First Published:The Workers’ Advocate Vol. 7, No. 7, December 20, 1977.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
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In recent weeks, U.S. imperialism and their Israeli zionst henchmen have unleashed a dangerous conspiracy against the Palestinian revolution and the cause of the Arab people. As part of this conspiracy, Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt, has committed an ugly betrayal, kneeling before the Zionist butchers and offering to sell out the Palestinian and Arab cause in the name of "peace" with the Israeli aggressors. Sadat's visit to "Israel" and the kisses he has lavished on the bloodstained Zionists, who illegally occupy all of Palestine, as well as part of the territory of Syria and Egypt, and who at this time are stepping up their murderous bombings of villages in southern Lebanon, has aroused the fury of the Arab people and the people of the whole world.
However, in the U.S., the OL social-chauvinists have rushed to the aid of their friends, the U.S. imperialists and the Israeli Zionists, in an attempt to pacify the people's anger under the signboard of a "dialectical" distortion of Marxism-Leninism allegedly in accord with new conditions. Guided by the opportunist theory of "Three Worlds", the OL has jumped out in support of Sadat's betrayal and treacherous de facto recognition of the U.S. imperialist colonial settler state of Israel. This activity exposes, once again, the complete bankruptcy of OL's revisionist theory of "Three Worlds" as a theory of capitulation to imperialism and reaction in general and alliance with U.S. imperialism in particular.
In the December 12th issue of their newspaper, The Call, the OL social-chauvinists heap praise on Sadat's great treachery. These pro-imperialist fanatics describe Sadat's efforts to sell out the Palestinian people's struggle to liberate their homeland and his attempts to split the Arab front of struggle against the Zionist occupiers as "a step against superpower hegemonism". Despite all of OL's fine words in support of the cause of the Palestinian and Arab peoples, despite all their noise about support of die struggle against Zionism and colonialism, at the crucial moment, when U.S. imperialism is unleashing a sinister scheme to wipe out the Palestinian revolution and the Arab people's struggle, OL betrays the struggle and jumps out to support imperialism.
The OL social-chauvinists have given up the struggle against the U.S. neo-colonial empire and have gained notoriety for denouncing the struggles against the fascist butchers of imperialism like the Shah of Iran, Mobutu of the Congo (K) and Pinochet of Chile. According to their theory of "Three Worlds", the national liberation struggles in these countries should be outlawed as attempts to "overthrow third world governments", a term under which they include neo-colonial puppet states of imperialism, which they consider to be "the motive force" of world history.
However, these opportunists still must give lip-service to the struggle against old style colonialism, but this is nothing but lip-service. At the crucial moment, they will come out in support of the colonialists as can be seen in their support for the new unequal treaty which Carter is trying to impose on the Panamanian people, a treaty to keep forever the Panama Canal Zone under U.S. military occupation and control and which the OL hails as a "victory" for the Panamanian people. Now, too, they have come out in support of what they themselves describe as Sadat's "de facto recognition of Israel".
These great champions of the so-called "third world struggles" are in fact the most unprincipled collaborators with imperialism against the national liberation struggles of the people of Asia, Africa and Latin America. It was barely two months ago, October 3, that The Call carried a blaring front page headline -- "NO PEACE TALKS WITHOUT PLO!". This article criticized in particular the attempts of the Soviet Union to keep the PLO out of the negotiations in Geneva. In the November 28 issue of TheCall, they even denounced Sadat's betrayal as follows: "Sadat's recognition and 'acceptance' of the Israeli settler state, standing on stolen Palestinian land can do nothing but weaken the Palestinian people's just struggle for their national rights...his unilateral action serves to weaken the precious cause of Arab and third world unity... what purpose can abstract talk of 'peace' serve as long as the Israeli expansionists occupy Arab lands and make bombing runs over civilian villages in Lebanon?" In conclusion the article proclaims that this is "a time to reaffirm our Support to the Palestinian cause and to heighten the struggle against imperialism, social-imperialism and Zionism".
However, these grand pronouncements proved inconsistent with the opportunist theory of "Three Worlds" and came in conflict with their strategy of alliance with U.S. imperialism. Revolutionary people the world over are condemning Sadat's betrayal of the Palestinian people, however, the "theoreticians" of the "Three Worlds" find themselves in direct opposition to the world's people. With the developments of the class struggle in the real world, at the crucial moment, these opportunists find themselves in an impasse and betray the struggle. They haven't finished "reaffirming) our support to the Palestinian cause" before they are sacrificing this cause to the dirty deals and maneuvering of the U.S. imperialists, the Israeli Zionists and Arab reaction. The "precious cause of Arab and third world unity" is abandoned in favor of the splitters of Arab unity. Sadat's "abstract talk of 'peace' " becomes of great value for which everything else should be given up. Now "Sadat's actions represent a step against superpower hegemonism"
The advocates of the "Three Worlds" theory claim that the struggles of the "countries and peoples of the third world" constitute the "motive force of world history". With this eclectic formulation -- "countries and peoples" -- the opportunists are combining into one whole, on the one hand, socialist countries and the national liberation movements based on the struggle of the proletariat and peasantry, and on the other hand, enemies of socialism and the national liberation movement, the neo-colonial states and the capitalist and landlord lackeys of imperialism. It is becoming increasingly clear that what is to be taken as the "motive force" are the reactionary governments of the so called "third world" and their negotiations and dealings with imperialism and the aggressors. Socialism and the revolutionary socialist movement of the proletariat and the national liberation movement are to be sacrificed for the sake of the dirty deals struck between the imperialists and their lackeys in each country.
Of course, it is only the professional confusion mongers who write for The Call, with their brilliant "dialectics", who are able to properly analyze allegedly "complicated developments" and have the ability to explain how Sadat's betrayal, on the one hand, is a big blow at the imperialist superpowers, and on the other hand undermines the Palestinian revolution and the Arab cause. These "dialecticians", who never tire of denouncing the Marxist-Leninists for "metaphysics", can write in one sentence that Sadat's betrayal is "in opposition to the aims of the Palestinian struggle", while at the same time "represents a step against superpower hegemonism". In a single paragraph they attempt to combine what is obvious, that "his trip.. had the effect of undermining the common front of Arab countries and the Palestinian liberation movement" with what is absurd -- "Sadat's diplomacy has caused turmoil for the superpowers". The only conclusion that can be drawn from this "dialectical" confusion is that the way to fight the "hegemonism of the two superpowers" is to betray the Palestinian and Arab peoples and to collaborate with the conspiracies of U.S. imperialism and their Zionist puppets.
The OL is trying to portray Sadat's activities as something independent of imperialism, even taking Washington by surprise. The Call innocently declares that "the ruling circles of this country are not fully pleased with these developments" and quotes from the imperialist press that Sadat's "solo diplomacy had thrown the American administration into temporary disarray". But all this is bluff as the whole world knows who is pulling the strings behind the scenes.
In reality, OL is excited about Sadat's betrayal because they have become a shameless cheering squad for U.S. imperialism in its rivalry with Soviet social - imperialism. According to their sick logic, anything, no matter what, which Moscow protests, the OL concludes must be supported. Sadat's betrayal has been a real coup for U.S. imperialism in its rivalry with Soviet social-imperialism for the domination of the Middle East. The OL is particularly excited about the prospect of the Geneva Conference being put off because of Sadat's Cairo talks with the Zionist butchers, thus excluding the Soviet Union from any negotiations. So much for The Call's front page headline "NO PEACE TALKS WITHOUT THE PLO!" So what that the U.S. imperialists, the Israeli Zionists, and Sadat are making dirty deals behind the backs of and against the interests of the Arab people and the PLO. The Soviets are being edged out, what more can one ask for? The Call is thrilled because "The Soviet Union is panicked not only because its own schemes have been pushed out of the limelight, but because it is Sadat (read U.S. imperialist schemes -- ed.) who has catapulted forward". What unabashed enthusiasm these social-chauvinists express for this victory which U.S. imperialism has scored over the Soviet New Tsars in their inter-imperialist rivalry.
Sadat's "initiative" was not only inspired by the religious letters Carter sent to the Egyptian President, but his betrayal also corresponds to the theory of "Three Worlds" which is an opportunist theory of capitulation to imperialism and which calls for an alliance with U.S.-led imperialism, and even the most savage reactionaries such as the Israeli Zionists, against Soviet social-imperialism. Sadat's treachery was carried out in the name of "non-alignment", which, like the "Three Worlds" theory, is a deceitful slogan under which various lackeys of imperialism sell out their peoples under the guise of being independent of imperialism. It is no accident that the "non-aligned" revisionist countries of Yugoslavia and Romania have played an active part in the recent U.S. imperialist-zionist plots. The Zionist terrorist, Prime Minister Begin, sent a personal message of gratitude to President Ceausescu of Romania, that card castle of anti-Soviet social-imperialism, thanking him for helping to arrange Sadat's shameful trip to Israeli occupied Jerusalem.
The opportunist theory of "Three Worlds" is becoming increasingly exposed in the eyes of the people. Under the guidance of this so-called "great strategy for world revolution", the OL opportunists have advanced the open social-chauvinist theory of the U.S. proletariat striking its "main blow at the Soviet Union"; they have denounced the Carter administration for not building enough B-l bombers; they have come out to support the new unequal treaty of Yankee enslavement with Panama and have carried out an entire series of similar treachery. And now, these opportunists have jumped out to hail Sadat's betrayal and the U.S. imperialist schemes to drown in blood the Palestinian and Arab peoples. These are the logical consequences of coming under the discipline of the counter-revolutionary theory of "Three Worlds", which means of necessity abandoning the anti-imperialist struggle.