British Anti-Americanism
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Page 11 of 14 Those whose anti-Americanism stems from disquiet about US actions in the Cold War often come from a generation of whom many formed their political outlook in opposition to US involvement in Vietnam. With the end of the Cold War the issue most often raised is that of Cuba, and the United States continuing embargo upon it. Pre the fall of the Soviet Union it could frequently be heard from some liberal, non-communist commentators that this or that East European regime had this or that redeeming feature, be it job security, universal child-care, or an effective health system. These arguments are still heard in relation to Cuba. For example Brian Wilson, a minister in Blair’s government until the end of the Iraq conflict, has since said in 2003 that while ‘Cuba is not perfect… But criticism should never ignore the fact that Cuba’s primary service to the world has been to provide living proof that it is possible to conquer poverty, disease and illiteracy in a country that was grossly familiar with all three. That is a pretty big service. The fact that it has been delivered in the face of sustained hostility from an obsessive neighbour makes it all the more stunning…For those who go to Cuba only in order to sneer, there are political paradoxes on every street corner. All true, all the inevitable result of 40 years of siege, but also irrelevant to the bigger picture of what Cuba represents as a symbol of human potential.’28 Are these remarks not eerily reminiscent to what others have said in previous times about other socialist states? As an antidote to this, Brian Wilson goes on to state, perhaps to the surprise of some historians, that in any case Castro was never a true ally of the Soviet Union – Castro’s ‘Withering remarks about the Soviet Union confirm just how unloving a marriage of necessity that was.’29 Brian Wilson’s remarks in support of Cuba appear mild in comparison to those made by others. Seamas Milne, the comment editor of The Guardian previously quoted, has said: ‘The historical importance of Cuba’s struggle for social justice and sovereignty and its creative social mobilisation will continue to echo beyond its time and place: from the self-sacrificing internationalism of Che to the crucial role played by Cuban troops in bringing an end to apartheid through the defeat of South Africa at Cuito Cuanavale in Angola in 1988… Cuba will have to expect yet more destabilisation, further complicating the defence of the social and political gains of the revolution in the years to come. The greatest contribution those genuinely concerned about human rights and democracy in Cuba can make is to get the US and its European friends off the Cubans’ backs.’30 Roll on the Red Pioneers. For some of the UK’s leading opponents of United States foreign policy, support for the old Eastern Bloc goes very much further than that of having a romantic picture of Cuba. The MP George Galloway – expelled from the Labour Party in October 2003 for statements made during the Iraq War - has been probably the most rabid parliamentary opponent of Britain’s military alliance with the US on Iraq and also Blair’s most vituperative opponent within his own party before being expelled. In an interview with The Guardian in 2002, more than ten years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Galloway stated that he had not changed his political position from that of the 1980s and described himself as being ‘on the anti-imperialist left.’ When asked if this meant the Stalinist left, Galloway’s response was, ‘I wouldn’t define it that way because of the pejoratives loaded around it; that would be making a rod for your own back. If you are asking did I support the Soviet Union, yes I did. Yes, I did support the Soviet Union, and I think the disappearance of the Soviet Union is the biggest catastrophe of my life.’31 |
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