Trotsky and February 1917

Preparing for revolution

When the Russian revolution began in February 1917, leading revolutionaries, including Leon Trotsky and Vladimir Lenin, were in exile. Commentating from afar they sought to influence events, while planning their return. In the meantime, the Russian government was headed by right-wing socialists, the Mensheviks, and the peasant-based Social Revolutionaries. PETER TAAFFE reviews two books dealing with this time.

The Afghanistan disaster: the limits of US power

Fifteen years ago George W Bush and his fellow neo-cons were triumphant when their war on Afghanistan led to the collapse of the Taliban regime after just two months. But what followed was years of ‘mission creep’ which, along with the war on Iraq, led to rising levels of opposition across the west to these brutal imperialist interventions. JUDY BEISHON reviews the events of those 15 years and looks at what they mean for Donald Trump’s policy towards Afghanistan and beyond, and for the millions on the receiving end of the onslaught.

US workers need an independent party

As Donald Trump moves into the White House, a huge debate is opening up among workers and youth about how to defeat him and fight for genuinely progressive politics. One common idea is to combine the building of a movement against Trump with a determined effort to ‘take back’ the Democratic Party so that it represents the interests of ordinary people rather than Wall Street. However, what is really needed, writes CALVIN PRIEST from Socialist Alternative, is a new mass workers' party.