Bush 'I will not
wait
By Alice
Mahon MP
War
dominates NEC
National Executive Committee meeting report held on 28 January
Shared
values
By Jim Mortimer
House
of Lords - abolish or democratise?
By Kelvin Hopkins MP
Fascists
win fifth council seat
By Cllr Mohammed Azam
Partnership
rights for all
By Lynne Jones MP
War
frenzy fuels racism
By Diane Abbott MP
Demonstrate
on 15 February
By Mick Rix, Gen Sec ASLEF
European Mayors declare no to war
Why
should we slavishly support a US oil war?
By Peter Kilfoyle MP
Scots
rally against war on Iraq
By John McAllion MSP
Truth
the first casualty of war
By George Galloway MP
A
rising US tide against war
By Jeremy Corbyn MP
We
need fair pay not threats
By Andy Gilchrist Gen Sec FBU
Higher
education plans will deepen debt and inequality
By Ian Gibson MP
In his
State of the Union address President George W Bush left no room for doubt
that he aims to unleash war on Iraq — regardless of the United Nations.
He declared ‘All nations should know: America will do what is necessary…time
is not on our side. I will not wait on events’. Time is not on George
W Bush’s side: his approval ratings have sunk back to pre-11 September
levels and, for the first time, most Americans disapprove of his handling
of the economy. Bush is desperate to whip up war fever, get into Iraq
before the summer heat and grab Iraq’s oil. We have a few weeks to
press home the message that the British people do not back this war.
Chief United Nations weapons inspector Hans Blix presented no new evidence
that Iraq was in breach of resolution 1441 when he gave his report on
27 January. Hans Blix was indeed tough, but that is no surprise. Should
the weapons inspectors find any weapons or material they will destroy
them. That is what they are there for. But no new evidence has come to
light. Mohammed El Baradei, in charge of nuclear inspections, said inspectors
should within a few months be able ‘to provide credible assurance
that Iraq has no nuclear weapons programme. These few months would be
a valuable investment in peace because they could help us avoid a war’.
Yet Foreign Secretary Jack Straw rushed to claim Iraq was in material
breach of resolution 1441. Jack Straw should stop trying to insist Iraq
is guilty until George W Bush says otherwise.
Britain cannot go to war simply because the United States president wants
to.
We are beginning to get a glimpse of the barbarity being contemplated.
A Pentagon battle plan called ‘Shock and Awe’ would, in the
words of US military strategist Harlan Ullman, have a Hiroshima effect,
taking out the city, killing thousands and cutting water and power. I
believe such a plan would be a war crime. I asked Defence Secretary Geoff
Hoon in the House of Commons on 27 January if he would tell the White
House that we will have nothing to do with it. He replied: ‘it is
necessary clearly to indicate our willingness to use force in order to
support the diplomatic and political process at the United Nations’.
The overwhelming majority of people in the world are against war in Iraq.
In the United States plummeting stock markets are sharpening fears about
the effect of war and turning people against war.
On 15 February we have a chance, along with people across the world, to
say no to war. Demonstrate for peace!
l Responding to Alice Mahon’s intervention during Prime Minister’s questions, on 29 January, Tony Blair provoked horrified gasps from MPs when he said ‘My honourable friend asks who is next. After we deal with Iraq... we have to confront North Korea about its weapons programme.’
For information contact Stop the War Coalition: www.stopwar.org.uk
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament: www.cnduk.org
Scottish Coalition
for Justice Not War: www.banthebomb.org
In the event of
war
Demonstrate at 6 pm in your town centre (London: Trafalgar Square).