(The following atatement on tho lntest military attacks by American imperialism against the Vietnamese people was issued by the United Secretariat of the Fourth International on February 16).
Repeating the pattern of military aggression last August, when it bombed North Vietnam sites in "reprisal" for alloged attacks on naval craft in the Gulf of Tonkin, American imperialism, in combination with ite puppet South Vietnom forces, launched two air assoults on villages of the Demooratic Republic of Vietnam on Pebryuary 7-6.
The United Secretariat of the FourthInternational condemns these bombings with the deepest indignation as acts of the most barbarous oggression aimed nt intimidating thea Vietnomese people in their struggle for freedom and social emancipation. The attempt to intimidate the Vietnamese people has no chance whatever te succeed. But it threatens to take humanity, through “escalation", over the brink into a world nuclear holocaust.
The American imperialist aggression acomes at a time when the eounterrevolutionary foress in South Vietnam are suffering dofeat after defeat and when their regime is in a state of complete disintegration. Already in control of three-fourths of tho territory of South Vietnam, moving in biggor and bigger formations, tho heroic guorrillag fighters of the National Liberation Front in Scuth Vietnam have for some months boen directly attacking the American military bases set up on South Viotnan torritory under guise of centers for military "advisers". In reality these centers are bases for 23,000 officers and soldiers of the American armed foreas, who are inyolved in o direct and savage way, with the employment of imaense military cquipment, ogainat the guerrilla forces of the Vietnomese people.
It is possible that in thoir blind arrogance, the hends of the Pentagon really think it sufficient to bomb North Vietnam territory to convince Hanoi and Féking to “put o stop" to the South Vietnamese guerrilla operations ogainst tho American bases and to leave the Pentagon free to crush the revolutionary struggle at its leisure, Such a belief morely revuals how little the American rulers understand the real feelings of the anti-imperialist foreea in Southoast Asian ond how abysmally ignorant they are of what has happersd in South Vietneame
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It is not a question of a “conspirncy", the strings of which are skillfully "manipulated" by the "aggressive Communists" of Peking and thoir Hanis "cllies", What ia involved is a gonuine mass ravolution, In fact, the uprising of the South Viotnamess peasants after tho Geneyn eonforoneo of 1954 against the bloody Diem regime and against the confiscation of pensant land holdings in fovor of the feudalistic landloris, oceurred before the formation of the National Liberation Front. A now stege has now opened in tha Vietnamese revolution. This is marked by tha movemont of the urban masses, Buddhist domonstrations, workers’ strikes, and student aotions. ‘These began spontancously, before the Notional Liberation Front launched netion slogans in the cities. Even if the Kromlin and Peking wanted to sacrifice South Vietnam for the sako of an over-oll doal with Washington, they are powerless to step the revolution.
It is tho popular base of this revolution, which includes the immense majority of the inhabitants of the country, that makes tho South Victnoneso rovelution invincible, It is the militancy and tho reyolutionary ouwiacity of the young guerrillas - and not "instructions" from Poking - that is behing the attacks on the jAmorionn military bases, Against tho power of the revolutionary masscs, American imperiolism, ineluding its military "advisers" and its bember pilots, ia impotent. Thoy oan massacre thousands of innocent victims in inhuman "renrisals" that reeall the Nozi reprisals ogninst Lidieo and Oradour; they cannot destroy the revolution. French imperialism found this cut in tho ense of Alguria. In roprianl for Tunisia's nid to the guerrilln fighters, the French bombed Bizerto and Sakiet, but thoso bloddy acts of vengeance did not stop the Algerian freedom fighters from winning political freodjom for thoir country. In truth, tho Jjimerican bombings of North Vietnam villages are self-defeating. Tho more barbarous and inhuman the Amerioan militarista become, the greater the indignation of the mossca grows and along with it their support to the reyolutisn.
The bombing of the North Vietnam villages only oxpressea tho dilemnmfaced by American imperisliam in Seuthesast Asin.
If it "hardens" its positions, “oscalating" the policy of intervoning in the civil war into a policy of waging war on North Vietnam ond oven China, tho Asian workers states will quite understandably increase their support to the South Vietnamese revolution by more and more radical moans, inoluding no massive build up of voluntosre. Imperinlism will then be confronted with the perspective of an immediate defeat on the seene in South Vietnom unloss, in turn, it increasca its armed forces thers, including infantry. But this would monn a new "Koreantypo" war in South Vietnam in which imporialism would beceme more and more begged down, draining its forocs without. tho slightest perapeetive of victory. Under these circumatanoss, the Joviet burcaueracy, which up ts now has mnaintainod an attitude of criminal passivity in face of tho imperialist aggression - particularly last jiugust - a passivity which in fact encouraged imporialism to do whotever it felt like nnd to step up its agzrossion, would be obliged on its side to furnish -diplematio, seonomic and military support to the Demoorntic Republic cf Vietnam and the South Vietnam revolution, still further réducing the chances for an imperinlist victory in that part of tho world.
This “heard" line, which is sdvocated by certain influential ocirclus in the United States, fite in with the strategy cf scoking a military showdown with China before it can become 4 nuclear power of major importance. One of the objectives wowld be te bomb tho Chinese nuclear center in the Taklamakan desert,
That this is suriously unier consideration in White House circles is shown by the anxiety of the bast-informed Amerionn newspapers, which, in contrast to the complacent attitule of the European press, particularly in Britain, act as if ths Johnsen administration is on the verge cf irreparnblo docisiona,
If american imperinliam does not follow this course, but, on the oontrary, recognises the impossibility of consolidating the bonchhead it seized in South Vietnam and utilizes the crisis touched off by its bombings in North Vietnom as a shield behind which to reach a "peacoful understanding" on the Vietnamese quostion, then fateful consequonces of a different kind onn occur, Through the transitional stage of a "broad national government" and oa "noutralist regime", the South Viotnam revolution can continus its maroh toward the complete destruction of the somifeudal vestiges and the power of imperialism and native capitalism, cpening the way for achicvement of a socinlist Vietnam, In this conse, imperialism would “lose” Laos and Cambodin in the immediate future. The announcement that a National Liberntion Front has buen set up in Thailand to co-ordinate the activities cf tha guerrillas alroady widoly active there is the handwriting on the wall for imperialism. Just os the revolution in Ssuth Vietnan followed the vietory of the revolution in North Vietnam and the 1954 Geneva agreement, so tho Thailand revolution will be touched off by the victory of the revolution in South Vietnam and this will unsettle Malaysia, the last sclid imperialist position in Scuthenrst Asia.
From the point cf view of the interests of the revolution and of all humanity, it would be clearly preferable for djimerican imperialism to choose as quickly as possible the ron] of retreat and withdrawal, even if by stoges. But it would be a dolusion and self-deception te believe that such a decision is certain, that "reason" will lead American imperialism to back down rather than opt for an immediate catastrophic outcoma, Tho fact is that the Intest imperialist aggression against North Vietnam, like thot of last jugust ond the imperialist agrovssion agninst Cuba in Getobor 1962, shows that the firat reaction of american imperialism, above all the heads of the Fentagon, is to strike without the least regard for @ither national or internmtional law. Only the vigorous reaction of the revolutionary masses in the oolonial world, the governments of the workors states, international public opinion nnd popular reaction in the United States itself oan make it hesitate and draw back temporarily.
The latest imperialist sggression aginst North Vietnam, which cculd prove to be the opening move toward direct military confrontation between imperialism and tho People's Rgpublie of China, and then the USSR, undcrlines the warning repeatedly made by the Yourth International: The need to overturn the power of imocrialism in tho United States, of cremting a socialist jmerion, has beoome a problem of lifo or denth for all of humanity. uis long as Amerionn imporialism holds enormous seonomic and technical power, capable of destreying mankind in nuclear holocaust, the throat remaina suspended over humanity. The struggle for the world victory of sscialism is ‘not ‘only a struggle for a better society toctaye It has become literally a struggle for the physical survival of mankind.
The United Secretariat of the Fourth International appeals to the workers of all countries to show in an enorgetic way, through action, thoir comomnation of the imperialist aggression against North Vietnam and their solidarity with the Democratic Ronublie of Vietnom and the heroic masscs fighting in the South Vietnamese revolution,