Len Cooper
Chairperson ILPS Australia
4th July 2011

The Australian authorities are completely subservient to the alliance with US Imperialism. This has led to the dominance of Australia’s politics, economics, foreign policy and culture by US Imperialism’s objectives and priorities.

The military and intelligence cooperation between the Australian and United States Governments is very close and this has led to the establishment of a series of US bases, facilities and operations which are a central component of the US military capability and communications across the globe.

For example, the US uses a low frequency communications system which amongst other things allows the US nuclear fleet to communicate without the requirement to break the surface of the ocean waters and it uses a system which enables the US fleet to re charge their power supplies whilst submerged. The bases and facilities in Australia is a central part of those systems.

The Australian people have been campaigning against the US military bases and facilities since at least the 1970’s.In those days there were about 33 US bases and facilities and a few British bases. Today the number of US bases, facilities and operations has grown. The bases are part of an electronic communications network, a nerve system stretching over the entire world. But of course they are also much more than that.

They are part of intelligence collection, hosting of military aircraft, part of the US electronic and satellite war systems, and part of US military training. They span Northern Australia, West Austraia, Tasmania and further south, in Sydney on the east coast, Canberra the capital, Northern Victoria, and South Australia.

As a result of the WikiLeaks we are now aware of yet another secret agreement between the US and Australian governments.

As a result of recent AUSMIN talks, (talks with the Australian minister of defence), there is a major escalation of military cooperation with the United States.

AUSMIN envisages more visits by US ships and aircraft, greater access to Australian military facilities, increased numbers of US military personnel, and more joint military exercises. It may be a step towards a permanent US military presence in Australia. Townsville in Queensland, the Stirling naval base in West Australia, and Darwin in Northern Australia could be possible sites. Some of these military personnel could relocate from Okinawa where there is widespread opposition to US forces.

This is also part of the US/Australian build up aimed at China as the US repositions itself to further encircle China in line with the US objective to remain the dominant power in the Asia/Pacific.

The recent secret agreement includes the intensified cooperation and intelligence sharing in the field of GEOINT –geospatial intelligence derived from imagery and other information obtained from satellites and reconnaissance

The agreement was signed by the Federal Labor Government in February 2008,but only made known to us by the WikiLeaks.

The Talisman Sabre joint US/Australia military exercises are occuring again this year from the 18th to the 29th of July with lead up activities from the 11th July. TS11 as it is called, will involve 30,000 Australian and US personnel and will include use of live ammunition, parachute drops, amphibious landings, artillery, armour and infantry manoeuvres, air combat training, special forces operations, science and technology projects and advanced maritime operations.

The Australian people have begun various protest exercises and activities during the current school holidays, which include peace convergences in various parts of Australia, non violence training, and various children’s activities. The calls that have gone out from the peace movement include resist war, bring the Australian troops home from Afghanistan and resist the war machine.

Currently, Australia’s so called” defence” budget is $27 billion for 2010/11.Immagine if it was spent on low cost housing, adequate health care, better education, care for Australia’s refugees and so on. World military spending in 2010 was estimated to be US $ 1630 billion. It would take about one tenth of that of that to lift all people out of extreme policy by 2015,according to the United Nations.

Another campaign being waged in Australia, which has some support from the union movement is the world wide campaign by the International Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), to rid the world of nuclear weapons. The nuclear powers led by the United States wish to hang on to their monopoly of nuclear weapons and at the same time deny other countries who feel threatened by the US Imperialist aggression the option of developing their own nuclear weapons. We must demand that the blackmail by us imperialism cease and demand that all nuclear weapons be destroyed.

One of the most spectacular examples of the immediate threat posed to a nations independence by the presence of US bases on another countries soil was the constitutional overthrow of the elected Federal Government of Australia, the Whitlam Labor Government, in 1974.

Because the Then US government was refusing to provide the Australian Government with information on the operation of the US bases and because the Whitlam Labor government was threatening to name, in parliament, certain CIA operatives who had dealings with the US bases, the then elected government of Australia was overthrown by the Governor General of Australia. This was the first Labor Government elected in Australia in over 23 years. It was elected on a popular and progressive policy programme which included withdrawal from the Vietnam war, ending conscription into the military and recognition of communist China. It carried out all these policies before being overthrown.

Please keep in mind that this was also the year of the overthrow of the socialist Allende Government in Chile by a US backed fascist coup de etat.

Over the past two years, the US under the Obama administration has stepped up its drive to expand and consolidate its worldwide economic and political domination under the guise of the “war against terrorism” and the sham of “spreading democracy to the world”.
US imperialism has attempted and is continuing to attempt to put a “friendly Obama face” on imperialist aggression and war and the imperialist drive to dominate and exploit the resources and labour of the world in it’s drive for super profits.

In terms of it’s invasion of Afghanistan the USA the people are making it clear by large majorities that they want the war to end and the troops to come home. This is also the case in Australia. A recent poll showed that over 70% of Australians want out. We must step up our campaigns against the wars of aggression in Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon. US Imperialism must feel the peoples anger everywhere. We must also step up our protests and opposition to US/Israel aggression against and oppression of the Palestinian people, as well as the US attempts to further destabilise the Korean Peninsula and further threaten China.
There is a need for the broadest coalition of peoples forces against US bases, against nuclear weapons, and against US aggression and war, both within our separate countries and internationally. That is we must regularise and professionalise our coordination and support work on a grand scale across the globe.

Good research, to help demonstrate what the war policies of imperialism are costing the people and what could be done to meet the people’s needs could be an important motivating factor, particularly in the light of capitalisms austerity measures which are really biting on the people at present.

This could also be an important way to demonstrate the real cause of war and raise the question of ending imperialism and the profit motive in order to solve the world’s massive problems.

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