June 6, 2003

STOP STAR WARS II!

Statement by the Central Executive Committee, Communist Party of Canada

For decades, Canadians have resisted attempts to drag our country ever deeper into the web of U.S. war preparations, such as the creation of NORAD and Cruise missile testing. The latest such danger is "Star Wars 2," the proposal to build a "shield" against long-range missile attacks. Far from making us safer, national missile defence (NMD) will help open the door to new wars and even nuclear annihilation.

The Communist Party urges all Canadians to demand that our federal government reject this scheme and the Bush regime's entire "permanent war on terror". A huge mobilization of the world peace movement is needed to stop the descent into destruction before it's too late!

DANGEROUS, EXPENSIVE AND UNWORKABLE

Washington's so-called "ballistic missile defence" plan is highly dangerous, incredibly wasteful, and technically unworkable. In reality, this "shield" is a key component of U.S. imperialism's first-strike nuclear strategy. NMD will complement the Pentagon's rapid-deployment forces on the ground, its worldwide network of military bases, and its aggressive "pre-emptive wars."

The Bush administration has already pulled out of the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty and other multi-lateral agreements on limiting weapons of mass destruction. This is leading other countries to expand their own military forces and to speed up nuclear weapons programs, further escalating the US-led arms race.

This project is even taking the arms race beyond the Earth. NMD is presented as a scaled-down version of Ronald Reagan's initial Star Wars scheme. But since this system depends on satellites for surveillance and communications, its designers must put weapons in space to protect those satellites from any potential threat.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has actually called for "preemptive" strikes against "hostile" ground targets. In his view, offensive space-based orbiting platforms and the missile defence "shield" are two sides of the same coin.
In technical terms, NMD is an attempt to hit a bullet with a bullet, to destroy projectiles moving at thousands of kilometres per hour, with very little warning. But even under highly?scripted conditions, NMD tests often fail. This "shield" would allow millions of casualties in the unlikely event of a missile attack.

However, this outrageous boondoggle will benefit the transnational corporations involved in the military?industrial complex. The Pentagon is projecting a $1 trillion (US) NMD system, guaranteeing vast profits to military contractors and their wealthy shareholders

The Bush regime is running up record deficits, slashing taxes for the wealthy while spending hundreds of billions to build up its war machine. To pay for all this, health and social programs are being gutted, leaving sick and homeless people to die in the streets. Public schools are being closed for weeks in some US states, and pension plans face massive raids. Even Prime Minister Chretien points out that other countries will pay a heavy price for this economic madness, especially Canada, since our economy is heavily integrated with the U.S.

WHAT ARE THE REAL DANGERS?

It's true that our planet is a dangerous place. The number of nuclear powers is growing, and over 30 countries now have operational ballistic missiles with ranges up to 600 kilometres. But the scenario of a long-range nuclear missile strike on North America is far less likely than attacks using low?tech weapons.

Consider the real hazards facing our world today: wars and armed conflicts, shocking inequities between North and South, the rising tide of environmental disasters, lack of access to clean drinking water, the spread of famine and catastrophic diseases, the rapid decline of education and health systems in many countries, mass unemployment or underemployment now affecting one billion workers world-wide.

Why are these immediate threats to the lives of countless millions considered less urgent than the remote chance of a missile attack? If governments can spend over a trillion dollars per year on military purposes, why can't we afford to tackle hunger, disease, poverty, and unemployment?

CANADA MUST SAY NO!

On May 29, Defence Minister John McCallum announced that Canada will "enter into discussions" with the U.S. on a North American missile defence system. We are told that this will "make up" for not joining the invasion of Iraq, even though the US/UK failure to find any "weapons of mass destruction" is further proof that this illegal act of aggression was a war crime.

The corporate media and right?wing politicians also warn of "dire economic consequences" if Canada does not participate in NMD. But does anyone seriously believe that the U.S. will stop buying Canadian resources if we decline to help build Star Wars?

Canadian workers are being hit with mass layoffs, plant closures, and demands for big concessions. Instead of selling out Canada for a handful of aerospace contracts, we need government policies to help rebuild our industrial base and social programs, protect the environment, and broaden our trade relations.

The truth is that the Pentagon does not need our help to develop this deeply-flawed "defence" system. What the U.S. really wants is another international partner to legitimize its war drive, and what better ally than "peaceful" Canada?
Collusion in NMD would drastically undermine Canadian sovereignty. In MacCallum's recent statements and in Commons debates, the government has argued that it would be better if NMD came under NORAD control. This would simply lock Canada into submission to any future U.S. plans for NMD.

The 180-degree reversal of their former anti-Star Wars position is a monumental sellout by Chretien and his Liberal Cabinet, which recently voted for a Canadian Alliance motion endorsing NMD in principle. The fact that 38 Liberal backbenchers voted "NO" is an important sign that Star Wars can still be stopped, if we get enough people into the streets.

DEFEND PEACE, DEMOCRACY AND CANADIAN SOVERIEGNTY!

The real alternative to war is political solutions, mutual security, and disarmament. The Communist Party works for the broadest possible mobilization of peace forces as a counter?force against imperialism. Instead of cozying up to the U.S., a dangerous "rogue state" driving the world towards war, Canada should take the following steps towards a better world:

• no participation in NMD
• withdraw from NATO and NORAD
• call for dismantling all military alliances
• condemn illegal "pre?emptive" wars of aggression
• uphold international law and measures for disarmament
• stop selling arms to repressive regimes
• support genuine peacekeeping and international rescue projects
• push for a more democratic and strengthened United Nations
• reject the phony "war on terrorism"
• defend human rights, freedom and democracy against imperialist attacks
• demand an end to the illegal occupations of Iraq and Palestine
• abrogate "free trade" deals which make Canada vulnerable to US economic pressures
• develop an independent foreign policy of peace and disarmament, based on Canadian sovereignty and the urgent needs of our country and the world.

For more information, contact CPC Party leader Miguel Figueroa at 416-469-2446.

© 2003 Communist Party of Canada