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This Sunday Morning at the Marxist Library session covers the attacks on the pro-Palestine, anti-genocide movement being made in the name of “fighting antisemitism,” A group discussion  follows several short presentations on the subject.

The 200-year history of the Monroe Doctrine is a history of US imperialism. Among Washington’s recent junior partners, Israel stands out as an accomplice to the US imperial project not only in the old world but in this hemisphere as well.

Beginning with the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, the course of what is labeled Manifest Destiny (term was applied in 1845) will be charted through the 19th century. The Monroe Doctrine of 1823 is a continuation of the planned expansion across the North American continent. As the 19th century proceeded apace, the North defeated the South during the 1861-1865 Revolt of the Planters. Industrialization of the United States together with the eventual linking of Chesapeake Bay with the Golden Gate instilled a dynamic America, an allure to become a willing participant in what President Monroe’s document urged the Europeans not to repeat here, Imperialism. Historical parallels will be made with such efforts as the Catholic Church and Spanish Army in the Philippines, the 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement, and the present situation in Gaza.

Our speaker, Mark Albertson, is a frequent presenter at the Library. In fact, according to his blog, in each of the last three years, he has logged 200-plus appearances. Mark is a military historian with a commanding knowledge of geo-politics. He is the historical research editor at Army Aviation magazine and is the historian for the Army Aviation Association of America. He has authored several books: USS Connecticut: Constitution State Battleship; They’ll Have to Follow You! The Triumph of the Great White Fleet; On History: A Treatise. He is at work on a two-volume history on the saga of Army aviation. Mark teaches history at Norwalk Community College in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Suggested background reading:

Elier Ramírez Cañedo, 200 Years of the Monroe Doctrine: History and Present, https://resumen-english.org/2023/07/200-years-of-the-monroe-doctrine-history-and-present/

Or check out this informative video:

Ben Norton, Israel’s destruction of Gaza is West’s fascistic plan for Global South, warns Colombia’s president, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC8YMcHn9nE

This talk will cover from the late 1970s to present, with main focus on the past few years. Two aspects: far rightwing direct action (e.g., direct attacks on racial, religious, gender, communist and other political attacks) and legislative rollbacks on the same groups (e.g., Moms for Liberty attempts to promote reactionary education policies).
Also, it will cover various groups and their ideologies, chief social traits and international interconnections among them. Finally, some proposals to counter them.

Our speaker, Al Sargis, is the founder of the Friedrich Engels Institute of Marxist War and Military Analysis.

Recently back from a humanitarian mission to besieged Gaza, which was denied entry by Egyptian authorities, our speaker will explain how the ongoing genocide against the Palestinians is a natural outcome of Zionism. The social dynamics of domination inevitably lead to genocide given sufficient time. This is the logical consequence of exceptionalism.

The resistance forces of the Palestinians and their allies have planned for a confrontation of unlimited duration, while Israel plans only short, massive attacks designed for a quick, decisive victory, which in this case is illusive. This is the main reason they have chosen genocide as a tactic. They reason that massive, horrible deaths of vulnerable civil Palestinians, mainly women and children, will force Hamas, Hezbollah, and their allies to take risks and expose themselves. But genocide is not working. And when it doesn’t, Israel’s answer is to use more genocide.

In the face of a renewed global crisis of overproduction, the imperialists have determined that, in the present conditions, their best chance of saving themselves and their system remains in huddling together under the military and economic leadership of the USA and aiming their combined force at the destruction of the primary centers of independence and sovereignty in the world – Russia and China.

In doing so, they hope to bring about a repeat of the carnival of pillaging they enjoyed after the collapse of the USSR. They want to break Russia and China into pieces, subdue their peoples, and plunder their considerable resources.

Thus we can see that the third world war will be primarily characterized by a confrontation between the camps of imperialism (NATO) and anti-imperialism.

And that the workers of the world have everything to gain by ensuring the victory of the anti-imperialist camp and the defeat of the imperialists, which will be a hammer blow to the entire edifice of monopoly capitalism on the planet and thus a giant step towards socialist revolution in all corners of the world

Speaker:
Joti Brar is an anti-imperialist and leading member of the Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist-Leninist). Brar has been involved in the communist movement since an early age, working as a trade union organizer and writer on topics such as imperialism, socialism, and the working class. She also actively participates in the World Anti Imperialist Platform (https://wap21.org/)

Nora Barrows-Friedman of The Electoric Intifada will present and lead our discussion

Nora Barrows-Friedman is a journalist, editor, radio broadcaster, musician, and mother. Since 2012 she has served as associate editor and audio production director for The Electronic Intifada, an independent publication focused on Palestinian issues. She is the author of In Our Power: US Students Organize for Justice in Palestine (Just World Books, 2014).

Palestinian-American Professor Rashid Khalidi has described Gaza as “a pressure cooker” that “had to explode.” Israeli holocaust scholar Raz Segal has decried Israel’s assault on Gaza as “a textbook case of genocide.”

The Palestinian military action in Gaza this week shows that “the colonial powers can no longer believe they can force people to live under the conditions Israel has subjected Palestinians to and expect no retaliation of the oppressed” says Khalidi. The Palestinian rebellion is a historic development in the Palestinian struggle that also signals a paradigm shift in the world situation.

After brief presentations, ICSS will host an open discussion on this topic. Bring your comments and questions.

According to our speaker, the Biden administration’s lawfare against Trump is
supported by the left because of their own McCarthyism. The national security state,
through the Biden administration, is engaging in lawfare to eliminate Biden’s only
serious challenger and fix the 2024 election. Much of the progressive movement, rather
than protest and stop police state interference, is supportive of it, even though this
lawfare will be used against them in the future. The cause for the silence among liberals
and leftists is their own McCarthyism: people are baited, and fear being baited – not as
Reds, but as Trump supporters. This left McCarthyism pushes people towards voting for
the supposed lesser evil Democrats and towards defending the actions of the national
security police state. This national security state finds the Democratic Party a more
useful tool to criminalize opposition to US wars and maintain their control over the US
government.
Our speaker, Stanfield Smith, is a member of Chicago ALBA Solidarity, formerly the
Chicago Committee to Free the Cuban 5. He has published in LA Progressive, Dissident
Voice, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Covert Action, Monthly Review online, and
other websites. Smith is a long time anti-war activist, and opposed US interference over
the years in Latin America. He produces AFGJ's Venezuela & ALBA Weekly News and
the online newsletter for the Nicaragua Solidarity Coalition. His website is
ChicagoALBASolidarity.org.
Recent articles include:
“The Danger that Lawfare against Trump Presents to the Progressive Movement,”
https://dissidentvoice.org/2023/09/the-danger-that-lawfare-against-trump-presents-
to-the-progressive-movement/;
“JFK’s World Peace Speech and National Security State Takedowns of US Presidents,”
https://dissidentvoice.org/2023/08/jfks-world-peace-speech-and-national-security-
state-takedowns-of-us-presidents/;
“Liberal and Left Silence on National Security Police State When Used Against Trump
and His Supporters,” https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/06/21/liberal-and-left-
silence-on-national-security-police-state-when-used-against-trump-and-his-
supporters/,
“John F. Kennedy on Ending the US War on Vietnam – His Own Words,”
https://www.laprogressive.com/war-and-peace/ending-the-us-war-on-vietnam.

This program will address how the Korean peninsula was tragically split, why it remains so, and its contemporary implications. Once part of the Japanese Empire, the Korean conflict degenerated into a stalemate. Most important was the admission by then US Secretary of State Dean Rusk on how the 38th Parallel was agreed to as the infamous demarcation line; why the decision was made to cross the 38th parallel; and how George Kennan urged Truman not to. This last development is most significant. And, how the stalemate in Korea impacted whether the U.S. would intervene in North Vietnam in April-May 1954 to relieve 15,000 French paratroopers surrounded by 55,000 Vietminh at Dien Bien Phu.

Our speaker, Mark Albertson, is a frequent presenter at the Library. In fact, according to his blog, in each of the last three years, he has logged 200-plus appearances. Mark is a military historian with a commanding knowledge of geo-politics. He is the historical research editor at Army Aviation magazine and is the historian for the Army Aviation Association of America. He has authored several books: USS Connecticut: Constitution State Battleship; They’ll Have to Follow You! The Triumph of the Great White Fleet; On History: A Treatise. He is at work on a two-volume history on the saga of Army aviation. Mark teaches history at Norwalk Community College in Norwalk, Connecticut.