A-Infos (en) UK, ACG, Stormy-Petrel #7 - Editorial (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

As we go to press, we have seen a wave of unrest all around the world, 
from France, Italy, and Serbia, to Morocco, Nepal, Madagascar, 
Indonesia, Ecuador, Peru, the Philippines and elsewhere. These protests 
often have the same characteristics- they are organised via social 
media, and they involve large numbers of young people. They are fuelled 
by disgust at governmental corruption, austerity measures, and by 
revulsion at the moves towards militarisation. They are enthusing 
because we can see a growing global resistance to the plans of the boss 
class.

Global military spending has doubled in the last two decades. Even 
before the Ukraine-Russia conflict increased in intensity, it was $2,113 
billion in 2021. The United States is responsible for 38% of this, and 
China for 14%.

The world is rapidly changing as regards political and military 
alliances, as a result of economic competition between the various power 
blocs. This can be seen with the wars in the Middle East: the genocide 
in Gaza, the attacks by both Israel and Saudi Arabia on Yemen, the raid 
by Israel on Qatar, and in the war in Ukraine.

Globalisation has enforced years of privatisation, and austerity 
measures growing gaps between the rich and poor, from the Americas, to 
Africa and Asia and Europe.

Israel uses Israel as its forward post in the Middle East. The USA and 
Britain provide Israel with arms and support it politically. However, 
Israel has itself become a regional imperialist power, in opposition to 
Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and of course Iran. It 
seeks to attack its rivals, as with Iran, militarily and economically. 
It has phenomenally developed its military technology and its arms 
industries.

Whilst still nominally at the beck and call of the USA, the Trump regime 
has allowed it to operate more independently, as with its attacks on 
Yemen and Qatar and its assault on the Gaza aid flotilla. However, these 
Arab states are themselves very much part of the US zone of influence in 
the Middle East. Whilst they pay lip service to the plight of the 
Palestinians, they profit from trade and arms deals with the USA. Their 
calls of solidarity with Palestine are occasioned by fear of their own 
popular masses. They are afraid popular sympathy for Palestine will 
combine with widespread discontent with their own repression and 
neoliberalism, and will lead to an explosion of revolt. They know that 
the region has been a powder keg for a long time. In fact, it is only 
through a mass movement throughout the region, opposed to all the 
repressive regimes, Israel and the USA, that any real chance for the 
Palestinian masses can come about. An important article about class 
structure in Palestine in this issue of Stormy Petrel examines the 
situation there.

In Britain, whilst nominally recognising Palestine, the Starmer 
government continues mass arrests of those supporting Palestine Action 
and its direct action against arms factories and installations 
supporting Israel. This has caused a crisis within Labour, one not 
likely to go away soon, with the new Home Secretary continuing the 
policies of her predecessor Yvette Cooper.

This, and the quickening pace of the nuclear arms race, and the rising 
din of the war drums, shows the need for the development of an 
antimilitarist movement. More and more weapons, ships and fighter jets 
are being produced. The war in Ukraine has been highly lucrative for the 
capitalists, with arms supplies, and the prospect of lucrative deals on 
post-war reconstruction, to speculation on energy sources there.

But Ukraine and the Middle East are not the only war zones. Throughout 
Africa, from South Sudan to Eritrea and Ethiopia and the Congo many 
horrific conflicts are raging.

The search for energy sources is another motor for conflict, triggering 
wars. In addition, we have seen an expansion of the new technology 
linked to military concerns, as with both cyber warfare and space 
warfare. Ten per cent of the satellites circling our planet are military 
satellites. Half of these are owned by the USA, and Elon Musk owns a 
third of the total. As well as this, digital warfare is on the increase, 
where social media peddle false news and disinformation. This is 
facilitated by the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the 
need to control each state's populations.

That is why antimilitarism linked to class struggle is vitally 
important, and needs to be developed (see the antimilitarist statement 
supported by the ACG and other groups and organisations on an 
international level). This connection between social and economic 
struggle and antimilitarism is already developing to a great extent in 
Italy, and to a lesser extent in France, whilst in the UK we have the 
movement of solidarity with Palestine. The movement against war has to 
be drastically developed here, and it must reject any collaboration with 
any states and nationalism, promoting the ideas of international 
solidarity. This is imperative in Britain, where there is a street 
movement, fuelled by manipulation of social media, and bankrolled by 
Musk and by US tech billionaire Robert Shillman (who also funded the 
late unlamented Charlie Kirk). This is alongside the growth of Reform 
UK, which is pursuing an increasingly strident racist agenda, aided by 
much publicity from the mainstream media.

Within this scenario, it appears that a section of the ruling class 
would like to dispose of the present Starmer Labour government, which 
despite its neoliberal agenda and pursuit of austerity measures and 
repression of the Palestine solidarity movement, is not seen as tough 
enough as the vision of a Farage government, with deregularisation, 
privatisation and yet more repression, coupled with chauvinist and 
nationalist rhetoric aimed at dividing the working class, is seen as a 
more tempting option by some.

In this issue, we also look at the development of organisation in the 
workplace, at problems of the environment, and at negative influences 
within the anarchist movement, as well as the assault on the NHS.

We finish by stating, that whilst the situation both here and throughout 
the world is desperate, the signs of increasing opposition to the agenda 
of the ruling class, offer hope. Despite everything, the chances for the 
next development of humanity towards a higher stage, that of libertarian 
communism, a stateless egalitarian society based on freedom, still 
remain possible.

https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/stormy-petrel/
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