Andrew Burgin, Press Officer, Stop the
Despite overwhelming D opposition in Britain, Tony Blair
committed British forces to war in Iraq. In the early hours of Thursday March 20 the bombing began. Within 24 hours the US and British had launched operation 'shock and awe' during which over 1000 cruise missiles were targeted on Iraqi cities. The results are all too apparent with deaths of Iraqi civilians and mass destruction of basic facilities in towns and cities.
At the time of writing British and American troops are heading towards Baghdad but are finding that the war is far from the walkover they expected. In Basra, where Iraqi forces are still [March 28] holding out, the city has little drinking water and no electricity, and more than 2 million people face a dire situation.
On the first Saturday after war began, the anti-war movement organised the largestever demonstration against a war actually taking place. Between 450,000 and 500,000 marched: the central slogans of the march were 'Stop the War' and 'Blair out'.
The march was organised within a week and expressed the strength of the movement that has been built over the last 18 months.
David Aaronovitch, firmly pro-war, wrote bemusedly in the Guardian: why has the anti-war movement in this country been so bloody big?'
Now war has been engaged, events are to a certain extent outside the control of the anti-war movement but from Blair's point of view he is now completely hostage to the fortunes of war.
Having narrowly survived a vote on the war in Parliament - thanks largely to Clare Short's antics Blair's political future rests securing. a quick military victory with few civilian casualties and followed by the sight of cheering crowds welcoming coalition forces in Iraq. But this is public not happening.
This has been the best period for the Blair government - they have seen some improvement in their poll ratings - but this will be short-lived. The anti-war movement not only held the line on the 22 March, but laid down a marker for the future.
The demonstration was significant not only in size but in composition. The trades unions kept on board, and all major unions provided platform speakers.
The emergence of the school stuaspects of the current movement. Literally hundreds of schools have been involved and tens of thousands of students.
On the March 22 demonstration there were speakers from several schools and hundreds of students attended their first political march.
On the day war began, the school students led the day of action, with a series of
spontaneous centres the from their locality those out as well. Bush: bullied and bribed a "coalition" into line, but didn't dare press for a UN vote
bombed?", they said the Mirror. walkouts from of the Iraqi regime. schools, followed by a
assembly in
Parliament Square in
London and at city around depleted uranium shells country. many areas students weapons of mass destruction. one
marched to others in
bringing Why should we stay in school
while kids in Iraq are fire. being highlight the biased reporting of the war.
The British media's coverage of the war has been largely one of unmitigated government propaganda with a few honourable exceptions such as Robert Fisk in the Independent and much of the reporting in
The BBC has been disgraceful: all serious coverage from that quarter stopped almost as soon as the bombing began, not that the Corporation has excelled itself before. The war being war is presented as one of "liberation" -and, incredibly, the "humanitarian' crisis, entirely created by the invasion and military attack itself is said to result from the actions
To we have the sickening sight of tributed while cluster bombs and are dropped together with e-bombs, moabs and other
The policy of the media of 'embedding' themselves in military units means that most reporters are no more than mouthpieces of the military machine. Any journalist brave enough to report independently is now divided. threatened by the US and UK with friendly
•••
The Stop the War Coalition has and will continue to organise a series of actions to
The complete hypocrisy of this war supposedly to disarm Iraq and liberate her peo- cially China. ple and protect the world is starkly revealed
days. future. ... But the political battle is lost. Even on their own terms the waged by Bush and Blair is illegal; the United Nations is destroyed, and Europe is as what it is: naked imperialist aggression to dominate the entire region and send a strong message to any who need it, espeThe surprise with which the Iraqi resistance to the invasion has been greete shows that Bush and Blair had no rea expectations that Iraq have or would use chemical or biological weapons. They expected a complete capitulation within
It may well be that the overwhelming military superiority will give the British and American forces their 'victory over time The time now expands from days to weeks and some now talk of months.
But the political battle is lost. Even Bon their own terms the war being
waged by Bush and Blair is illegal; the United Nations is destroyed, and Europe is divided.
The US now accuses Russia of supplying Iraq with military equipment and accuses France of giving moral support to Saddam Hussein. These divisions will deepen in the
Paying for the war will be one source of conflict. Those countries opposed to the war are hardly likely to agree to pay for it. In fact the costs of the war are already spiralling out of control, with grave consequences for their economies.
After it became clear this week that the Iraqis weren't just going to put their hands up and surrender the stock markets slumped. The Middle East is in turmoil, with the regime in Jordan in complete crisis and King Abdullah may fall
The first contracts for post war reconstruction have already been allocated to a subsidiary of Halliburton, the company most directly linked to the US administration. Clare Short kept her Cabinet post, she says, to ensure the proper reconstruction of Iraq, but it remains to be seen how this ludicrous position will play out in terms of contracts to British firms.
However the immediate objective of the invasion was not weapons of mass destruction but securing the oilfields: this has been achieved, and a minor result of the invasion will be to line the pockets of the clique that runs the US administration and their immediate circle.
In Britain Blair's political crisis has not ended. If the war goes badly he will go. The Stop the War Coalition will be organising regional and national rallies and demonstra tions in the weeks and months to come
The next national demonstration will be on April 12. Over the last 18 months the Coalition, in which comrades from the Resistance group have played a central part, has built a mass anti-war movement.
The fact that this Coalition has sustained itself at a time of war has not only surprised • • commentators like Aaronovitch but many in the labour and trade union movement. It is however a powerful weapon ranged against the US led 'war on terror'.
In the coming period we will have to find a more permanent political expression for this movement.
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