Our View

Our View

Brent Stop the War was set up after the horrific attack on the World Trade Centre in 2001. We felt the greatest compassion for those who lost their lives on 11th September, and for their friends and families.

But the US and Britain responded to that tragedy by bombing Afghanistan. We could not believe that this was a sensible or useful response. At the time we were told that the attack on Afghanistan would result in greater democracy and freedom for the people of that region. Now we see that, as we thought at the time, the bombing brought nothing but more misery, the death of civilians, and further rule by warlords. Of course, the prospects for a U.S. pipeline through the region to channel oil to the west are better.

Then we were asked by those same governments to support the war against Iraq, on similar grounds to the war against Afghanistan. This despite the fact that there were no known links between the regime of Saddam Hussein (despotic and vile as it was) and the terrorists of Al-Qaida. And it now appears that the government was aware all along that their main ground for attack, the existence of Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction, was entirely spurious.

The government took us in to a war that was illegal, immoral and irrational; that has made us hated across the world; that threatens the stability of the Middle East and replaces international law with US dictat. They say we should forget about protesting and support our troops.

We say it is all the more important to keep up the pressure:

	To stop the killing and starvation - many more will be killed by contaminated water and malnutrition than by weapons.
	To stop use of weapons of mass destruction - cluster bombs that endanger civilians, especially children, and depleted uranium, which causes cancer and birth defects.
	To stop use of nuclear and chemical weapons - Bush has said he may use them in a 'first strike'. He wants to try out so called 'non-lethal' chemical weapons.
	For spending on aid - the government has committed just £150 million for aid and £3 billion for war. To stop the war. The Iraqi people, already punished by Saddam and 11 years of sanctions, are now punished with war. They do not deserve Saddam, but they do not deserve bombs either.
	To prevent more wars. Iraq is only the first of Bush's many planned wars against any country he defines as 'Evil'. Iran, Somalia, North Korea - who knows where next?

The Iraqi people have shown very clearly they do not want to be "liberated" by US and British troops - they are fighting hard against the invasion and ordinary Iraqi civilians are outraged by the bombings and massacres. This war has rapidly become a war against the entire Iraqi people, yet our troops are still being asked to sacrifice their lives for it.

We see no humanitarian or security justification for this war. We believe that the real reason for it relates to US ambitions to be the undisputed leader of the world, and to the interests of the oil executives who now run the White House.

We believe that the war will neither increase our security nor bring democracy to the region. On the contrary, it will result in the deaths of many thousands of innocent people, and Iraq will probably end up with a government no more democratic than the present one, though perhaps it will be more friendly to the oil interests of the west.

We are committed to continuing to oppose this senseless war by campaigning, demonstrating and engaging in direct action. We believe that the majority of the public will support us.

For more arguments against the war, see these Articles

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