10-02-06, 8:44 am

The meeting of the PRC’s National Directorate took place at around the time of the fifth anniversary of September 11. This was an event that changed history and saw the beginning of the so-called war on terror, which proposes to found a new century of Pax Americana by means of the theorization and implementation of 'preventive and permanent war'.

Five years of the Bush administration have shown the failure of its war strategy. The plan for a “Greater Middle East”, the idea the neocons advanced to justify this military strategy, has provoked a vicious cycle of war and terrorism and has reinforced fundamentalist movements in the region.

In Iraq, daily massacres continue and the war is now in a no-way-out situation. In Afghanistan, the actions of the Taliban guerrillas have dramatically increased. All this should invite international organizations, as well as the Italian government, to reflect about this mission and to act. I would like to emphasize the importance of the withdrawal of Italian troops from Iraq. This is a victory for us and for the peace movement. Today our reasoning and analysis have been confirmed. It is surprising, on the one hand, how difficult it was to arrive at a unified declaration about the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, and how today our positions and those of the peace movement are so close.

The consequences of the disastrous war on Lebanon also represent a defeat for those sectors in the US that supported the Israeli invasion of South Lebanon as the preamble to a global war, envisioning an attack on Iran on the pretext of eliminating Hezbollah.

In this context, the novelty has come about, as Domenico Gallo describes it in Liberazione 'of the revival of the United Nations.' In terms of the UN's credibility, reduced by unilateralism, so-called 'humanitarian' and 'preventive' wars, and by the imposition, manu militari, of a new international order, the cease fire in Lebanon and the approval of the UNIFIL mission represent a chance to give a voice back to politics and diplomacy and also to the popular movements. In this way, a principal role is given back to the UN, one that respects the UN Charter and the peacekeeping missions that, according to Article 6, should be the direct responsibility of the General Secretary of the United Nations and not the responsibility of a government.

Unlike Berlusconi's unconditional support of Bush's war strategy and Israeli unilateralism, the current government has shown signs of change. We should not lose this opportunity. Europe has also shown signs of autonomy from the United States that could represent the beginning of a political initiative engaged with peace. The idea of a Big Middle East designed by Bush is the opposite of any policy for Europe and the Mediterranean that we can defend.

Naturally, we don't hide the risks and the difficulties, as the situation represents only a possibility and not a certainty. Resolution 1701 is a commitment that shows the balance of power that now exists in the Security Council, but the alternative to the political and diplomatic strategy that has led to a cease fire is only the war strategy. A military mission is not enough to resolve the problems of Middle East; it is necessary to deploy a political strategy, involving the peace movement, that can influence governments and parliaments. Italy can play an important role if it chooses peace.

The first priority, as we have always maintained, is to resolve the Palestinian problem. It is urgent to end the siege of Gaza and the suffering of the Palestinian people, exhausted by an economic and a military assault, that was unfair before and is even more so today, given the positive novelty of a newly elected government in Palestine. It is not possible to continue with a double standard, and the UN Resolutions regarding Palestine must be implemented. There are no victims of first or second class status, and I would like to recall that since June 26 more than 200 Palestinians have also died in Gaza.

Italy has already proclaimed that the protection of civilians is vitally necessary and has called for the deployment of the blue helmets along the 1967 borders. A peace conference should be convened on the basis of the proposals of the Beirut Conference and the Arab League. Security for Israel can come only through peace and not through bombings, destruction of civilian infrastructure, check points, or 'walls of the apartheid'.

We should also participate in the peace initiative. We were among the first to send a solidarity mission to Lebanon with the European Left Party. Solidarity campaigns, like 'Palestine Needs You' and 'A Bridge for Lebanon,' launched by Liberazione, must be supported.

We support the idea of a strong mobilization for peace in the Middle East, for 'two states for two people'. For these reasons, to open a new phase following the iron rule of war, we invite our allies to vote in favor of Italian participation in the UNIFIL force, in order to restore power to a political strategy and give peace a chance.



--Fabio Amato is the Director of the Department of International Relations, Partito della Rifondazione Comunista (PRC).