Marxism-Leninism on War and Army - imperialist states
AGGRESSIVE MILITARY-POLITICAL BLOCS
The deepening of the general crisis of capitalism in the post-war years and the intensification of its contradictions have made the politics of imperialism more adventuristic. It now constitutes an ever greater danger to the peoples, to peace and social progress. The imperialists are preparing a new world war, and have repeatedly provoked international crises, which have pushed mankind to the brink of a thermonuclear conflict.
US imperialism has become the most aggressive force of international imperialist reaction. It is marked by a ferocious hatred of socialism and the revolutionary movement, adventurism and the striving to establish its domination all over the world. There are reactionary forces in other capitalist countries as well, especially in the countries participating in imperialist military blocs. The network of imperialist military blocs, and the possession by the USA of nuclear missiles have enhanced the adventurism of imperialism. All this has wrought certain changes in the purpose and the functions of the armed forces of the imperialist states, has made them even more reactionary and aggressive.
Attempts to Resolve Modern Contradictions by New Methods
The striving of imperialism to resolve contemporary contradictions by milltary means has determined the specific role the armed forces play in imperialist politics. The imperialists spearhead their military might first and foremost against the great revolutionary forces of our epoch—the world socialist system, the revolutionary movement of the working class in 196the capitalist countries, and the national liberation movement. Imperialism regards the struggle against the forces of socialism as a twin function of militarism, combining simultaneously internal and external tasks. The entire training of the imperialist armies is permeated with the ideology and politics of anti-communism.
With the change in the relation of forces between the capitalist and socialist systems in favour of the latter, international imperialist reaction, notably US imperialism, is staking its future on mass-destruction weapons. The imperialists are attempting to counter the decisive role of the masses in social life and in modern wars by the force of modern weapons. They are trying to use the revolution in military affairs to exterminate socialism. This can be clearly seen from the postwar doctrines of the Western powers.
When it adopted the “massive nuclear retaliation" strategy soon after the Second World War, the USA expected that by its nuclear monopoly it would be able to force the Soviet Union to capitulate and that capitalism would be restored in the socialist countries. The US imperialists nurtured the idea of unleashing a destructive nuclear war to do away with socialism. At the same time they thought that they would be able to use nuclear weapons when the USSR began to assist the revolutionary forces in other countries in their struggle for national independence and social progress.
But the “massive nuclear retaliation" strategy was stillborn. Before US imperialism was able to stockpile enough nuclear weapons to exert a substantial influence on the course and outcome of the intended war, the Soviet Union had itself created powerful nuclear and thermonuclear weapons and means for their delivery to target, and was capable of striking a destructive retaliatory blow at the aggressor in any part of the globe.
The “flexible response" strategy which emerged as a consequence of the reappraisal following the loss by the US of its nuclear monopoly, laid down the main task of the US armed forces in the new situation. It is described in the Field Service Regulations (FM 100-5) introduced in February 1962. According to these Regulations the US armed forces are charged with the following tasks: a) to prepare 197for world nuclear war; b) to unleash and conduct local wars with conventional weapons or the limited application of nuclear arms; c) to conduct the “cold war”.
Hence, the extermination of socialism continues to be one of the main objectives of the US armed forces and those of the other imperialist states. But since a world nuclear war is extremely dangerous for imperialism now, the “flexible response" strategy lays special emphasis on local wars against the socialist countries and the national liberation movement to be waged with conventional weapons.
The “cold war" is one of the means of masking the police function of the US armed forces. “...The basic characteristic of cold war,” the Service Regulations say, “is the absence of overt armed conflict between the military forces of the contending nations." [197•1 Alongside with ideological influence, political pressure, and the subversive activity of the imperialist intelligence services, imperialist ideologists include in the “cold war" concept military blackmail and the covert use of military force against the socialist states, the revolutionary-liberation struggle of the working people in the capitalist countries and the national liberation movements of the oppressed peoples.
The US armed forces are also assigned the task of conducting “special” wars, which are also included in the “cold war" concept. A secret instruction signed by the Chief of Staff of the US Army, which was captured by the South Vietnamese guerillas, regards as “special” the colonial and civil wars waged by puppet governments with US arms, under the guidance of US “advisers” and “instructors”, and with the participation of US troops. There are thousands of US military experts in many countries, who teach local troops “methods of internal defence" or, in other words, how to fight the national liberation and democratic movements.
The West European accomplices of the US aggressors in imperialist plunder take pains not to lag behind the “main partner”. The British, Belgian and other colonialists attempt to set up despotic military regimes in the newly independent states. They support reactionary officer cliques, 198sow national and racial strife in those countries in order to make “Asians fight Asians" and “Africans fight Africans”.
Contradictions Arising During the Formation of Imperialist Armies
The experience of the First and Second World Wars demonstrated that mass armies, consisting mainly of representatives of the exploited classes, are not as reliable as the imperialists would like them to be. But the imperialists cannot do without mass armies, for modern wars could not be waged without them.
The imperialists are using various means in their attempts to make mass armies reliable. In their view the establishment of a fascist regime, the physical destruction and isolation of the most conscious representatives notably of the working class and of the progressive intelligentsia are particularly effective in this respect. This was done in nazi Germany, fascist Italy and militarist Japan. This is being done in Spain, in Portugal, in Greece and covertly also in several other capitalist countries.
However, these measures of the imperialist bourgeoisie cannot ensure high morale and combat qualities of their soldiers for any length of time. On the contrary, they only accelerate the maturing of a revolutionary situation and invigorate the struggle of the progressive forces in those countries.
In all imperialist armies great care is taken to isolate the privates and NCOs from the people, from class-conscious proletarians, from the progressive forces. For this purpose they enlist young people who are unable to find a job or who have not yet had time to become active in the class struggle. In some countries military service is not compulsory and men are enlisted or hired on contract for terms of 3, 7, 12 or more years.
The theoretical basis with which the setting up of armed forces consisting of professional soldiers is being underpinned is that the future war will supposedly be decided by rapid battles involving troops of the first strategic echelon and that these troops must therefore be equipped with the most perfect weapons, must have a high combat efficiency and combat preparedness.
The USA has a conscription law, but a large part of the privates and non-commissioned officers are hired. Many join 199the forces because of constant unemployment and the comparatively high wages being paid to hired men, NCOs and specialists.
In West Germany part of the men enlisted in the Bundeswehr in accordance with the conscription law remain in the forces on a contract signed after the 18 months of compulsory service have expired. In the Navy, for example, 90 per cent of the privates and NCOs are volunteers serving for terms ranging from 3 to 12 years. Volunteers are particularly readily enlisted from among the children of immigrants, former Wehrmacht officers, SS and Gestapo members and other war criminals.
The Japanese “self-defence forces" (this is how Japan’s armed forces are now named) consist exclusively of mercenaries, mainly of peasants and of declass6es. The military observer Hajime Takahashi wrote in this connection: “Is it not that the command enlists the scum of the earth in the army because it wants to use them for criminal acts as mercenaries who are most reliable in moral respects?”
Thus, at present many imperialist armies consist fully or largely of professional mercenaries, who have lost or are rapidly losing all contacts with the masses. For the sake of money and other privileges they are willing to kill not only “foreign”, but also their own workers and peasants in the interest of the capitalists.
The maintenance of the mercenaries is expensive and limits the possibility of training reserves. But the imperialists deliberately do not want to teach military skills to the broad mass of the workers and peasants, especially those who actively participate in the class struggle, in progressive political organisations, in Left trade unions, etc. For example, laws of some states contain a clause according to which persons who do not comply with political requirements are exempt from the service.
Selection is particularly thorough for the special formations intended to suppress the revolutionary actions of the working masses, to carry out subversive actions and punitive measures against the population and guerillas in occupied territories. The imperialists use the “experience” of nazi Germany, where SS units were set up for this purpose.
The military police and gendarme units in the armies of the imperialist states enjoy special privileges, as do also
200paratroops and marines. They are the “fire brigades" intended to existinguish hotbeds of revolution.
In the US armed forces, Special Forces, formed of emigrant scum, and the Marine Corps, numbering about 300,000 officers and men, are trained for punitive and subversive operations. Each of the 13 divisions of Japan’s “self-defence” forces has special detachments for the “maintenance of public order”. They have special weapons and are taught the tactics of “fighting rebels”.
In the imperialist armies increasing attention is given to the class and political principle in selecting officers. Prior to the Second World War the officers were mainly concerned with troop leadership, whereas now their duty, among other things, is to indoctrinate their subordinates with anti–communism and nationalism, and to praise the “free world”.
In the USA those joining the West Point, Annapolis and Colorado Springs Military Colleges must be recommended by the President or Vice-President, a Congressman or the Secretary of Defence, Secretaries of the Army, Navy or Air Force. Naturally, this practically bars the children of workers and small farmers from these colleges.
It will be remembered that when the Bundeswehr was constituted the West German militarists spoke and wrote much about the “democratisation” of their armed forces. What this democratisation really amounted to can be seen from the composition of the officer corps. In 1962, six per cent were people of aristocratic descent, 80 per cent of bourgeois descent, 12 per cent were the sons of office workers and only 2 per cent of workers and peasants. The “law on the rights of servicemen" enumerates a series of benefits that are granted to former servicemen of Hitler’s Wehrmacht who become officers of the Bundeswehr. At present the nucleus of the officer corps and of the NCOs in the Bundeswehr are former servicemen of the nazi army and SS men.
The revanchist aspirations of the West German Bundeswehr are due also to the fact that about 50 per cent of the officers and candidates for officers are descendants of “migrants”, that is, of people who before the Second World War lived on territories now forming the GDR or other socialist countries. They maintain close links with revanchist “associations of fellow countrymen”.
Reactionary and Aggressive Trends in the Training and Education of the Imperialist Armies
Substantial changes have taken place in the character of the training and education of the personnel in the imperialist armed forces. The entire system for the ideological indoctrination of the personnel, the entire system of educa tion and training) has assumed a dearl expressed aggressive, anti communist character.
Before the First World War bourgeois nationalistic and chauvinistic as well as racialist and religious ideas were used to instil in the soldiers hostility towards other peoples. After the victory of the socialist revolution in Russia and the revolutionary actions of the proletariat in a number of countries, slander against socialism and the USSR was pushed to the foreground of attention. The education of the US and British armies in an anti-Soviet spirit continued during the Second World War even though these armies were the allies of the Soviet Army in the war against nazi Germany and her accomplices.
As we already mentioned, at present the indoctrination of the population and the armed forces is aimed at instilling in them hatred for communism and for all progressive forces. Anti-communism and anti-humanism are the alpha and omega of all indoctrination of the soldiers in the imperialist armies. They also permeate the training system. In order to train privates and NCOs for the war against the USSR and other socialist countries, the ruling circles of the Western powers have created special bodies for the indoctrination in their armies, following the nazi example, and have considerably strengthened the responsibility of officers for the education of their subordinates. The imperialist armies are publishing a spate of anti-communist literature, are sponsoring radio and TV broadcasts and producing films lauding capitalism and slandering socialism.
Thus, according to the US Field Service Regulations commanders at all levels are responsible for the indoctrination of the personnel and for their morale. A large propaganda apparatus, the bodies for the “information and education of the troops”, is maintained for that purpose. The administrative staff and the technical apparatus of these bodies in the Pentagon alone numbers hundreds of people. The Departments of the Services have special information 202boards. In addition to managing propaganda activities they compile and publish teaching aids to be used for ideological indoctrination of the personnel, materials for the broadcasting and press services, and produce propaganda films. Some battalions, regiments and other units have “information officers”.
The West German Bundeswehr has a “school for internal guidance" to train the officers and NCOs in charge of the “education” of soldiers.
The troops are being actively “prepared” for fighting ’“internal” enemies. The oath of allegiance taken by US soldiers (approved by Congress in 1962) contains the following: “I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic....” The former oath did not contain the last word.
Great care is taken to diversify the forms of indoctrination, to make them actively influence the minds and hearts of the soldiers: they range from debates, symposiums and conferences to cheap films and semi-religious mystery plays in which the “servants of Satan" are dressed in the uniforms of Soviet officers and men.
The imperialists encounter enormous difficulties in indoctrinating the personnel. One of the reasons responsible for them is that in bourgeois society there are no positive ideas that could inspire the soldiers and sailors for heroic exploits, for the active and creative fulfilment of the tasks assigned to them. This is the main reason for the lack of proper discipline among the soldiers, for the absence of initiative in combat and for the growth of crime in the armies of the imperialist states. Money, the British military journal Soldier sadly admits, can buy everything except the soldiers’ morale.
Experience demonstrates that serious military trials tend to deteriorate the morale of mercenary troops. This can be seen in particular from the growing number of deserters. During the three years of the war in Korea tens of thousands of soldiers deserted from the US army. Among the US troops fighting the “dirty war" in Vietnam desertions are assuming an alarming scale. According to official US data, over 53,000 soldiers, that is, an equivalent of more than three divisions, deserted in 1968 alone.
The low morale of the soldiers of imperialist armies evokes grave concern with the inspirers of military adventures and provocations. The West German journal Wehrkunde described some of the factors which, in its opinion, tend to undermine the fighting spirit of the Bundeswehr soldiers and exercise a strong negative psychological and spiritual influence. The journal enumerates the following factors: “The division of the fatherland as a result of the collapse in 1945, the aftereffects of the shock received lasting for decades, the changes of government systems in the recent past . .. the extreme distortion of the concept of democratic rights, the insufficiently developed sense of duty, the disappearance of the fatherland concept, the break-up of traditions, the challenge flung by part of Germany’s population, etc." [203•1
In training their armed forces for a world war, the imperialists and their military theoreticians believe that the soldiers will blindly execute the aggressive plans of the monopoly bourgeoisie. Military discipline, they say, will compel them to do this. However, in the imperialist armies there is not and cannot be conscious discipline and the bourgeoisie therefore uses the “stick and carrot" method to make its soldiers obedient. All sorts of special drills are introduced to work out blind discipline in the soldiers and sailors. The officers attempt to make the men puppets, robots who behave automatically and thoughtlessly, instil in them fear of punishment for disobedience.
Those engaging in progressive activities in the imperialist armies are subjected to brutal repressions. For participation in political activities Japanese servicemen can be sentenced to hard labour and imprisonment for terms of up to three years. The refusal to carry out an order to suppress strikes, disperse demonstrations, etc., is punishable with hard labour or imprisonment of up to five years.
The “survival” theory used in the drilling and indoctrination of the soldiers also serves to work out blind obedience. According to this theory soldiers must act in combat without thinking for whose sake they are to kill their opponent, in whose interests the war is waged and in whose interests they have to die on the field of battle.
In the US and other imperialist armies a psychological fear of being captured is instilled during combat training. Soldiers are constantly told that if taken prisoner by the Soviet Army they will be subjected to horrible torture. To make this more convincing they are shown bogeys dressed in uniforms of officers and soldiers of the Soviet Army or the armies of other socialist states.
Since the “psychology of the fight for life" cannot substitute for the absence of inspiring ideas, the imperialist armies strive hard to work out in their soldiers automatism in combat actions. This is promoted by the material incentives granted to the mercenaries. Material incentives for successes in combat training have also another aim—to educate in the mercenary the willingness to carry out any order, no matter how inhuman. In the US army, for example, there is a system of increments to privates and NCOs “for proficiency”.
To raise the morale of the army and to “make it immune against enemy propaganda" increments are given also for active participation in combat. These increments are particularly high in the “special forces”.
Such methods are used to imbue the men of the imperialist armies with the ideology and psychology of hired murderers who do not care with whom the guilt for the war lies and in whose interests it is fought. These attitudes have taken root among the US servicemen fighting the dirty war in Vietnam and found expression in the unheard-of atrocities and acts of violence perpetrated against the population of this freedom-loving country. The incontestable information about the mass murders by US soldiers of hundreds and thousands of Vietnamese children, women and old people have given short shrift to the legend that US soldiers in foreign countries “defend democracy and the free way of life”.
Thus, a whole system of measures is used by the imperialist bourgeoisie to make their armed forces an obedient tool in the struggle against socialism, the national liberation and revolutionary movement.
Yet, in spite of all that the imperialist military-political leaders can do nothing to stop a deterioration of morale in the ranks during unjust, annexationist wars.
Thus, to wage the comparatively small unjust war in 205Vietnam there were not enough volunteers in the USA and the government had to recruit men in accordance with the Selected Service Act. The indignation against the escalation of the war was expressed in mass draft evasions by the young. According to the US Department for Selective Service Administration there were 13,500 draft dodgers in September 1966, and over 1,000 persons had been imprisoned.
The great losses suffered by the US forces and their inability to win a victory over the Vietnamese people made officers and men, who had formerly supported the aggression, rethink their positions. Thus, sergeant Jackson, who was on duty guarding US Defence Minister McNamara, during his inspection trip to Vietnam in October 1966, told a correspondent of the New York Post: “I wanted to speak right up and tell him the boys are ready to go home. I wanted to ask him can’t he do anything to get us out of here any faster. If the answer is withdraw, then let’s go get out. We’re not accomplishing anything here." [205•1
Aggressive Essence of the Military-Political Imperialist Blocs
The reactionary role of the modern imperialist military machine is clearly expressed in the aggressive military–political blocs. They were set up by the US imperialists with the aim of securing world domination, of suppressing the revolutionary forces in the capitalist and newly-free countries, and of mobilising the material resources of international reaction for a war against the world socialist system.
The anti-communist orientation of the military blocs attracted the reactionary classes of a number of European and Asian capitalist states. Despite the opposition of the masses, their governments joined these blocs in keeping with US demands.
The greatest threat to peace comes from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) set up in 1949. At first 12 states joined NATO: the USA, Great Britain, Canada, France, [205•2 Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Iceland and Luxemburg. In 1952, under 206pressure from the USA, Greece and Turkey joined NATO. Three years later West Germany joined the bloc.
In 1954, after the failure of the US aggression in Korea and the defeat of the French colonialists in Vietnam, the governments of the USA, Great Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, the Philippines and Pakistan set up the South East Asian Treaty Organisation (SEATO).
In November 1955 the Central Treaty Organisation (CENTO) was set up. Up to 1959 this bloc was called the Baghdad Pact, but after the July 1958 events Iraq left the bloc, and Great Britain, Turkey, Pakistan and Iran had to look hurriedly for a new name. Formally the USA is not in CENTO, but actually it plays the main role in this and other blocs.
In addition to the above the imperialists have set up such military political blocs as ANZUS, the Western European Union and ASPAC, which consist mainly of the countries participating in NATO, CENTO and SEATO. Other blocs (OAS, ODECA) incorporate countries whose governments under pressure from the USA pool their efforts in the struggle against the Latin American peoples who are fighting for their national and social liberation.
In setting up military blocs the US imperialists relied on the experience of the notorious Anti-Comintern Pact signed on the eve of the Second World War by Germany, Italy and Japan.
At the same time the military-political alliances of today attach certain specific features. NATO gave the US imperialists the “legal” chance to install its agents in the armed forces of its NATO allies, to prepare and carry out military fascist coups (similar to the one carried out in Greece in 1967, and those which but for the decisive action by the democratic forces would have been carried out in France in 1961, and in Italy in 1964).
NATO is not simply a treaty between the governments of the main imperialist powers on joint action, but is a military-political organisation commanding huge armed forces, equipped with modern weapons, including nuclear missiles. The NATO joint command can independently decide to unleash a world war under the pretext of having to “repel sudden aggression”, it can intervene in the internal affairs of the member-countries in order to suppress 207democratic and revolutionary movements in them. The leading role in the NATO joint military command belongs to US generals.
The governments of the countries in the imperialist blocs have signed treaties providing for the use of allied armed forces in the struggle against revolutionary actions in any of the member-countries of NATO, CENTO, SEATO and other blocs. The mercenaries of the US Army and Navy, the West German revanchists and former nazis now serving in the Bundeswehr have turned out to be the bestsuited tools for the implementation of this task. This explains, in particular, the stationing of US and West German troops in several West European countries. These troops are a sort of “foreign legion”, a “police baton" in the hands of the reactionary forces. The US Field Service Regulations openly say that “land forces in oversea areas are... a means by which the United States can assist its allies to deal with disorders inspired and directed by hostile states". [207•1
The armed forces of the CENTO and SEATO membercountries are not placed at the disposal of the blocs, but there are agreements on introducing armed forces to the territory of an “allied” country in order to render it “aid” in the suppression of democratic movements. For example, a special commission has been set up by CENTO for the struggle against “subversive activity”. The participants of the 6th Session of SEATO held in 1960 openly declared that they were willing to use their troops as police forces to fight the revolutionary movement in Southeast Asia.
Many of the countries participating in the aggressive blocs, especially economically backward ones, are unable to carry the enormous military burden. This produces counteraction not only on the part of the masses but also on the part of some of the ruling circles. They cannot ignore the difficult position of their countries. For example, the armed forces of Turkey incorporated in NATO swallow up a large portion of that country’s national income. Large sums of money are spent by Iran, Pakistan, Greece and Thailand to maintain their armies. The peoples of Taiwan and South Korea are in an even more difficult position. South Korea 208and Taiwan do not formally belong to any military blocs, but their puppet governments are, at the demand of the USA and with its assistance, preparing for aggression against the socialist countries and are maintaining huge armed forces: South Korea—600,000 men and Taiwan—550,000 (the island has only 11.5 million inhabitants).
The unity of NATO and other blocs is eroded by economic rivalry and national contradictions. The armed forces of many members of these blocs are dissatisfied with the US domination.
Under the pressure of the masses the governments of some member-states of the aggressive blocs refuse to send their troops to suppress the liberation struggle of the peoples of other countries, refuse to have missile bases of the imperialist powers in their countries. Despite the strong pressure by the USA, no NATO member has sent its troops to participate in the US aggression in Vietnam. The leaders of a number of NATO countries speak of the need to stop the war in Vietnam, and the French government has openly condemned US aggression.
The peoples of the countries in the imperialist blocs grow increasingly aware that the US imperialists are ready to destroy their “allies” during the war. Thus, the TASS statement of August 19, 1961 revealed CENTO’s secret plan on preparations to explode 40 nuclear land mines in Iran.
The withdrawal of France from the NATO military organisation, the removal from France of the leading bodies of that bloc, the statements of the governments of Britain and Belgium that they intended to decrease their share in NATO commitments, the opposition of the governments of Iran and Pakistan against the US domination in CENTO and SEATO—these are but some of the phenomena showing that the contradictions in the imperialist blocs have entered a new stage. The crises in these blocs are periodically recurring. At present the imperialist blocs are bursting at the seams because of the intensification of contradictions between their members.
The organic faults and deep contradictions endemic in the capitalist system and the armed forces of the imperialist states must be taken into account. At the same time it would be dangerous to belittle the possibilities of the 209imperialist armed forces. These armies are numerous, equipped with the latest weapons, united by a single command, and have been indoctrinated to wage aggressive wars.
Constant Threat to Peace by Imperialist Armies and Military Blocs
For the first time in their history the imperialist states are building up and dislocating their armed forces in keeping with the general interests of international imperialism as well as with their own interests. The groupings of these states express the aggressive essence of modern militarism.
The US imperialists have set up numerous military bases in the USA, Britain, Italy, North Africa, Greenland and the Pacific Ocean. The imperialists call them defensive bases. Actually, however, they are springboards of aggression. The building of nuclear submarines is being stepped up. According to the Pentagon, the Navy is to have command over 50 per cent of the US nuclear potential.
The US armed forces, notably their Navy and Air Force, are located so as to be able with the men and means at their command to wage a war against the USSR and other socialist countries and to suppress national liberation movements in Asia, Africa and Latin America. After the adoption of the “flexible response" strategy, the armaments, organisation and location of the US armed forces have considerably changed with a view to enabling them to conduct military operations with or without nuclear weapons.
The US ruling circles assign the following tasks to their Navy: to ward off, as effectively as possible, retaliatory nuclear missiles strikes from US territory; to ensure the survival of part of the bases and nuclear delivery means for subsequent nuclear strikes; to preserve these bases along the perimetre of the world socialist system in the event of a forced evacuation of land bases from the European, Asian and African countries; to exert pressure on US allies outside the Western hemisphere; to carry out police functions in the struggle against the national liberation and revolutionary movement on other continents; to safeguard the transportation of troops and military cargoes from the USA to overseas theatres of operations.
The US naval forces have been stationed in keeping with these tasks. Atomic submarines armed with nuclear missiles 210are constantly patrolling the Northeast Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean, ready to strike a nuclear blow. The 7th Fleet, the strongest US naval arm, is patrolling off the coast of the Soviet Far East and the Southeast Asian countries. Warships of the 6th Fleet give the greatest attention to the Mediterranean waters. Part of the 1st Fleet in the Pacific Ocean is also poised against the socialist countries.
The plans to set up NATO multilateral nuclear forces, which some of the US ruling circles are actively promoting, is a major threat to peace.
The imperialists of the USA and other countries frequently use their satellites and gangs of mercenaries to start and conduct wars against progressive states and movements, and to restore colonial oppression. A case in point was the Israeli aggression against the Arab peoples in 1967, which was prepared and inspired by US, British and West German imperialism.
All this compels the peace-loving peoples not to relax their vigilance.
Notes
[197•1] Field Service Regulations. Operations (FM 100-5) Headquarters, Department of the Army, February 1962, p. 5.
[203•1] Wehrkunde, No. 3, March 1962, S. 125.
[205•1] New Times, No. 43, 1966, Moscow, p. 8.
[205•2] France withdrew from NATO’s military organisation in 1966, but remained in its political committee.
[207•1] Field Service Regulations, p. 12.
.jpg)
