Only by cutting off alleged financial support for the Islamic State group from Gulf states can the violence that has spread from Syria and Iraq to Europe since the Paris attacks be halted, warns former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis in an exclusive interview for Middle East Eye.
Varoufakis, who was catapulted from academia to international fame after taking up the post of finance minister in the newly elected left-wing Greek government of Syriza, said that the US and France were running out of military targets for their bombing campaign. After the Paris attacks on 13 November, President Francois Holland āhad to show he was doing something, but they didnāt know what to bomb,ā said Varoufakis.
Watch the full interview here:
He offered rare praise for his former nemesis Angela Merkel for her decision to allow hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria’s war to come to Germany, but said that “Europe has lost its capacity to respond rationally to common problems” over the refugee crisis. Merkel had done more than any other leader to open doors to refugees, but he was quick to forewarn that the political classes in Germany, and some sections of German society, are turning against her because of it.
He warned that the main beneficiaries of the recent attacks in Paris would be the defence and security companies, and those āpeople with terrible agendasā who will now āutilise the pain and the grief, the rage that most people feel, in order to push those agendas that have nothing to do with securityā and in fact endanger it.
He said the actions of IS in Paris will only feed into Islamophobia which is āthe greatest giftā to the group and āextremists everywhereā.
The oustpoken finance minister became a darling of the left for standing up to the EU and Troika against imposed austerity. He later resigned from the Greek government when it became clear that it would be accepting EU terms of austerity. Middle East Eye caught up with Varoufakis at his London hotel where we asked him about the economics of war, terror and refugees.
Solidarity among the weak
Varoufakis juxtaposed the disparity between Greeceās response, with thousands of refugees arriving every day, to that of Britain where a few hundred potential refugees have caused a āmoral panicā. Why do poor countryās shoulder the burden more than rich ones? He paraphrases a passage from Bertole Brechtās The Three Penny Opera: āIf you are a beggar and you want to make money you donāt go to a rich suburb, you go to a poor suburb. Solidarity among the weak.ā
What caused the crisis?
āEvery time we [the West] intervene, mindlessly, either in order to prop up some dictatorshipā¦ Or when we invade in order to pretend we are doing something about the ill effects of previous interventions, we make a bad thing worse.ā The Syrian war is a perfect example and ādirect consequence of Western imperialismā. The refugee crisis is all these āchickens coming home to roostā.
Schengen
In the wake of the Paris attacks the EU states have agreed to tighten checks on travellers at Schengen borders. He was quick to point out that Britain and the United States are not part of Schengen yet both countries have experienced major terrorist attacks, despite ramped up security and tight border controls.Ā āWhen we raise borders and fences all we are doing is creating a greater division, mainly amongst our own people and between the good people on the other side of the fence and us.ā
Paris attacks
Varoufakis’s initial response to the Paris Attacks was, like many people, for the safety and wellbeing of friends and family. Seconds later ādesperation set in,ā because the actions of ISIS will only feed into Islamophobia which is āthe greatest giftā to ISIS and āextremists everywhereā.
āWe have been here before:ā the āgood peopleā of Europe and the Middle East are now āgoing to have to face another wave of irrationality and misanthropyā.
Who benefits from terrorism?
Firstly the defence industry and security industry: āThereās a lot of money to be made every time there is a bomb that goes upā¦ the shares of companies that produce equipment for security purposes go through the roof.ā
Secondly, and more importantly, the āpeople with terrible agendasā who will now āutilise the pain and the grief, the rage that most people feel, in order to push those agendas that have nothing to do with security.ā Agendas that ultimately violate and undermine security.
The only solution is to starve ISIS
The United States has been trying for months to bombard ISIS to no avail and it is a āwell known secretā that the United States have since ārun out of military targetsā. French President Francis Holland āhad to show he was doing something, but they didnāt know what to bomb.ā
So if bombing isnāt working, whatās his solution? āThe only solution is to starve ISIS.ā The only way to do that is āby tackling Saudi Arabia and the Emirates that are supporting themā.
Declarations of war
The declarations of war in response to the Paris attacks is a ā19-century, early 20th-century, mid 20th-centuryā solution to a 21st century problem. In todayās world āthere are no frontlinesā.
The West must not āallow fear to conquer everythingā¦Ā fear is not a good guide to good policy, either domestic policy or foreign policyā.
War, what is it good for?
Capitalism in short, which āfinds itself producing a lot more staff than the masses can consumeā. This over supply or under consumption āgives rise to a need to boost expenditureā. Varoufakis would rather such surplus was boosted by providing health and education, but it is far easier of convincing a conservative parliament āto throw a few more bombsā onto the fire.
Rise of the far right
The combination of a world in economic turmoil, embroiled in a cycle of war, terrorism and the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War ensures far-right forces ārise up from within the rubbleā.
He blames the failure of liberal democrats and the left to come to terms with āthe crisis of capitalismā as a major contributing factor feeding ābigotry, ultra-nationalism and Nazismā. A historical theme of recurrence that will āonly carry on as long as we continue to fail in precisely the same mannerā.
ZNetwork is funded solely through the generosity of its readers.
Donate
1 Comment
I regret, tremendously, the use of the word ‘Islamaphobia’. We have no other term to convey the behavior (speech and deeds) of those with vile beliefs toward Moslems, no matter who they are. But the word bothers me enormously. I’m Islamaphobic. A phobia is a fear. Do I tremble in mortal terror at being in the presence of a Moslem? No. I’ve worked with them and my best friend is a Moslem. But I fear what I consider to be the effects of manmade religion on the minds of those who are exposed to them, including minds who have no choice about that exposure because they were born into culture in which the religion dominates.
And I have a whole pile of ‘phobias’. I hate all organized religion, and it has to do with my ‘phobia’ of the effects. (I also hate the religion of capitalism and biological evolution). I’m a big believer in human rights and democracy (although my idea of democracy is not the same as others’, including the Right). If saying honestly what I think about Islam, or Israel, or the Left or Right makes me evil and if those who believe that choose to brand me an Islamaphobe or anti-semitic or rightwing or a commie pinko, there’s nothing I can do about that.
The ‘Islamaphobia’ that the Left, mostly, denounces should be denounced. But the use of that particular ‘label’ is problematic. We wouldn’t be here if Left leaders had been more circumspect years ago in talking about these things. The practice is now too commonplace to counter. But I will dislike it no less for that.