Reagan's deadly shopping spree
Socialist Organiser1981 1981-10-08Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 16 →
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WORKERS throughout the world have reason to fear Ronald Reagan's announcement last week of the birgest arms shopping spree in history.
The US government, already equipped with enough bombs and missiles to exterminate civilised life on earth, is to build up its arsenal still further.
New missiles Reagan unveiled a $180 billion programme including:
*3,000 new air-launched Cruise missiles - on top of those ground-launched missiles already destined for NATO bases in Britain and Europe.
*100 new 10-warhead MX missiles, to be based in strengthened silos. This replaces an even more ambitious scheme for 200 MX missiles to rotate between 4,000 shelters spanning vast tracts of Utah and Nevada. But it still represents a major increase in the US strategic arsenal.
*The cancelled B-1 bomber project is to be revived and 100 buit by 1986, while work begins on a new radar-evading 'stealth' bomber for the 1990s..
*Back-up communications and command systems are to be upgraded.
Intimidate
The US imperialists have a motive in such colossal spending. As the economic ravages of capitalism bite home, increasing poverty in Thrid World' countries, the masses are driven to resist imperialist rule.
Through its vast nuclear arsenal and build-up of conventional forces US imperialism hopes to intimidate such struggles, and to threaten outright use of force against the Soviet Union and deformed workers' states should they lend them support.
For the world's working classes, this offers a pros pect of growing deprivation - overshadowed by the threat of war and nuclear annihilation.
Latest NATO analysis underlines the fact that US strategy now consists of using nuclear weapons in Europe within five days of any confrontation with the USSR. Britain, the USA and the Small wonder that in continent of Europe antiwar movements are growing, not only among middle class "peace freaks" but also in the organised labour movement.
A test of this will be the October 24 CND demonstration in London. It will be an important venue socialists to argue the need for action to defeat the warmongering Tory government and thus deal a blow at Reagan.
Reagan