*----------------------------------------------------------* | | | x x x x x x x xx xxx xxx xxx | | xx xx x xx xx xx x x x x x x Issue #4 | | x x x x x x x x xx x x x xx xxx | | x x x x x x x x x x x x 10/20/84 | | x x x x x x x xx x xxx xxx | | | |----------------------------------------------------------| | Newspaper of the Maoist Internationalist Movement | *----------------------------------------------------------* U.S. KNEW ABOUT NAPALM USE IN EL SALVADOR SALVADORAN REGIME USES NAPALM FROM ISRAEL WITH U.S. OK According to the New York Times, the U.S. government admitted that the government of El Salvador used napalm against the Salvadoran people. Napalm is a chemical weapon of Vietnam era infamy. Its use by the Salvadoran junta indicates its anti-people nature. The Salvadoran regime implies that it has stopped using napalm. Apparently, the U.S. provided the Salvadorans with aircraft which are used to drop conventional bombs. The regime claims to be bombing the guerrillas in the Salvadoran civil war. The U.S. Congress became aware of the napalm use last year but did not inform the American public except in a section in a report buried in the Congressional Record. The so- called democratic government of the U.S. denied the American public important information on which to judge U.S. foreign policy, especially U.S. military aid to El Salvador. The recent admission of napalm use by the Salvadoran regime came six days before the admission that the CIA has fomented terrorism and crime in Nicaragua (see MN3). The use of the weapon by a regime that killed 35,000 non- combatant civilians between Oct. 1979 and May 1982 is not surprising. The significance of the New York Times story is that it is part of the attempt by the U.S. government to make the American people used to U.S. terror and war in foreign countries. FOUR CIA SPIES DIE IN EL SALVADOR Four Americans died in a plane crash in El Salvador. They were spying on the activities of guerillas opposed to the Salvadoran regime. The plane crashed in heavy rain. (New York Times, 10/20/84) IRANIAN REVOLUTIONARIES QUESTION SANDINISTA SUPPORT FOR KHOMEINI Supporters of Marxist-Leninist revolutionaries in Iran trying to overthrow the reactionary Khomeini regime and imperialism and liberate Kurdistan questioned Daniel Ortega, a Sandinista leader and coordinator of the Nicaraguan government. In his trip to Iran, Ortega said, "'We thank Ayatollah Khomeini, the great leader of the Islamic revolution and also President Khomeini, your Iranian government and people who have stood with us in such a severe condition.... Nicaragua acknowledges its duty to defend the Islamic Republic's positions in international gatherings'" (Iranian Student Association throughout the U.S., Iran in Resistance, July-Aug. 1984, p. 13.) U.S. PUSHES ARMS RACE INTO SPACE The U.S. rejected the idea of a moratorium on testing space weapons. In a jingoist appeal to "national security," Secretary of State George Schultz referred to the new space weapons as part of "our defensive and deterrent forces." Some of the weapons being tested for space are intended to destroy Soviet missiles before they reach the U.S.. In the SALT I agreement limiting such weapons, it was agreed that such weapons constitute a danger because they even undermine the original figleaf justification of deterrence. If one side fired weapons, the militarist rationale was that the other side would too and both would suffer nuclear destruction. Clearly, even by this rationale for the arms race, the new weapons are offensive weapons because they give the aggressor a chance to shoot without being hit back. (The Detroit News, 10/1/84) U.S. ARRESTS NINE REVOLUTIONARY NATIONALISTS IN NEW YORK The U.S. arrested nine freedom fighters trying to establish a Black nation in the South--a New Afrikan Republic. The arrests came at a time when the U.S. has taken to "pre-emptive" action against those it accuses of being terrorists. New and vague laws give the state a "legal" excuse for harassing all revolutionaries it dubs "terrorist"--often with no evidence. (New York Times, 10/19/84) U.S. BANKS SQUEEZED Despite high interest rates in recent years, the force of competition in the U.S. economy has put the largest U.S. banks in bad shape. Recently, the U.S. Government bailed out the Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company with $4.5 billion. On October 3rd, the eighth largest bank in the country reported a loss of $70 million in the 3rd quarter. Both banks attracted government attention because the failure of either would start a snowball process of loan defaults. (NYT 10/4/84) Indeed, with the lifting of interest ceilings for depositors, banks have had to compete on vicious terms. However, no capitalist economy can carry on such competition for long without a monopoly winner, massive bankruptcies or government intervention. In fact, the difference between a monopoly bank and a federal takeover of all the banks is nil. Who regulates whom also becomes a farcical question. Neither side has a choice in the bargain. The banks can not do without the government and the government can not do without the banks. That is why Karl Marx called the state an "executive committee of the bourgeoisie." The U.S. Government must intervene in the interests of the capitalist class as a whole or face a huge economic Depression and revolution. Part of that intervention by the U.S. Government is the search for profitable businesses for U.S. banks to do business with, especially to make loans to. That is why the U.S. Government is compelled to make the Third World safe for U.S. business. It lends military aid (good business for U.S. military industries and banks) to regimes willing to squeeze profits out of their workers by force. South Africa is only one big example. Despite the U.S. Government's securing of business in the Third World for the American economy, the American economy is still in trouble. The weakness of American banks only compels the state to look for new sources of profits for American business. The biggest untapped source is the Soviet bloc. The U.S. Government is preparing for WWIII with the Soviet bloc to open up the Soviet bloc to the claws of U.S. business. The Soviet government has already taken over its banks, but it also works for profit, so it is also imperialist. The search for profit must end. Those with no interest in WWIII and the cutthroat practices of business must takeover production. That is the only way to eliminate the causes of the current WWIII. _____________________________________________________________ THIS IS AN ELECTRONIC ISSUE OF MIM NOTES For the real thing, twelve to sixteen pages of tabloid newsprint, including revolutionary art and photos with professional lay-out, subscribe to MIM Notes now. Back- issues also available in original release for most issues. Subscriptions: Send US$12 for 12 issues of MIM Notes sent via US Mail MIM Distributors PO Box 3576 Ann Arbor, MI 48106-3576 USA Make checks out to "ABS" or send cash.