Hit the streets to stop Blair-backed bombings

The bombing of Iraq was a shameful moment for the Labour Government. All the excuses for the resort to military force collapse on inspection. The UNSCOM process was manipulated and corrupted by the United States. The remaining "weapons of mass destruction" pose no immediate threat, and in any case cannot be neutralised by air strikes. Iraq's non-compliance with UN resolutions hardly makes it unique.

This was a lawless act, predicated entirely on imperial presumption. It has compromised the United Nations and made a nonsense of New Labour's claims to either an independent or an ethical foreign policy.

Some of the sufferings brought about by this action are powerfully recounted by an Iraqi dissident on page 18. He shows clearly the barbarism of a policy that punishes the people of Iraq for the offences of Saddam Hussein in the vain hope that the pain will "trickle up".

Supporters of the bombing should ask themselves why the rest of the world disapproves of it. The United States and its British allies are isolated on the Security Council and even more so in the UN General Assembly. Meanwhile, Blair, Robertson, Cook, and Fatchet heap lie upon lie in their attempts to convince the British public that the four-day bombardment was anything other than unwarranted, cruel and counter-productive.

The backing given to the bombing by the leaders of all three major parties has highlighted once again what Tony Benn calls Britain's "crisis of representation". The meagre handful of Labour MPs who spoke out against it (but were cheated of their chance to vote against it) are supported by a substantial section of public opinion. We have to do everything in our power to ensure that this widespread dissent is mobilised - within the Labour Party and, most importantly, on the streets. The only way to stop the air strikes is to make opposition audible and visible and implacable. It's a big job for all of us in the labour and peace movements, but it has to be our priority.

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