The major powers led by U.S. imperialism have imposed a situation
of no-war and no-peace in the Middle East. The U.S. imperialists
would really like to impose an imperialist peace which favors them
but success on this front has eluded them so far.
While imperialist peace is the aim, the contradictions in the
Middle East between the peoples of these countries and imperialism
and their puppets are so sharp that violence periodically breaks
out. There is now talk that Syria is testing Scud missiles and is
engaged in troop movements at this time. This is being presented as
a move towards war on the part of the Syrians.
The Israeli government, on its part, has also tested various
weapons, especially missiles, for the purpose of intercepting enemy
missiles. At the same time, the Israeli government arrogantly
declares that it will welcome discussions with Syria without
pre-conditions, which means that it will dictate to Syria the
conditions under which the talks will proceed.
Meanwhile the West Bank and Gaza remain blockaded threatening
the financial collapse of the Palestinian Authority. All these
developments are putting a strain on the no-war and no-peace policy
that the U.S. imperialists are pushing as a prelude to imposing an
imperialist peace on the region.
All the developments prove that there can be no lasting peace
in the region if the basic underlying causes for conflict are not
sorted out. This requires that the people of the region settle
their affairs amongst themselves without any foreign interference
on the basis of a just solution of the problems. As long as there
is the involvement of U.S. imperialism and other imperialists in
the affairs of the region there will not be a just solution of the
problems and there will be no genuine peace.
Shawgi Tell
University at Buffalo
Graduate School of Education
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
