacob Crosse, 9 September 2020
A new report from Brown University estimates the number of people who have fled from US military operations since September 2001 to be as high as 59 million.
Political furor erupts over Trump slurs against dead and wounded US soldiers
By Patrick Martin, 7 September 2020
The US president only states in a particularly crude and vulgar fashion what the capitalist class as a whole thinks about those it treats as cannon fodder.
Washington slaps sanctions on International Criminal Court prosecutor
By Bill Van Auken, 5 September 2020
The sanctions, normally reserved for alleged terrorists or drug traffickers, are aimed at intimidating the ICC over its investigation of US war crimes.
India-China border tensions flare anew, posing threat of catastrophic military conflict
By Deepal Jayasekera, 5 September 2020
India’s increasingly aggressive stance against China is being stoked by Washington.
Greek-Turkish standoff escalates war danger in eastern Mediterranean
By Alex Lantier, 2 September 2020
Top officials of NATO member states are openly discussing going to war with one another, in conflicts that could set the Mediterranean and the world ablaze.
Amid mounting domestic crisis, US imperialism lashes out at Russia and China
By Andre Damon, 1 September 2020
In a dizzying array of threats and open clashes, Washington has inflamed, on an almost daily basis, conflicts that could rapidly spiral out of control.
US military will not be involved in election crisis, top general claims
By Patrick Martin, 31 August 2020
The extraordinary statement by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff came in response to a letter from two Democratic congresswomen.
EU imposes sanctions on Lukashenko as strikes continue in Belarus
By Alex Lantier, 29 August 2020
The imposition of sanctions is a clumsy and hypocritical attempt to maximize the EU’s influence in Belarus amid growing working-class anger against the Belarusian ruling elite.
China launches missiles into South China Sea in response to US provocations
By Ben McGrath, 29 August 2020
The ultimate responsibility for the dangerous escalation of tensions rests with Washington, which is continuing to try to provoke China.
The Kill Chain: A new era of world war
By Shuvu Batta, 29 August 2020
The Kill Chain exposes US imperialism’s advanced war preparations against China, with Silicon Valley playing a critical role.
Top US official in Taiwan attends military commemoration
By Ben McGrath, 27 August 2020
The commemoration of Chinese Nationalist soldiers killed in 1958 last weekend signals closer military cooperation between Washington and Taipei directed at Beijing.
Pompeo in Middle East to cement Israel-Gulf alliance against Iran
By Jean Shaoul, 26 August 2020
Pompeo made it very clear who was the master in this relationship and that China’s increasing trade and investment ties with Israel were unacceptable.
US stages military buildup to enforce deal to steal Syria’s oil
By Bill Van Auken, 25 August 2020
The handing over of Syria’s oil fields for exploitation by a US company constitutes a war crime, and has escalated dangerous tensions between American and Russian military forces.
The Biden campaign and the attempt to “rescue” American hegemony
By Andre Damon, 22 August 2020
The factions of the state backing the Biden campaign have set out to “reclaim America’s place in the world” by “getting tough” with Russia and China.
Pro-imperialist coup topples Malian President Keïta
By Alex Lantier, 21 August 2020
The coup leaders exploited growing anger among workers and youth at Keïta, but then declared they would support France’s neo-colonial occupation of their country.
Germany’s Left Party hails the SPD’s chancellor candidate, pledges support for militarism and war
By Johannes Stern, 21 August 2020
The Left Party embraces Olaf Scholz not despite, but rather because of his reactionary policies.
Australian government prepares expanded emergency and military call-out laws
By Mike Head, 21 August 2020
The political establishment is exploiting the COVID-19 catastrophe—for which its own policies are directly responsible—to introduce police-state powers.
Responding to US provocations, Chinese officials appeal for “peaceful coexistence”
By Peter Symonds, 18 August 2020
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang warned that relations between the US and Beijing were facing “the gravest challenge since the establishment of diplomatic ties” in the 1970s.”
New Zealand Afghan inquiry declares SAS killings of civilians were “legal”
By John Braddock, 18 August 2020
The Labour government’s inquiry exonerated the SAS, claiming the civilian deaths were “justified,” and complied with international law.
Prominent lawyers and legal associations demand Assange’s freedom
By Oscar Grenfell, 17 August 2020
The 152 legal experts are unambiguous: the campaign against Assange has been based on gross violations of law and he must be immediately released from prison.
France holds joint military exercises with Greece, threatening Turkey
By Ulaş Ateşçi and Alex Lantier, 14 August 2020
Mounting tensions between NATO powers threaten to blow up the alliance as the pandemic intensifies pre-existing conflicts over oil and strategic advantage.
Report charges US-Saudi arms sale ignored civilian casualties
By Bill Van Auken, 13 August 2020
The report on the $8.1 billion arms deal came amid fresh reports from Yemen of atrocities caused by US-supplied Saudi warplanes and munitions.
Top US health official makes provocative trip to Taiwan
By Peter Symonds, 11 August 2020
With the visit by US Secretary of Health Alex Azar to Taiwan, the Trump administration is taking another step towards overturning the “One China” policy and breaking US diplomatic relations with China.
Philippines not to join wargames in the South China Sea
By Joseph Santolan, 11 August 2020
Duterte’s announcement that the Philippines will not participate in US naval exercises in the disputed waters comes amid a dramatic escalation of Washington’s preparations for war with China.
German government continues to boost military spending and cover for fascists
By Johannes Stern, 10 August 2020
The billion-euro armament projects are aimed at expanding Germany’s ability to make war, including the upgrading of the elite KSK force, which is riddled with fascists.
President Trump signs executive orders banning Chinese social media apps TikTok and WeChat
By Kevin Reed, 8 August 2020
On Thursday, the US president signed two executive orders that will ban the operation of TikTok and WeChat in the US unless they are acquired by US-based companies within 45 days.
US moves to delist Chinese companies from stock exchanges
By Nick Beams, 8 August 2020
The move has been couched in terms of protecting “investor safety,” but it is another component of the economic warfare being carried out by Washington.
Former Australian PM: Beware the Guns of August in Asia
By Peter Symonds, 8 August 2020
Kevin Rudd argues that the danger of war between the US and China is greater than at any time since the 1950s and warns the risk “will be especially high” in the lead-up to the US presidential election.
James P. Cannon on the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, “An unspeakable atrocity”
7 August 2020
The founder of American Trotskyism warned in August 1945 that the atomic bombs dropped on Japan placed before humanity the alternative of “socialism or annihilation.”
War crimes in Afghanistan covered up by UK Ministry of Defence
By Jean Shaoul, 6 August 2020
Documents, written by SAS officers and military personnel, provide evidence of war crimes.
75 years since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
By Bill Van Auken, 6 August 2020
The anniversary’s significance has never been greater. Behind the backs of the people of the United States and the world, US imperialism is steadily building up a massive nuclear arsenal and pursuing a doctrine of aggressive nuclear war.
US imposes new sanctions on China over alleged Uyghur abuses
By Peter Symonds, 5 August 2020
US propaganda now includes allegations of Uyghur “genocide,” based on sensational accounts of forced birth control and the sterilization of Uyghur women in Xinjiang province.
The US troop withdrawal and the return of German militarism
By Peter Schwarz, 4 August 2020
The American withdrawal plans serve the ruling class in Europe and Germany as an excuse to accelerate their own rearmament plans.
Japan raising tensions with Beijing in the East China Sea
By Ben McGrath, 31 July 2020
The US and Japan bear primary responsibility for upending the status quo in the East China Sea and fueling the dangerous stand-off over the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands.
Ten years since WikiLeaks published the Afghan war logs
By Oscar Grenfell, 31 July 2020
The documents provided the world’s population with an unprecedented insight into the first war crimes of the 21st century.
Australian government signs up to US offensive against China
By Mike Head, 30 July 2020
The joint AUSMIN statement by top Australian and US officials broadcast all the Trump administration’s incendiary and unproven allegations against China.
Australian SAS planted weapons on murdered civilians in Afghanistan
By Taylor Bennington, 30 July 2020
Several soldiers said that the framing of unarmed civilians as Taliban insurgents, with planted radios or weapons, “happened on numerous occasions.”
US Park Police chief defends unconstitutional June 1 assault on protesters outside the White House
By Jacob Crosse, 29 July 2020
Monahan denied that police used “excessive” force to clear out protesters from Lafayette Square despite testimony, video evidence and eyewitness accounts.
Egypt’s el-Sisi approves troop deployment to Libya against Turkish-backed forces
By Jean Shaoul, 28 July 2020
The eastern Mediterranean, including North Africa, has become the focus of ever widening conflicts, with all the imperialist and regional powers pursuing their own rapacious demands for control over the region’s wealth and resources.
Germany’s “voluntary military service”: Government recruits for army deployments at home and abroad
By Johannes Stern, 28 July 2020
The programme has two key goals: a major deployment of the army domestically, and the recruitment of new soldiers for external wars.
Mounting US pressure on Europe to line up against China
By Peter Symonds, 27 July 2020
Pompeo condemned those that “simply don’t have the ability, the courage to stand with us.”
Stop Trump’s coup d’état! Mobilize the working class against authoritarianism and dictatorship!
By Statement of the Socialist Equality Party, 27 July 2020
The Trump administration’s deployment of paramilitary forces throughout the United States is a major escalation of the attempt to organize a coup d’état in advance of the November presidential elections.
What is BORTAC and why is it patrolling the streets of Portland?
By Genevieve Leigh, 27 July 2020
The special paramilitary arm of Customs and Border Protection has been deployed to intimidate and terrorize young people and workers amid the greatest health, economic and political crisis in modern American history.
US demands even greater support from Australia in confrontation with China
By Mike Head, 25 July 2020
Despite the intensifying COVID-19 danger in the US, Australia’s foreign and defence ministers will personally attend the annual AUSMIN talks in Washington next week.
Greek, Turkish warships nearly clash in Aegean over Mediterranean gas fields
By Alex Lantier, 24 July 2020
Conflicts unleashed by decades of imperialist war in the Middle East and the Mediterranean are now threatening to blow up the NATO alliance.
German defence minister propagates rearmament, militarism and war
By Johannes Stern, 23 July 2020
With the revival of German militarism, the militaristic traditions that are historically linked above all to the Soldateska of the Kaiserreich (Imperial Empire) and the Wehrmacht (armed forces of Nazi Germany) are inevitably returning.
US orders closure of China’s Houston consulate, raising the danger of war
By Mike Head, 23 July 2020
The White House, facing a massive domestic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, is seeking to divert internal tensions outward.
US indicts Chinese nationals on trumped-up hacking charges
By Jacob Crosse, 22 July 2020
Li Xiaoyu and Dong Jiazhi are accused by the US government of hacking private computer networks with assistance from the Chinese government in order to steal intellectual property, including COVID-19 research.
Trump’s plan to send paramilitary police throughout the US: The ruling class prepares for civil war
By Patrick Martin, 22 July 2020
The Trump administration’s plans to deploy federal paramilitary forces in major American cities is a sharp escalation of the assault on democratic rights and the establishment of police state forms of rule.
Unsubmissive France leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon calls for massive French military build-up
By Will Morrow, 18 July 2020
Mélenchon’s criticism of the Macron administration is from the right: that it is not sufficiently aggressive in its pursuit of French imperialist interests.
Facing mounting crisis, US lashes out against China
By Peter Symonds, 17 July 2020
Confronted with an economic and social crisis at home and his own worsening election prospects, Trump is aggressively confronting China across a whole range of potentially explosive issues.
Canada refuses to repatriate illegally jailed citizens accused of ISIS ties
By Laurent Lafrance, 16 July 2020
Trudeau’s politically motivated refusal to repatriate children and others illegally detained in Kurdish military prisons in Syria is an attack on the citizenship rights of all Canadians.
US secretary of state denounces China over South China Sea
By Peter Symonds, 15 July 2020
The Trump administration formally adopts the 2016 Hague ruling against Chinese claims in the sensitive, strategic waters, as it ramps up US naval provocations there.
Erdoğan’s conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque and the danger of war
By Ulaş Ateşci and Alex Lantier, 15 July 2020
The stoking of religious and national tensions by major governments accelerates the drive to war across the Mediterranean and the Middle East.
Yemen fragmenting under pressure of war, collapsing economy and COVID-19
By Jean Shaoul, 15 July 2020
The Saudis’ 257,000 aerial strikes and the United Arab Emirates’ naval blockade have caused the deaths of at least 230,000 civilians, both directly and indirectly.
Washington renews covert campaign to destroy Iran’s nuclear infrastructure
By Jean Shaoul, 14 July 2020
The US is exerting maximum pressure on Iran, to cripple its economy and intimidate and starve its people, in the hope of effecting regime change.
Special Forces commander admits Australian troops committed war crimes in Afghanistan
By Jason Quill, 13 July 2020
The systematic killings and other abuses are the inevitable product of the colonial-style invasions and occupations mounted by the US and its allies.
New Zealand boosts preparations to join US war against China
By Tom Peters, 11 July 2020
The Labour Party-led government is spending billions on new naval vessels and armoured vehicles, while praising the Australian military build-up against China.
French-backed security forces in the Sahel guilty of mass extrajudicial executions
By Will Morrow, 10 July 2020
The report exposes the Franco-German-led war as a neo-colonial intervention to subjugate the resource-rich and geo-strategically critical region and its population.
Bombing of Turkey’s Watiya base escalates Franco-Italian proxy war in Libya
By Alex Lantier, 8 July 2020
The decade-long civil war between rival imperialist-backed warlords triggered by the 2011 NATO war in Libya is spiraling out of control.
India takes economic reprisals against China as border frictions continue
By Deepal Jayasekera and Keith Jones, 8 July 2020
Although several rounds of talks have been held, both New Delhi and Beijing continue to maintain an enhanced military presence along their disputed border.
US war drive against China accelerates
By Peter Symonds, 8 July 2020
Confronting crisis at home, with growing opposition among workers to the reckless back-to-work drive, Trump is seeking to divert these immense social tensions outward at an external enemy.
Two US aircraft carriers in war games in South China Sea
By Peter Symonds, 6 July 2020
The “high-end” exercises sought to test US naval capabilities in a conflict with China involving both offensive operations using war planes and the defence of the ships from any counter-attack.
Spain participated in failed 2019 US coup in Venezuela
By Alejandro López, 4 July 2020
New information emerging about the coup exposes Spain’s ruling “left populist” party, Podemos, as a tool of imperialism’s bloody foreign policy in Latin America.
German defence minister plans more effective organization of army’s far-right elite force
By Peter Schwarz, 4 July 2020
After new details came to light about the far-right terrorist networks inside the Special Forces Command, the German defence minister announced the restructuring of the army’s 1,600-strong elite unit.
Australian government seeks to place country on war footing
By Mike Head, 4 July 2020
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has identified the Indo-Pacific as the likely arena for another world war, directed against China.
Germany’s motto for the EU Council presidency: For militarism and war
By Johannes Stern, 4 July 2020
The German government’s motto for the EU Council presidency is “Gemeinsam. Europa wieder stark machen” (“Together. Making Europe strong again”)—Berlin’s counterpart to Trump’s “Make America Great Again.”
Why Canada’s media is fawning over the war criminal John Bolton
By Roger Jordan, 4 July 2020
Canada’s ruling elite wants a more stable and strategic-minded partner in the White House, who can more effectively employ intrigue, intimidation and war in pursuing their common imperialist agenda.
The Assange precedent in action
Australian journalist threatened with prosecution for exposing war crimes in Afghanistan
By Oscar Grenfell, 3 July 2020
Like Assange, Australian Broadcasting Corporation journalist Dan Oakes faces prosecution for publishing evidence of war crimes in Afghanistan.
Australian government unveils military boost aimed against China
By Mike Head, 1 July 2020
Over the next decade, $575 billion will be spent on the armed forces, including an expanded $270 billion military hardware buildup, featuring “long-range strike capabilities.”
Merkel, Macron promote EU militarism amid growing conflicts with Washington
By Johannes Stern and Alex Lantier, 30 June 2020
The leaders of Germany and France called for stepped-up military spending and austerity to ensure Europe’s ability to wage war independently from Washington.
India’s opposition parties back Modi’s bellicose stand in border conflict with China
By Wasantha Rupasinghe, 30 June 2020
The Congress Party and Stalinist CPI and CPM have extolled the military for “defending” India’s borders and pledged their support for the BJP government in confronting Beijing.
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