30-12-2023: The US military has announced “Operation Prosperity Guardian” allegedly to protect “freedom of navigation” through the Red Sea. Much like the US military’s “freedom of navigation” operations in the South China Sea, its claimed objectives are light years away from the reality. Yemen’s Supreme Political Council member Mohamed Ali al-Houthi stated that contrary to US government propaganda, the Ansar Allah forces (also known as the Houthis) have not blocked trade through the Red Sea. Rather, the Red Sea trade route is open to everyone except those ships heading to Israel.[1] Yemen’s Ansar Allah have boldly stepped up to the plate to take practical military action as a means of assisting the world-wide attempts to end the Zionist Israeli state’s war on Gaza following the Hamas led terror attacks of October 7. While millions have mobilised in demonstrations in solidarity with Palestine in subsequent months, the Ansar Allah forces are the first to offer military assistance.

Shaky coalition

On December 21, US Major General Pat Ryder claimed at a Pentagon news conference that 20 nations have joined Operation Prosperity Guardian, but he declined to name them as the nature of their participation was not yet determined.[2] Previously, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had named the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain as countries participating “to address security challenges in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden..”. Yet the Netherlands was committing two officers (!!), and Spain was yet to make a decision with regards to its participation.[3] The Australian government announced that it was sending six (!) ADF (Australian Defence Force) officers, but later claimed that it would “almost triple” this number to 16.[4] These almost comical contributions were soon followed by the announcement that Spain and Italy would be withdrawing from the US led Red Sea Operation, while France stated that it will only remain within the coalition if it did not have to follow US orders.[5] This coalition is falling apart before it has begun.

Make no mistake, this faltering operation is not about protecting trade routes for commercial shipping. Rather it is a desperate attempt to launch what was arguably the real reason for re-igniting the Israel/Palestine conflict – a regime change war on the Islamic Republic of Iran. This is one reason why US government propaganda constantly claims that the Houthis are “Iran backed” – and that therefore they have to “go to the source”. While it is the case that Iran does lend some support to Ansar Allah and other Shia resistance forces in Syria and Iraq – this is for the purpose of defending the Middle East from the ravages of US military forces, which still occupy parts of Syria and Iraq. While Iran also offers some backing for Hamas at times, it is by no means a consistent ally, being a Sunni extremist section of the Muslim Brotherhood. “Operation Prosperity Guardian”, therefore, is about war on Iran.

No to war at home and abroad

A Western led war on Iran is simply the latest frantic move towards World War III by the desperate imperialists of the NATO/G7 (US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan) bloc, in their confrontation with the rising non-imperialist BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) alliance. Underpinned by the gargantuan manufacturing power of the Chinese deformed workers’ state, the BRICS alliance is not politically anti-imperialist, but it does offer a vitally needed alternative to Western economic plunder, reactionary colour-revolutions and regime change wars. Covid repression, arming Nazis in Ukraine, arming separatists in Taiwan against China, a looming war on Iran – all of these are different fronts of the same war against the workers of the world. Another linked front is the war at home – a skyrocketing and unsustainable cost of living, where for many food, housing, fuel, health care, education and other essentials are close to unaffordable.

Unfortunately, the current pro-Palestine “anti-war” movement in the West is largely led by the same liberal opportunist forces which have been manipulated by imperialism since their epic capitulation in March 2020 under the rubric of “public health”. After then cheering on the losing Nazis fighting Russia in Ukraine, from October 7 they were given a new lease of life. However, in leading the “Stand with Palestine” movement, these faux left forces combine with a handful of reluctant Union bureaucrats to perform a quadruple betrayal. Firstly, they apologise for, or even justify, the blatant terrorism of the maniacal Islamist cutthroats of Hamas. This immediately divides the working class, preventing it from uniting in a genuine anti-war movement. They know full well that Hamas will never win Palestinian liberation, due to Hamas’ irrational goal of a Middle Eastern caliphate. They know that wanton terrorism is counter-productive, but throw their “Marxism” out of the window out of opportunism.

Secondly, they steer the “anti-war” movement towards the liberal parliamentary parties administering imperialism, e.g., the Labor Party in the UK, the Democrats in the US, the Labor Party and the Greens in Australia, and so on. This lobbying of politicians again divides working people. Thirdly, the liberal left treat Israel and Palestine as if it exists in a vacuum, with no relation to the Middle East or the global threat of war. They do not recognise, or choose to ignore, the fact that the largest supporters of Palestine in the region are the states of Syria and Iran, together with the Shia resistance movement Hezbollah in Lebanon. They are silent on the looming war on Iran, as most of them are in fact in favour of regime change there, and they do not call for the withdrawal of US troops from Syria or Iraq. And despite all of their pretensions to international revolution, they function as flag-waving Palestinian ultra-nationalists, which locks the entire movement into a permanent state of fruitless conflict.

Fourthly, the liberal left parties refuse to link these devastating wars abroad to the war against workers and the oppressed at home. The cost of living is the most expensive it has ever been, people are living in tents in public parks, and some are paying rent instead of buying food. This must end. What is required is a genuine anti-war movement, which links the imperialist wars abroad to the harsh living conditions for workers at home, as capitalism inflicts ever more hardships. All forces in combat with imperialism must be given military support, from the Houthis to Iran to Syria. However, there remains a political need for authentic Leninist parties. HANDS OFF THE RED SEA!  NO WAR ON IRAN!

WORKERS  LEAGUE

www.redfireonline.com

E: workersleague@protonmail.com

---

[1] peoplesdispatch.org/2023/12/22/us-led-maritime-force-will-not-stop-yemens-houthis-from-enforcing-blockade-against-israel/ (26-12-2023)

[2] www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3624836/ryder-gives-more-detail-on-how-operation-prosperity-guardian-will-work/ (26-12-2023)

[3] www.defensenews.com/naval/2023/12/19/us-unveils-international-force-to-defend-red-sea-heres-what-we-know/ (26-12-2023)

[4] thewest.com.au/politics/federal-politics/australia-will-send-extra-sailors-to-red-sea-to-help-international-efforts-to-keep-shipping-lanes-open-c-12976043 (26-12-2023)

[5] www.countylocalnews.com/2023/12/22/us-red-sea-operation-faces-challenges-as-spain-italy-withdraw-and-france-seeks-independence/ (26-12-2023)

Image: Yemeni vessels on patrol in the Red Sea. http://www.shipsandports.com.ng