Not another war! Pentagon out of Korea

For a second month, tens of thousands of U.S. and south Korean troops are carrying out simulated assaults on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea — north Korea.

For the first time during these annual “exercises,” designated as Key Resolve and Foal Eagle, nuclear-capable B-2 bombers flew from Missouri to south Korea and back in a simulated bombing of the north.

In February, other war “games” called Iron Fist teamed up U.S. and Japanese troops in a simulated attack on islands claimed by both Japan and China.

The Pentagon has announced it will spend a billion dollars on a “missile defense” system on the West Coast of the United States.

The Pentagon has also moved a Navy missile-defense ship from its home port in Japan to waters off the Korean peninsula.

At the same time, the U.S. propaganda machine declares all this is necessary to counter the “belligerence” of the DPRK.

As more and more U.S. ships, planes and military personnel are deployed to the area around the Korean peninsula, the possibility of yet another war is being floated.

War is something that is very real to the Korean people. They know from bitter experience that war “games” are not something that are just played on a computer — they are the prelude to mayhem and unspeakable destruction and human suffering.

Why DPRK says ‘armistice is dead’

For 60 years, the DPRK attempted to get the U.S. to sign a peace treaty that would end the state of war existing between the two countries since 1950. It also called for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

Neither ever happened. Washington refused to even discuss the matter. The DPRK has now declared that the armistice agreement ending the 1950-53 shooting war is dead and that it will respond with strength if attacked.

While all this military activity is going on, massive government cutbacks in the United States speak to the back-breaking cost of this country’s military spending for previous interventions around the world. The trillions of dollars spent on building the world’s most destructive military machine have imposed a colossal debt burden on the people at home.

The only ones to benefit from this unending warfare are the military-industrial complex and the banks. The capitalist ruling class as a whole, which more and more seeks super-profits from abroad, bears the responsibility for turning the U.S. into a garrison state at odds with most of the world.

From ‘Teddy’ Roosevelt to Obama

“Speak softly and carry a big stick,” said Theodore Roosevelt in 1901. He had led the charge in grabbing Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Philippines and Guam away from Spain, first as Assistant Secretary of the Navy and later as a grandstanding lieutenant colonel commanding U.S. troops in Cuba during the War of 1898.

Roosevelt’s role in gaining new territory for U.S. profiteers to exploit won him the presidency (1901-09).

Roosevelt’s prescription for how to camouflage imperialist aggression is still being followed by the public relations departments of the Pentagon, the White House and the State Department.

While pronouncing “caution” and “restraint” and their commitment to building a “peaceful and stable” world, they quietly go about the job of building up the world’s most fearsome arsenal of offensive weapons.

As the Pentagon winds down its military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, after reducing those countries to chaos and ashes, it is increasingly redeploying its troops and arsenal to the Pacific. Its target right now is north Korea, even as the U.S. also attempts to encircle China.

The leaders of the DPRK, however, have prepared for this moment and strengthened their defenses. They have successfully tested nuclear bombs and long-range missiles.

The north Koreans are sending a ringing message to the world that they will not bow down to the pressure of tens of thousands of U.S. troops carrying out a simulated war on their borders. For that, they are being branded in the capitalist media as war mongers.

The imperialist U.S., carrying on in Roosevelt’s footsteps, talks peace while waging war. The socialist DPRK tells the truth — to its own people and to the world.

Workers World Party message

In response to these developments, the Secretariat of Workers World Party in the United States sent the following message to the Workers’ Party of Korea on April 2:

Dear Comrade Kim Jong Un,

While the U.S. war machine carries out threatening maneuvers on your borders, we of Workers World Party extend our hands in friendship and solidarity.

The facts are clear. The DPRK has every right to defend itself against attack from the U.S., which sent millions of troops to Korea during the 1950-53 war and killed millions of Korean people. No country in the world has more right to a nuclear deterrent than the DPRK — certainly not the U.S., which talks peace while carrying out military interventions on every continent.

Our solidarity is also based on appreciation for the great achievements of the Korean Revolution in changing social relations in the north. It unseated the exploiters and agents of imperialism while elevating the workers and farmers to become masters of their own fate.

We will continue to organize opposition to Washington’s belligerence, which is bankrupting the people of this country, and condemn all acts of aggression against the DPRK, be they military or diplomatic in character.

No war, no sanctions! U.S. out of Korea!