As the Militant has repeatedly explained, the "aggressive inspections" have nothing to do with searching for chemical and biological weapons. This is blatant hypocrisy coming from Washington - the only power in the world to ever have used nuclear weapons and the one that holds, and has used, weapons of mass destruction around the world.
The U.S. government is trying to use this kind of propaganda to justify its attempts for asserting Washington's hegemony not only in the Middle East but in other parts of the world. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright used this line in arguing the White House case for expanding NATO's mandate to intervene beyond the borders of its member states at the December 8 NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels. NATO must be able to prevent "a ballistic missile attack using a weapon of mass destruction from a rogue state," Albright exclaimed.
The U.S. government is seeking to maintain its hegemony as the number one military and economic power in Europe, for which the use of the U.S.-run NATO is a cornerstone. This superiority is now threatened by a British-French government deal to give military powers to the European Union and by intensified interimperialist competition over trade and markets. It appears that U.S. economic superiority in Europe has probably peaked.
This competition with its imperialist allies is also a driving force for the U.S. rulers' policy on Iraq. Since the 1990-91 U.S.-led war against the Iraqi people, the U.S. capitalist class has made no progress toward its goal of establishing a protectorate in Iraq. The U.S. rulers aim to use their military might to secure greater control over oil reserves in the region and deal economic blows to their rivals - especially the propertied classes in Europe and Japan. The buildup in the Arab-Persian Gulf is also part of tightening Washington's military ring on the southern flank of the Russian workers state, in preparation for attempting to reestablish the dominance of capitalism in the former Soviet Union. Washington's actions, cooked up by provocations of its UN snoops, are a sign of weakness, not strength.
As the lead article in New International no. 7 explains, the Gulf War "sounded the opening guns of sharpening conflicts and class battles that will decide whether the horrors of World War III are inflicted on humanity... or a road is opened by working people to a socialist future of international human solidarity."
Class-conscious workers should take the opportunity to take political weapons such as these to fighting workers, farmers, and young people who are drawing their own conclusions about the dead-end that capitalism offers humanity today.
Many of these fighters can also be convinced to join actions demanding: `Inspectors' out of Iraq now! Imperialist troops out of the Middle East! U.S. hands off Iraq!