This is an archive of the former website of the Maoist Internationalist Movement, which was run by the now defunct Maoist Internationalist Party - Amerika. The MIM now consists of many independent cells, many of which have their own indendendent organs both online and off. MIM(Prisons) serves these documents as a service to and reference for the anti-imperialist movement worldwide.
Maoist Internationalist Movement

This is an archive of the former website of the Maoist Internationalist Movement, which was run by the now defunct Maoist Internationalist Party - Amerika. The MIM now consists of many independent cells, many of which have their own indendendent organs both online and off. MIM(Prisons) serves these documents as a service to and reference for the anti-imperialist movement worldwide.

Kanadians show good sense:

52% oppose Afghan occupation

52% of Kanadians now oppose the imperialist occupation of Afghanistan as of a July poll.(1) 37 Klanadians have died in fighting there since 2002 and Kanada has 2500 troops there.(2) In response to Kanadian public opinion, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said at the UN in September that all countries should step up their efforts in Afghanistan and not back out.

One of the three major Kanadian bourgeois parties called the New Democratic Party has said in clear language that it does not want Kanada to be used to allow the united $tates to run invasions around the world while Kanada and similar countries do the essential security work. In other words, Afghanistan looks different when the United $tates pulls its troops out there, lets other countries do the fighting and then moves onto Iraq.

It is tempting to say that Kanadians are just more enlightened than Amerikans, but the polls were not always opposed to the Afghan mission. September 2006 was the first time that public opinion was more against the war than for according to the Toronto Star. The Toronto Star reported 49% against with 38% for.(3) It's not that there was a sudden labor struggle in Kanada which changed the political climate. Kanada received some serious advice from the battlefield instead.

People in Kanada have figured out that Osama Bin Laden did not wait around for the invasion after 9/11. It just took them four years to figure it out.

As MIM has pointed out, people should have realized quickly that Osama Bin Laden was not going to suddenly materialize in public with a "shoot me" sign on his back. The people for the war in Afghanistan could have been ridiculed, but the war received curious support from sexual Liberals in the imperialist countries who stirred up hatred for cultural reasons.

Another trick the imperialists have used is the "aid convoy" routine. At the beginning of the war in 2001, support in England suddenly dropped. It fell 17 percentage points among wimmin in a few days to go to 51% support among wimmin when the imperialists started emphasizing that they would drop aid packages to Afghanistan while simultaneously bombing people to their deaths.(4)

In 2002, Amerikkkans gave 73% poll support to wars on countries including Afghanistan where the war was already underway. Amerikkkans indicated support for attacking Somalia, the Philippines, Iraq and Afghanistan-- explicitly regardless of what the governments said there.(5) That's one reason that MIM does not easily talk about the Philippines and atrocities there without context. Bush already linked 9/11 even to the Philippines. Amerikkkans have already expressed support for attacking the Philippines; even though, a sober assessment would be that so-called "Islamic terrorism" is not centered much in the Philippines.

Today, almost a quarter of Amerikkkans have the impression that the united $tates does not still occupy Afghanistan according to a poll. Nonetheless, 56% support the war there as of August 2006,(6) as opposed to a majority who oppose the Iraq War, as MIM pointed out, because it's too expensive, not from any internationalism. The difference between public support for war on Afghanistan and Iran on the one hand and Iraq on the other tells us the nature of U.$. support for wars. In both Iran and Afghanistan what is happening is that feminist opposition weakened. Likewise, there is no notion of cost of the war, especially since the main events for Iran have not happened yet. It looks like there is already two-thirds and growing support for an attack on Iran. To counter what the imperialists have done to pick off sub-groups of the population, we need to talk about real internationalist feminism and stout anti-war politics. Anti-Amerikkkanism on aid questions and opposition to sexually liberal warriors is key at this time on the question of Afghanistan.

One of the reasons we need a professional vanguard party is to know professionally what the imperialists are doing to rally support for their wars. Opposing imperialism is not something that is necessarily best done by the seat of the pants with the same tactics in all contexts.

Notes:
1. "Canadians Question Afghan role after deaths," USA Today 10Sept2006, http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-09-10-canada-afghanistan_x.htm ;
A third poll shows that the question is still 50-50 in Kanada with 51% for the war. When a question is very close as in 50-50, it is normal for polls to have some difference, with some seeing a majority one way and others another way. It does not necessarily mean ineptitude by pollsters or that polls are total junk. http://www.anticorruption.ca/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=4006&sid=79493d9cef2285feabf6dec83f2641a0
2. BRIAN LAGHI, Globe and Mail, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060922.wxharper22/BNStory/National/home 22Sept06
3. http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1158790225754
4. Guardian 31Oct2001, http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/against/archives/2001/10/31/109467
5. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/01/25/opinion/main325710.shtml
6. "Deadly Afghan war fades in U.S. minds: Troops are frustrated Americans have turned interest away from 'last year's war,'" By Matthew D. LaPlante, The Salt Lake Tribune, 14Sept2006, http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4334758