LOS ANGELES— When the U.S. bosses expanded the Middle East war by targeting Syria’s ruling class and moving the U.S. into a more direct military conflict with  Russian bosses, 3 students from the local health university showed up on a day’s notice to join the PLP contingent  marching against the war downtown. Unlike the previous anti-gun violence march or Women’s March which drew thousands of unaffiliated workers, most workers who joined ANSWER Coalition’s demonstration were with revisionist groups.
A small group of nationalist Syrian workers supported the Syrian ruling class, carrying a Syrian flag and large Assad posters. Clearly, the Democratic Party and their sellout unions who are struggling to build  patriotism for sending ground troops into the Middle East and elsewhere are not going to spend  millions to supporting the anti-war movement like they have with the previous marches mentioned.
In fact, Trump’s excuse for bombing   Syrian workers  following supposed chemical weapons use  was in response to the “red line”  Obama drew during his presidency.  With Russian jets, tanks, and ground troops this marks the first time a foreign imperialist power has set foot in the Middle East-- other than the U.S—since World War II.  As the U.S. global hegemony and control of Middle Eastern oil has continued to weaken since their failed wars in Iraq, this new presence of Russian bosses is a further indication that larger war is imminent. Short of an all-out military invasion with  U.S. and likely European Union troops, their regional hold and global power will further diminish.  We cannot predict when or where, but it’s a slippery slope to World War III.
Our involvement  in the current movement  is crucial, particularly for Black, Latin, immigrant and Muslim workers  largely absent from the anti-war movement during the Bush years. The racist U.S. bosses will sacrifice these workers first on the frontlines for their profits.
Thus, it was a significant  that three Black future healthcare workers, one whom is an Iraq War veteran, marched with PLP and brought a revolutionary message to the small crowd. These three Party friends have participated in Party study groups and social events and after May Day. The plan is to recruit them. It’s a modest and yet significant development for our work here in Los Angeles.
It’s also a testament that even within this period of war and fascism, we can move our class, even if in small numbers, right now.
Just as these new set of bombings in Syria can quickly spillover into a World War III, our small work now, could lead to waves of growth of our organization, and the fight for communism.