Their drive to be able to target the workers states of China and Korea--and ultimately Russia and Washing-ton's imperialist competitors--with a nuclear first-strike capability is an extension of their policies at home. The U.S. rulers know they must confront working people who are resisting and who will ultimately fight for power as the ravages of the world capitalist economic crisis and the brutalities of the old social order take an increasing toll, both in other countries and in the United States. To salvage their crisis-ridden system, open up a new era of capitalist expansion, and maintain their dominance as the world's only "hyperpower," the U.S. ruling class must ultimately take on and defeat the potentially most powerful working class in the world right at home.

In October, then-defense secretary William Cohen gave a speech that got right to the point. According to the American Forces Press Service, "Cohen said that when he first proposed formation of a 'commander-in-chief for homeland defense' the idea was controversial. 'Immediately there were questions being raised as to whether or not this would intrude upon the constitutional prohibitions of getting our military involved in domestic affairs,' he said." The reported added, "Cohen said the United States must deal with the question now. 'I believe that we, as a democratic society, have yet to come to grips with the tension that exists between our constitutional protection of the right to privacy with the demand that we made on the need to protect us."

The Clinton administration did set up the North American command and appointed a commander-in-chief of homeland defense who has the resources of all branches of the military. It also set up the post of "counterintelligence czar" later filled by a Bush appointee.

In Cuba and the Coming American Revolution, Jack Barnes explains that the czar wil "draw together Washington's 'anti-terrorist' operations from Iran, Korea, and Cuba, to the new immigrant living down the block. It will draw together the U.S. rulers' 'war on drugs' from the new U.S. military bases in Columbia and Ecuador to working-class neighborhoods and factory locker rooms across North America. It will centralize the U.S. governments informers, wiretapping, snail-mail and e-mail snooping, and other secret police operations against both 'enemies' abroad and the labor movement and social protest organizations at home."

Barnes adds that the U.S. rulers "know they will face more and bigger battles as international capitalist competition drives them to slash wages, extend the workday, intensify speedup, cut social security protections, and crush the unions. And they are preparing to defend their class interests."

Our job is to prepare as well to strengthen working-class unity across borders and to build a movement that can place in power a workers and farmers government that will once and for all take power out of the hands of the warmaking capitalist ruling class.
 
 
Related article:
U.S. rulers press ahead with missile shield system  
 
 
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