Fikret Soydan
September 2024 – Kaldıraç Issue 278
As we know, the US hegemony is unraveling. Today, this is recognized. At least widely. And it is not new. As early as the 1970s, Sweezy and Baran wrote that economically the end of US hegemony was in sight. The US had financed the Vietnam war by printing unrequited money. But there is more: it survived the crisis of 1971 by means of consolidating the dominance of the dollar, through the so-called petro-dollar system. The fact that all Middle Eastern oil was sold in dollars and that the sales money was kept in US banks in dollars not only allowed the bank capital to grow out of the crisis, but also further reinforced the dollar as the currency of the world economy.
And of course this was ensured through NATO, which was the expression of the military power and control of the USA.
While US hegemony was initially based more on economic superiority, etc., its maintenance, after the 1950s, especially after the 1970s, was based more on military superiority and political hegemony in the Western imperialist organization.
This particular process, this hegemony, is unraveling. And more and more, the United States is resorting to military force to stop this unraveling. It has a clear military superiority over its rivals on the Western front, Germany, Japan, Britain and France. And military superiority over Germany and Japan does not require a great deal of scrutiny because of the limitations on the military industry and army of these two countries after World War II. So it is obvious. There is no need to talk about it. The constitution of these two countries was written by the United States, more specifically by the Pentagon. Therefore, there is no need for discussion. Its military superiority over France and Britain is also clear.
The US, through many maneuvers, acted to maintain and strengthen its position vis-à-vis these other imperialist rivals. The USSR did not exist, China was not on the world market with its own products and brands as it is today. China was more likely to play the role of the world’s factory. And after the dissolution of the USSR, the US had put in place every means of humiliating Russia. So, it seemed to have a clear path in this regard, and that’s how they assessed it and decided that “the US doesn’t need foreign policy”. Of course, this was the way to declare that the whole world is ours.
Servants of capital in the guise of the left, such as Negri, proclaimed the US world empire as the way to establish peace in the world.
On the basis of this (the thesis that we don’t need foreign policy, the world is ours), the US directly launched its occupation policies. The invasion of Afghanistan was followed by the invasion of Iraq. But these two invasions, far from ensuring US world domination in the 1990s, accelerated the disintegration of its hegemony. Or rather, they failed to stop this unraveling. Because the objection to hegemony and the consequent demand for the redivision of the world actually came from the other four imperialist Western powers. Russia and China, unfortunately, were busy at that time, asking to be included in the G7, asking and hoping for a place at the table of their imperialist masters. Therefore, the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq were actually supposed to serve as a way of saying “I am the emperor and the sole center” to the whole world through the Western front.
It didn’t. Despite military victories, the unraveling did not stop and the US was forced to close its military bases both in Japan and in Europe. The war in Libya was an attempt to take some Western countries back to its side by offering them a piece of cake. At the time, the US and Europe were both busy developing practices for the benefit of their monopolies.
Having taken the Libyan “bait”, the West relaxed a bit and the US instantly launched an operation against Syria. But this operation led to Russia’s entry into the field. So for Russia, the impossibility of taking a seat at the table of the masters had become clear. China in the meantime had already entered the market with its own brands. And it became clear that Russia and China had another plan, and that the US was not the only one making plans.
Unlike in Afghanistan and Iraq, the US suffered a military defeat in the Syrian war. Despite its military victory in Afghanistan and Iraq, the US continued to lose ground. But in the Syrian field, a military defeat has emerged. And of course it has also not accepted this military defeat. Immediately after this situation emerged in the Syrian war, it established a neo-Nazi government in Ukraine through a coup d’état. The Neo-Nazi government in Ukraine was established in 2014. And all kinds of massacre policies were put into practice. Through Ukraine, with the puppet regime created, it developed a war of attrition against Russia. And when Russia openly stepped in to stop this war, it recognized Donetsk and Luhansk, which declared their independence. This situation evolved into the Western imperialist powers siding with the US, surrendering their will to the US. The US won its first victory with regard to Ukraine not in the Ukrainian arena, but in the European arena. The will of Germany and France was broken. Britain has pushed back the discussions on “the great reset” that it had started. The great reset meant the dismantling and reorganization of the old world order, which was the expression of US hegemony, the expression of Western domination. This meant the end of US hegemony as expressed in organizations such as the IMF, the World Bank, the Bretton Woods agreement, which meant the dominance of the US dollar, and NATO. That was the demand. And this demand of Britain is no longer voiced. Of course, the contradictions between the US and the other four imperialist powers have not disappeared. They still exist, but the US has managed to keep all these powers under its control. This is of course a conflictual alliance. But like wolves, imperialist powers always form conflictual alliances.
To achieve this, the US put the threat of China and Russia on the table. China was declared an economic threat to all Western imperialists. The new Chancellor of Germany has made this clear: We in Europe must stand against Russia so that the US can defeat China. The “unification” of the EU and the entire Western front against Russia is in fact part of the war against China. It is inconceivable to think that Russia and China cannot recognize this.
The plan to end the hegemony of the US dollar, which was openly announced by Russia in 2008, has evolved into other organizations. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS are clear expressions of this, and the Western front has suffered enormous wounds in this regard. Of course, these are not military organizations. But they are evidence of a clear and comprehensive resistance to the colonization and partition of Russia and China, and it shows that this is a comprehensive counter-attack.
This implies that the US will further develop its war policies, which it already knows very well, and dominate them.
Today, the US has also suffered a military defeat in Ukraine. The consequences of this defeat on top of the Syrian defeat will be experienced. But this is not accepted either. Instead of accepting defeat, it seems that they have and will choose to put all their neo-Nazi methods on the field.
That is why the US now wants to convert the war into a war against China. Therefore, it is busy encircling China. South Korea, the Philippines and Japan have played a role in this.
It is not satisfied with this alone. It also wants to develop and spread the war in the Middle East.
Following October 7 onwards, the war waged through Israel continues today as a genocide against the Palestinian people. And Israel has openly called on the US Congress to escalate the war against Iran. The US parliament gave Netanyahu a standing ovation 57 times. Netanyahu openly, without any cover, declared that they are fighting Iran on behalf of the United States and received support for this.
At this point, the assassinations are noteworthy. This is something that was expected. Israel, and in reality the United States, has launched assassinations against Iran and the resistance front around it. This is not new either.
Moreover, today these assassinations are being developed. This includes the assassination of Slovakian President Fico, the assassination of Trump.
And finally, Netanyahu, returning home after receiving applause in the US parliament, put into action plans to assassinate Hezbollah leader Haji Mohsen (Fuad Shukur) and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Haniyeh was killed explicitly inside Iran.
So, in this way, the US has put assassinations into action all over the world. By making moves against critically important people, it is actually pushing the worldwide war even further.
We call it the Third World War. And this war is being conducted by methods quite different from the previous ones. In this way, the US is in fact seriously declaring that it will not give a chance to policies other than war. This is a contradiction to the plans of Russia and China to prevent war, and the US is pushing the opposing front in every way.
For the United States, war away from its territory is always a consideration, and neither Russia nor China are eager for a war far from their neighborhood. This makes the West and the United States more uninhibited and emboldened. After all, China and Russia are on defense.
Israel itself declares, without any interpretation, that it is fighting on behalf of the United States. And the war against Iran is, in reality, being waged with great determination. In this way, it wants to prevent the war of attrition of what Iran calls the resistance front. All kinds of attacks are being launched against the Houthis, Hezbollah and Hamas.
So much so that Israel itself fires missiles into the Druze-inhabited area in the Golan Heights. Israeli officials visiting the region have been protested as “murderers” by the Druze, who refuse to accept being Israeli citizens in any way. Despite this, Israel openly blames and attacks Hezbollah.
On the one hand, this shows that Israel has no policy other than war, or is not inclined towards it. On the other hand, it is part of the US plans to spread the war. Netanyahu will continue these policies despite the protests of the Israeli people.
At this point, one can consider the strange statements of the Turkish state, the Palace Regime. Erdoğan declares that we will invade Israel just like we invaded Libya and Karabakh. With this statement, Erdogan makes a confession. This means that they have established a military presence in both areas. Although Azerbaijan rejects this statement, it comes from the Palace. Therefore, this statement is a confession.
But there is more.
The Turkish state has not severed its relations with Israel, neither militarily nor commercially. All trade continues through Greece. And militarily, the Turkish state and Israel act as partners.
The Israeli announcement to expel Turkey from NATO is actually part of the same game. Whenever Erdogan speaks in a high tone, he follows it up with a contrary practice. More precisely, these high-pitched statements not only conceal the existing practice, but also show that the new practice will be the opposite of the statements.
One should remember that when Erdoğan spoke about Libya, he said, “Where is NATO, where is Libya?” and then the territory of Turkey was turned into a base of attack on Libya. Today, Erdoğan has admitted this.
Likewise, today’s proclamation to “enter Israel” not only aims to cover up the existing commercial and military relations with Israel, but also indicates that within the framework of the war plans against Iran, the invasion of Iraq on behalf of the US will increase. The Turkish state overtly wants to settle in the Kurdish-populated geography of Iraq, which borders Iran, and this plan belongs to the US as well as to the EU, which has lost its will.
The Turkish state embraces all kinds of genocide and massacre plans against the Kurdish people with great enthusiasm when the opportunity arises. Today, there are plans to infiltrate the Kurdish region of Iraq from Syria, from the territories under occupation. This war against the Kurds, together with the opportunity to plunder Kirkuk-Mosul, is actually part of the plan to encircle Iran. They are in this together with Israel and the USA.
Israel has no direct border with Iran. Therefore, the war against Iran is not only a war planned through Israel with the support of the United States. At the same time, the Turkish state, which has unchanged borders with Iran for hundreds of years, is also planned to be involved in the war. In this regard, the Caucasus is being stirred up from the north to intervene in Iran. Erdoğan’s high-pitched statements of “We will attack Israel” actually aim to cover up this situation. Well, if you are going to attack, what is stopping you? Are the Palestinian people preventing you? Of course, it has no meaning except for the Turkish state to say “I’m in”. In other words, they are saying that they are also present in the Middle East war against Iran. What the Turkish state wants in return for the war against Iran is the opportunity and support for the massacre of the Kurds and the opportunity to participate in the plunder of Kirkuk-Mosul.
The attack of Hamas launched against Israel on October 7 and the situation that emerged afterwards has made it difficult for the Turkish state to attack Iran. Due to this situation, the Turkish state is in distress. Therefore, new plans are being put forward, including plans to withdraw from Syria.
The assassinations will, of course, accelerate the war even more.
How Hezbollah and Iran will react is unknown. But it is clear that there will be a reaction. Hezbollah’s capacity to strike Israeli territory has been proven in recent months. And that’s why Israel wants to accelerate the escalation of the war into an outright war against Iran. And this is to be done in time for the US elections, which may or may not even take place.
The plans to expand the war are likely to continue with moves against China. Indeed, on the Ukrainian front, the US has already tried everything. One must assume that they will not hold back from this one either.
The world war is ultimately becoming more obvious. And the United States is willing to wage this war outside of its own territory. This time, as in the first two world wars, it is not possible to keep the war away from its territory.
And of course, from our standpoint, it is important to emphasize over and over again that the only way to prevent these war plans is through a new wave of socialist revolution. Just getting caught up in the games of the rulers and watching them is not the right attitude. The right attitude is to ensure the rising up of the working class for revolution, including the peoples’ struggle against imperialism, and to organize it. A crimson sun will rise from the horizon of this sea of blood. Out of these ruins, a socialist world will be born. For this, the working class, the revolutionaries, wherever they are in the world, must turn their weapons against their own sovereigns, against all the sovereigns in the world.
