Declining Western Hegemony and the Arsenal of Imperialism

President Joe Biden of the United States has authorized large-scale arms shipments to the State of Israel to further the plans to eliminate the resistance movements in Gaza and throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territories

By Abayomi Azikiwe, Editor, Pan-African News Wire

Thursday October 26, 2023

Geostrategic Review

Since the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Storm into southern Israel on October 7, the United States government under President Joe Biden has airlifted tons of weapons to Tel Aviv with the expressed purpose of leveling the Gaza Strip to create the conditions for the total subjugation of the Palestinian people living in this enclave.

The U.S. has been the major financier and supplier of armaments to successive Israeli governments whose strategic aim is to maintain the domination over millions of Palestinians along with securing the broader geopolitical region of West Asia and North Africa to limit the growth of any resistance movement or government committed to the liberation from Zionism and imperialism.

Over the last three decades the U.S. has fought a series of wars which have had a profound negative impact domestically and internationally. Two wars against Iraq and a continuing occupation have drained resources from the working and oppressed peoples of the U.S. and indeed the world. 

A 20-year occupation of Afghanistan did not result in any claims of victory by Washington after repeatedly telling the people of the U.S. and the world that the Taliban and al-Qaeda were being neutralized and defeated. The destruction of Libya and the attempted overthrow of the government in Syria only resulted in widespread displacement and regional destabilization.

All of these wars of annihilation and occupation have not strengthened the U.S. economically or politically. Quite to the contradictory, social divisions and the burgeoning class struggle are a clear reflection of the failure of the bourgeoisie to build a stable and equitable existence for the majority of the people.

A War of Genocide in Palestine 

To save the remnants of U.S. capitalism and imperialism, the Biden administration and its allies in western Europe, see no other alternatives than to wage a war of genocide against the Palestinians. In line with this objective, the White House has ordered massive weapons shipments to Israel along with the deployment of aircraft carriers and troops in an attempt to ensure an outcome favorable to Tel Aviv and Washington.   

These weapons of warfare are being utilized against Palestinian civilians, healthcare personnel, workers from every sector of the economy, humanitarian aid employees, journalists, government officials and the armed combatants of the al-Qassam and Al-Quds Brigades. Although the Biden administration enunciates on a daily basis that “the State of Israel has the right to defend itself” as a settler-colonial state, this same privilege is never extended to the oppressed masses of Palestinians. 

In the U.S.-based publication Axios, it noted as early as October 10, just three days after the most recent offensive by the Palestinian resistance forces in Gaza, that:

“The first plane carrying U.S. weaponry arrived at Israel's Nevatim Airbase on Tuesday, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari said. Hagari said the ammunition would ‘enable significant strikes and preparations for additional scenarios’ as Israeli forces prepare for a wide-ranging offensive against Hamas following the militant group's surprise air, land and sea attack Saturday.” (https://www.axios.com/2023/10/11/israel-hamas-war-first-us-weapons-shipment-arrives)

One week later on October 17, the national security apparatus of the U.S. confirmed that indeed U.S. weapons shipments to Israel had taken priority over the constant supply of arms to Ukraine where Washington has initiated and carried on a proxy war against the Russian Federation since February 2022. Despite the massive military assistance to Kiev, the Ukrainian military has suffered tens of thousands of deaths and injuries since the much-anticipated spring, summer and fall offensives which have proven to be an unmitigated disaster for Washington’s war strategy of weakening the Russian Federation.  

This prioritization of West Asia and North Africa stems from the existence of formidable resistance forces in these regions which have indicated their commitment to assist the Palestinians in their struggle against the Israeli regime. In neighboring Lebanon, Hezbollah has already been engaging the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on the northern border. The Israeli government recently evacuated hundreds of thousands of settlers in anticipation of an intensification of fighting with Hezbollah.

In addition to Lebanon, resistance forces based in Iraq and Yemen have fired on U.S. military positions in recent days since the Al-Aqsa storm began. Mass demonstrations in neighboring states have demanded the expulsion of U.S. embassies and Pentagon bases in Iraq, Kuwait and other countries. Anti-U.S. sentiments among the masses have reached unprecedented levels as the death toll and overall humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens.

According to Time magazine regarding the rapid shipment of weapons by the Biden administration to Tel Aviv:

“Aircraft loaded with U.S. weapons have already begun arriving in Israel. Austin watched as crews were unloading one C-17 transport plane on Friday (Oct. 13) at Nevatim air base east of Gaza. On Tuesday (Oct. 17), the Pentagon said five such deliveries have already been made and more are expected. U.S. defense officials say the administration has already given Israel small diameter bombs, other munition and interceptor missiles for its Iron Dome air defense system, and more will come. The U.S. is also getting defense companies to expedite weapons orders by Israel that were already on the books, including munitions for the Iron Dome.” (https://time.com/6325247/us-military-assistance-israel/)

This rapid military build-up has prompted the departure of a high-level State Department official who stated in his resignation letter that the U.S. is repeating the same mistakes which have occurred over several decades. Alluding to the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, where despite draconian sanctions, massive bombings and the deployment of hundreds of thousands of ground troops, no strategic value for the U.S. has been gained through these military adventures. 

The National Public Radio (NPR) website said of the departure of Josh Paul:

“A State Department official has resigned from the bureau that oversees arms transfers to foreign nations, citing his objection to continued U.S. military assistance to Israel as its retaliatory bombardment and blockade of Gaza exacerbate a humanitarian crisis there. Josh Paul was the director of congressional and public affairs at the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. In a two-page letter posted on LinkedIn, he said he had made a promise to himself when he joined over a decade ago that he would stay ‘as long as I felt the harm I might do could be outweighed by the good I could do.’ ‘I am leaving today because I believe that in our current course with regards to the continued — indeed, expanded and expedited — provision of lethal arms to Israel — I have reached the end of that bargain,’ he wrote. (https://www.npr.org/2023/10/19/1207037984/josh-paul-resign-state-department-military-assistance-israel-gaza)

Pentagon Considerations, the Impending IDF Ground Invasion and the Weapons of Hunger and Medical Neglect

After three weeks of consistent aerial bombardments by the IDF, the much-anticipated ground invasion and occupation of Gaza has not taken place. Over 7,000 people have been killed by the IDF bombardments and there is no way to predict the full impact of the intervention of hundreds of thousands of Israeli soldiers and the subsequent defense of the territory by the al-Qassam, al-Quds Brigades and other forces. 

Other forms of collective punishment and genocidal violence are being enacted through the withholding of potable water, food, fuel, medicines and household shelter. The Israeli government says that it will not allow fuel into Gaza because it could be utilized by the Hamas administration to facilitate its military campaign against the IDF. 

Lorries of humanitarian aid are being held up at the Rafah Crossing on the border with Egypt where prior to October 7, 500-600 trucks were providing the much-needed assistance to the Palestinians. Many of the humanitarian organizations working in Gaza as well as the United Nations agencies say they will no longer be able to operate without the existence of fuel, water and other supplies. 

Al-Mayadeen newspaper on October 26 reviewed a Wall Street Journal report which claimed that one key factor in the delay of a ground invasion of Gaza by the IDF is the reluctance of the U.S. due to the vulnerability of its military forces in West Asia:

“Israel's ground invasion of the Gaza Strip will be delayed to give the United States the chance to transfer additional air defense systems into the Middle East, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources. The U.S. Department of State had previously stated that it would be transferring air defense assets to the Middle East to protect its troops and assets in the region.

WSJ says the U.S. will deploy 12 air defense systems to counter attacks on its troops in Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Furthermore, concerned Israeli officials have agreed to delay an expected ground invasion of the Gaza Strip until the air defense systems are set up as early as later this week. Unnamed U.S. officials told the newspaper that the U.S. expects its troops and bases to be attacked by several groups in the region when the ground invasion ensues.” (https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israel-delays-ground-invasion-as-us-readies-for-blowback:-ws)

Consequently, such news reports further affirm the principal role of Washington in the current siege upon Gaza by the IDF. The U.S. is threatened with the loss of its imperialist military bases in the region. However, the security of these bases can never be guaranteed as long as the people of Palestine and the entire West Asia remain subjected to the hegemonic policies of the U.S. and its allies.