Oppose
the US threat to peace
By Tony Benn MP
Westminster
News
Round up of the Socialist Campaign Group's activities in Parliament
this month
NMD
is a threat to us all
Jim Mortimer reviews the hostile response to the US' missile defence system
Draw
back from PPP disaster
Bob Crow Assistant General Secretary of the RMT looks at the current
situation in campaign against the part privatisation of the underground
Millbank
wins but opposition widens
Matthew McGregor reports on the farce surrounding the elections to
the youth place on the Labour NEC
Fees
and loans do not widen access
Diane Abbott MP, analyses the affects of the government's higher education
policies
Defending
the comprehensive system
Bernard Regan, National Executive member of the NUT looks at the government's
green paper on secondary school education
A
democratic socialist mayor of London
By Ken Livingstone
Institutional
racism after the Lawrence Inquiry
Gloria Mills, TUC General Council
Why Condon should have been
sacked
By Diane Abbott MP
Racism remains the problem
By Dr Richard Stone
Racist police should be dismissed,
not promoted
By Gurpal Virdi
KLA
spreads wave of violence
By Alice Mahon MP
The
truth about Operation Condor
By Jeremy Corbyn MP
Corus
decimates steel industry
By Llew Smith MP
Asbestos
scandal inquiry demand
By Michael Clapham MP
No
railtrack of the skies
By Angus MacCormick, Secretary IPMS ATCOs Branch
The
decision by President Bush to bomb Iraq and the instantaneous support
that Mr Blair offered was the latest in a long line of tragedies in our
relations with that country.
The bombing itself cannot be justified in international law because the UN Security Council has never authorised the no-fly zones and has, therefore, never guaranteed the safety of the pilots who take part. It was an act of terrorism which left Washington and London isolated in the international community.
Coming over 10 years after the Iraqi army withdrew from Kuwait, it can only be explained by an American desire to dominate the Middle East because it needs the oil. For many years before the US had armed Saddam as their best friend.
The no-fly zones have never protected the Kurds in the North because Turkey bombs Northern Iraq regularly and their target is the Kurds.
Moreover, when the Kurdish refugees from Iraq escape in a boat that gets shipwrecked off the south of France, they become illegal immigrants in the eyes of the European Union which doesn‘t say much for our commitment to keep them safe.
The US and Britain have committed the most terrible crimes against the Iraqi people. Over half a million of them — mainly children — have died as a result of the sanctions which have indiscriminately hit that country and its innocent population, leaving Saddam Hussein stronger then ever. America and Britain have also used depleted uranium which is a low-grade form of nuclear weapon. No one knows what the long-term genetic effect of these weapons will be on future generations.
Equally interesting is the link between the persecution of the Iraqi people and the persecution of the Palestinians by Israel – with the full support of Washington.
A few weeks ago, we were being told about the brave efforts of the American administration to establish a peace process in that conflict. Now the US is engaged in a war process against the Muslim world and starting joint military manouvres with the Israeli government headed by a Prime Minister whom many would regard as having been guilty of acts that would class as war crimes.
The news that the Anglo-American coalition is now trying to work out a new system of ‘smart sanctions’ which will be targeted on the Iraqi government sounds a bit like the ‘smart bombs’ which were supposed to avoid civilian casualties. What we need are some ‘smart political leaders’ who address the immense problems of the region by working for the social justice without which peace in the Middle East is impossible.
But there are other wider claims that we in Britain have to consider. Despite Washington‘s claim to work with NATO, France, which is a leading NATO country, was not even told about the bombing. This will strengthen the arguments for a rapid reaction force allowing Europe to break free of the American alliance and be able to conduct its own military operations, which would be equally exempt from the requirements laid down in the Charter of the United Nations.
This breach with America is likely to be widened still further by President Bush‘s determination to proceed with the National Missile Defence (NMD) system — designed to give the US total and complete world domination. There has been wide opposition to this, including from Admiral Eugene Carroll, a retired American Admiral who has held very high command in the US Navy and who spoke recently for CND.
A non-aligned Britain, free from NATO and the European army, should devote itself to the resolution of world conflict through the UN and only make its forces available in response to Security Council Decisions, which have to be unanimous among the five permanent members.
Meanwhile, the campaign against the policy now being pursued must be challenged.