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In relation to Gary's letter I just see that Indonesia has
pulled out its forces from East Timor. Clearly then this leaves a power vacuum
that can be filled with the pro-Indonesian militia since the Australia led UN
force has only recently deployed and needs time to pan out. It is questionable
whether the forces currently on hand will prove sufficient to establish control
over East Timor. The upshot may be a rather messy and ongoing affair --perhaps
even Canberra's Vietnam.
I omitted to suggest in the last posting in response to
Gary's observations that the adverse economic conditions impacting on Australia
due to the economic meltdown inflicting that part of the world is another
condition that has probably led the Australian bourgeoisie down the
interventionist path. Clearly racism will feature in this changed strategy.
Racism will be encouraged as a means to ideologically and politically underpin
this strategy. Initially as with Washington over Kosova and the Gulf this racism
will take the form of ethical foreign policy. Racism has been, in a sense
acquiring new and perhaps more virulent forms --a racism heaped under an
ethical foreign policy. Ethical foreign policy is the new form assumed by racism
--the form that most needs to be exposed and discredited. The traditional forms
of racism are easily identified and even undermined. It is the new forms that
need to be identified and combated. Imperialism, in many ways is a hydra headed
monster.
Under such circumstances domestic unrest may break out
--already the situation has led to protests within Australia that have not been,
I would say, witnessed there for some time. If body bags start coming home and
conscription is introduced domestic instability may increase. It must be
remembered that Indonesia controls West Timor and merely has to funnel a
continuous flow of its armed forces into East Timor in the guise of the militia
to upset and even destabilise Australia. At a time like this Howard
shooting his mouth off is "an own goal" achievement. The Indonesian army may not
have left East Timor at all --officially they have left all right. They have
merely, if anything, changed the form in which they are presenting themselves.
The Indonesian army is now continuing the struggle to control East Timor through
the form of the militia. Whether they choose to continue and even develop this
strategy is another matter. This entire Australian adventure may increasingly
overspill into West Timor. Indeed just a short while ago --perhaps on this list
or elsewhere-- I read a call by someone to the UN forces to intervene in West
Timor where the East Timorese, the commentator says, are imprisoned.
The destabilisation and the comprehensive discrediting of
Australia may be what is at stake. If this were to happen Japan and even China
might finding it very tempting to invade Australia under certain circumstances.
Australia, in many ways, is the Israel of the Far East (hope my geography is up
to scratch here). Washington cannot allow it to destabilise and discredited
since its foreign policy in the Far East has Australia centrally factored into
it. If Washington is forced to take a more overtly aggressive and oppressive
policies against the Far East the entire situation there and elsewhere could
lead to a massive anti-imperialist backlash.
Warm regards
George Pennefather Be free to check out our Communist Think-Tank web site
at
http://homepage.tinet.ie/~beprepared/ |