United States

Former US president Ronald Reagan passed away on June 5. The state funeral, which was little more than a crude exercise in propaganda on the part of the Bush administration, was held the following weekend. The historical revision at the ceremony was astonishing. The working class of the United States and the world must know and understand the real legacy and meaning of the Reagan years in order to understand the lessons of the past and lead the struggle against capitalism and imperialism today.

The myth of an American military mission to build a democracy and liberate an oppressed people has been shattered to pieces. The photographs from Abu Ghraib depict scenes of physical brutality, sadist sexual abuse, and monstrous acts by American soldiers. The Bush administration and the military command in Iraq continue to deny knowledge and involvement, even while a flood of information from eyewitnesses provides proof to the contrary. However, the calls demanding justice from a domestic or international court are misleading; history shows us that only the working-class can end the war and bring the guilty to justice.

David May looks at the latest in a long string of corporate scandals. The ties between big business and the government are closer than ever - and this is not an aberration of capitalism - but its heart and soul!

On March 20 in 300 U.S. cities and towns there were antiwar demonstrations. The two biggest demos were in New York and San Francisco. The comrades of the US Socialist Appeal were there.

The March 20 demonstrations will be the latest in a long string of mass protests starting with the 1999 anti-WTO protests in Seattle. Express your opposition to the occupation of Iraq! Let the Iraqi people decide! Socialism is the only solution for the USA and Iraq! To end war, end capitalism! Download as a PDF file.

While there are many differences between the war in Iraq and the Vietnam War, there are many parallels and lessons to be learned - above all that public opinion at home is more decisive in the long run than the actual military successes or failures in the war zone.

More than two years have passed since George W Bush declared his "war on terrorism." What has the result been? In Iraq the USA has shown its impotence to control the situation. It has been unable to build up a stable base. It is bogged down in a bloody impasse. But what about the other field of operations – Afghanistan?

If you think things in the USA are bad now, wait till after the US elections. Once the result is in the bag (either for Bush or whoever stands for the Democrats) economic policy will switch from the present spending spree (mainly on arms) to cuts in welfare. The present level of indebtedness cannot be maintained for ever. Sooner or later the capitalists will make the workers pay.

Guantánamo Bay, an American army base containing 3,000 US military personnel, is located at the southern end of Cuba. It has over the past two years been used as a prison for 660 detainees from the ‘War on Terror’.The use of the base as a prison for ‘enemy combatants’ has generated a great deal of controversy. This term‘enemy combatants’conceals the fact that the prisoners have no rights whatsoever and exposes the hypocrisy of the US government.

The crisis in housing is a product of the capitalist system. Yosef Mikhah looks at the effects it has on working people, and the need for a socialized plan of quality housing for all. From the latest issue of the US Socialist Appeal

On December 23, 2003 the US government officially acknowledged the outbreak of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) in a herd of cattle in the state of Washington.This is officially the first case of mad cow in the US, but is in reality the second case of an outbreak in the integrated Canadian and US cattle industry.  The farming and cattle crisis is at root a reflection of the crisis of capitalism worldwide and a result of "globalization".

Bush's new plan for immigration "reform" will benefit only the ruling classes of the US and Latin America, Mexico in particular.  Working people will only see their conditions of life further deteriorate while big business pockets big profits. 

Greg Oxley looks at the life of this labor pioneer and lifelong fighter for the working class.

There are an astonishing 44 million Americans without healthcare. Those who do have healthcare have to pay ridiculous amounts of money for it, and even then, they have to worry about co-payments, deductibles, etc. Never mind SARS and influenza - the entire for-profit American health care system is diseased.

So far over 400 US soldiers have died in Iraq (during and after the "end" of the war). This is having a big impact on US public opinion. A further 1500 US soldiers have been injured in armed conflicts, and a staggering 9,341 have been flown out for various other health reasons, most importantly for mental stress. Fred Weston reports on the growing dissatisfaction in the US Army

The crisis of unemployment and poverty in America continues to worsen. Despite a nominal increase in jobs in recent weeks, what is not reported is what kind of jobs are being created. Manufacturing jobs, the backbone of any economy, continued to be lost for the 37th month in a row in October. For the vast majority of Americans, the days of high quality jobs with decent wages, security, and full health and retirement benefits are a thing of the past.  By John Peterson, from the US Socialist Appeal

In New York many firefighters did not receive protective gear during the first two weeks of the clean-up, which involved prolonged exposure to asbestos and the handling of thousands of body parts. 40 percent of the workers who cleaned up Ground Zero had no health insurance, and 75 percent have reported ongoing respiratory difficulties. By M.C. Perez, from the US Socialist Appeal