Carter's threat

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Cont'd from page 1 Bani-Sadr nor Khomeini have been prepared to flout the millions on the streets by simply enforcing the release of Carter's beleagured gang of CIA spies and cypher-clerks. • This is why, so far, none of Carter's diplomatic or economic measures have had any eftect on the crisis.

Meanwhile the obvious strength of the anti-imperialist movement is a vital reason why Carter's fellow imperialist leaders are so terrified that the US may resort to military means -a naval blockade, mining Iranian ports or other, more desperate steps-in a bid to secure the hostages' release.

Effectively deserted 'by his allies, under pressure from warmongering reactionaries at home and without any real hope of inflicting a military defeat on Fran without risking a wholesale anti-imperialist eruption throughout the oil-rich Middle East, Carter has only one real ray of hope left as the days tick by towards his "deadline"

Slacken grip

If the anti-communist hangmen of Iraq's Ba'athist regime were to carry out their threatened military attack on Iran, perhaps Khomeini and BaniSadr would slacken their grip on the hostages while they turned to repel the Iraqis.

On the other hand Carter must also fear that sooner than climb down under such conditions the Iranian leaders might simply brand the Iraqi action an American plot and give the order for the execution of the hostages.

Whatever the outcome of the present confrontation, the imperialist leaders will not rest content until they reestablish firm control of the vital oil supplies in the Gulf-and this brings the lingering threat of imperialist war, which must be opposed by the workers movement.

Proletariat

At the same time the interests of the working masses and oppressed nationalities within Iran itself cannot be secured without the development of a proletarian leadership that can mobilise the mass Khomeini action needed to topple the Islamic regime and institute a workers and peasants government in Iran.

Iranian students in Britain have launched a campaign to defend the life of Dr Hussein Bor, an active fighter for national rights in Iranian Baluchestan.

Bor, a victim of SAVAK persecution under the Shah, is in hospital in Tehran after an attempt on his life, most likely by agents of Khomeini's new successor to the SAVAKSAVAMA.

We join the Iranian students in condemning this attack and in opposition to the numerous repressive measures of the Khomeini regime.

KURDISH STUDENTS AGAINST THE DEPORTATION OF KURDISH STUDENTS FROM, IRAQ Assemble 1 p.m. 19 April Embankment March to picket of Embassy terrified of mobilising their rank and file, hold out the hope that there is a way forward through the participation of the workers parties in government.

No political prediction is more certain than that Socialist participation in the new government will produce no benefit for the working class.

Fearful

This is why, fearful as they are of losing support to the CP "opposition" , the Socialistsprobably sooner rather than later-will pull out.

For a brief interlude, then, Italy has a government. But as one leak is plugged, another has developed-Belgium.

The acute difficulties of the Belgian bourgeoisie take the form of growing contlict between the French-speaking (Walloon) and Dutch-speaking (Flemish) communities.

Underlying this communal conflict also lies the failure of capitalism to meet the needs of the masses, coupled with the efforts of rival sections of the capitalist class, with enthusiastic participation on the part of the petty bourgeoisie, to spread the illusory notion that communal "autonomy" will resolve some of the masses' problems.

When the conflict threatened two years ago to tear the country apart, a "saviour" was called into the PremiershipWilfred Martens.

Martens, like Cossiga in Italy, was the only "acceptable" Premier in a political crisis because he was a political unknown without support in the leading (Christian DemoWell over 100 members, observers and fraternal delegates attended the three-day Fourth Annual Conference of the

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Five main policy documents were adopted offering general guidelines of WSL orientation in the building of a Trotskyist party in Britain, an analysis of the background to the imperialist Cold. War offensive, an assessment of the latest changes and development in the crisis of the world Trotskyist movement, an assessment of the development of the WSL's political work amongst women and a perspective for assisting in the building of the Socialist Youth League. Dear friends, I have a list of boycotts and sanctions for your consideration... er, friends and allies, er Brief summaries of these documents appear in this issue of Socialist Press: extended extracts will appear in the next Stalinist bureaucracy unleashing includes a brief examination of or mobilising the revolutionary the political and economic crisis potential of the working class dogging the Stalinists of East either in the deformed and Europe, Cuba, SE Asia and degenerated workers' states or China, and points to the necesin the countries in the orbit of sity of defending the nationalimperialism. Cold War or no ised property relations in these Cold War, the Stalinist bureau- states while fighting for the crats recognise as surely as the political • overthrow of the imperialists that the most bureaucracies. dangerous enemy of their para- Extracts from this document sitic power and privilege remains will appear in next week's The Workers Socialist League's international document Behind Carter's Cold War Offensive, adopted on April. 6 looks at the events preceding the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and points out the .. steadily weakening position of both imperialism and Stalinism in the face of rising anti-imperjalist and anti-capitalist struggles.

The document looks at the background to the launching by Nixon and Kissinger of the tactic of "detente" in 1973 and examines the reasons why this renewed attempt by the imperialists to act jointly with the Stalinists in containing the struggles of the working class on a world scale failed to prevent major defeats for imperialism in Vietnam, Ethiopia, Angola, Portugal, Iran and Locating Carter's postAfghanistan policy switch in this context, the document probes the acute problems and contradictions faced by the US imperialists in adopting their renewed aggressive stance towards anti-imperialist struggles under a guise of an anti-Soviet war drive.

But it stresses that:

"There must be no illusions that under pressure of defeats, imperialism on a national or international scale will simply give up the ghost, or peacefully and gradually disappear from the scene. Any scenario which depicts a dwindling imperialism finally handing over power to the working class is a deadly, reformist illusion refuted by Marxism and refuted by the whole historical experience of the working rlass"

It goes on to compare and contrast the 1980 Cold War to the classic Cold War period of the late 1940s and early 50spointing in particular to the relative weakening of US imperialism not only in military and economic terms in relation to the USSR, but also in terms of its competitors in W. Europe and Japan-many of whom have developed their own extensive trading links with the Stalinist bureaucracies, and cannot be simply press ganged into concerted action with the US Differences Differences were raised in the conference on the document's assessment of the motives behind the Kremlin leaders' decision to invade Afghanistan, on its insistence that this move was in essence NEXT WEEK ITS THE AFGHANISTAN NPPRECIATICN DINNER Oliphant@ 1980 The Washington Star defensive, and on the conclusion that there is therefore no possibility of Soviet military moves towards Iran.

A number of members argued for the WSL to adopt a position of calling for the withdrawal of the Russian invasion force, linked to demands for the mobilisation of the Afghan workers and poor peasants to repel imperialist-backed attacks. These positions were heavily defeated by the conference.

But there was no disagreement on the document's declaration that:

"What we must and Workers Socialist League on April 4-6. few weeks.

exclude is the prospect of the the working class"

In this light the document Socialist Press.

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