Are the Los Angeles fires revenge for Gaza?

The U.S. military is the world’s largest institutional destroyer. Let alone the world, cities across the country, at both the local and federal levels, are suffering hundreds of casualties each year as a result of militarism and policing. The relentless wars waged by the military have exacerbated the climate crisis, and its devastating consequences are now being seen in the form of tragedies, such as the one witnessed in Los Angeles.

For decades, the military-industrial complex has been destroying ecosystems, cities, and peoples in the Middle East and North Africa region in an attempt to dominate the oil industry. The 15-month US-Israeli bombing campaign against Gaza has not only released vast amounts of fossil fuels and dust into the atmosphere, but has also poisoned soil and water. Israel recently detonated an “earthquake bomb,” some reports say, which may have been nuclear. The genocide in Gaza has completely destroyed the ecosystem and could severely undermine any future efforts to rebuild and restore agriculture. The war in Ukraine has led to the explosion of the Nord Stream pipeline. Expanded military bases around the world, in a senseless competition with China, are contaminating the soil with toxic PFAS chemicals. Biodiversity is at risk globally.

The truth is, wildfires are a natural part of California's ecosystem. They are essential to life. In fact, long-standing development in fire-prone areas, and the suppression and suppression of these natural processes to protect the homes of billionaires in Malibu, have made the situation worse. This neglect of a balanced ecosystem has historically and consistently come at the expense of middle- and working-class neighborhoods in Los Angeles that are prone to preventable fires. The threat to Los Angeles is compounded by the extremely dry air and winds of nearly 100 miles per hour caused by the climate crisis of the war economy.

This local disregard for the natural environment stems from similar reasons to the Jewish National Fund’s planting of non-native pine trees in Palestine, often in place of demolished Palestinian villages, in exchange for vital biodiversity. In both cases, a war economy that prioritizes the interests of those in power is born out of a disregard for indigenous peoples and their lives. In both cases, the results are devastating. In a planet that has endured decades of imperialist ecocide, biodiversity, much of it located on sovereign indigenous lands, has been dramatically destroyed.

This climate-sacrificing militarism is not just international. In Atlanta, USA, the proposed “Cop City” police training center is planned to be built in a forest, a sacred local land and the “lungs” of the city. The forest not only ensures air quality, but also acts as a flood protection. Appalachia and Atlanta have recently experienced severe flooding. The situation has been made worse by the destruction of the Cop City forest. Those who prioritize these military training centers and exchange programs with the Israeli occupation forces are doing so at the city’s expense. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass recently proposed an additional $123 million for the police and a $23 million cut to the fire department. Meanwhile, the city is completely out of control and burning. In such a situation, the only thing the fire department can do is try to save the residents.

All of these things could have been prevented. It's just that US officials are acting with the mindset that if we continue the ecological destruction around the world, it won't come back to us. In fact, the fires in Gaza are the same as the fires in Los Angeles. They were started by the same organizations and can be stopped with similar measures. The first was intentional, the second is a consequence. Both are devastating, heartbreaking, horrific, terrible and infuriating.

Climate organizations are actively warning about the implications of the fires in Los Angeles. According to reports, some of the federal funds that are left over from the newly approved nearly $1 trillion military budget are being allocated to help the people of Los Angeles. But the very organizations that are making these statements and the very politicians who are allocating funds for emergency relief are fueling the fire. Because they do not care about human life. These people, who see material gain and greed as their primary goals, do not seem to realize that they are throwing themselves into a deep abyss, just like Gaza and its