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From: cramer@kontron.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.followup,net.politics
Subject: Re: Is the UK Labour Party a Commie Threat?
Message-ID: <798@kontron.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 20-May-86 13:14:51 EDT
Article-I.D.: kontron.798
Posted: Tue May 20 13:14:51 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 22-May-86 20:59:43 EDT
References: <157@unido.UUCP> <720@ark.UUCP> <122@paisley.ac.uk>
Organization: Kontron Electronics, Mt. View, CA
Lines: 32
Xref: lsuc net.followup:2115 net.politics:5737

> In article <778@kontron.UUCP> cramer@kontron.UUCP writes:
> 
> >Didn't the last Labour Party platform include declaring Britain a nuclear-
> >free zone?  Removal of US bases from Britain?  How long do you think 
> >Britain would remain in NATO if the Labour Party won the next election?
> 
> If that makes the Labour Party "communist" in your eyes, then I suppose other
> Western nations like Switzerland, Sweden, New Zealand and Australia are also
> communist too. They aren't too keen on storing other people's nuclear weapons
> for them either. Mind you, the USSR is quite keen on deploying its nukes in
> its satellite nations and isn't unfond of keeping USSR troops in Eastern Europe
> etc. [I don't think they're all that keen on US bases either...:-)] 
> 
> 		Jim

There are a lot of people on the net who seem to think that if the CPSU
supports A, then Communist parties everywhere will also support A in 
*their* home country.  Not at all.  If the CPSU believes that A is good
for the Soviet Union, it is not at all surprising that Communist parties
in other countries will oppose A -- in the interests of weakening the
country.  (Of course, this doesn't always work out the way that the CPSU
wants.  For example, the CPSU conscripts for its military -- the CPUSA
opposes conscription, doubtless because they believe that it makes
America weaker.  In fact, conscription makes America weaker than a 
voluntary military.)

Pacifist and isolationist movements have a long history of being supported
by totalitarians in *opposing* countries -- not because totalitarians
believe in pacifism and isolationism, but because they hope to make
their enemies weak.

Clayton E. Cramer