Credit: Peter kennard
We warned that the invasion was in violation of international law and would trigger a spiral of conflict, hate, and misery that would fuel the wars of tomorrow. Ignoring the wisdom of ordinary people who could see the catastrophe ahead, Blair dragged the UK into an illegal war that triggered a spiral of hatred, conflict and misery. More than a million Iraqi men, women, and children paid the price.
This was the last time a Labour prime minister blindly backed the wishes of the US and its warmongering president. Twenty-three years later, another Labour prime minister is doing his best to follow in Blair’s footsteps and drag us into a catastrophic, illegal war.
The attack on Iran by the US and Israel was illegal, unprovoked, and unjustified. Donald Trump spoke of the need to ‘eliminate imminent threats from the Iranian regime’, whose ‘activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies throughout the world.’ Sound familiar? The first casualty of war is the truth, so let us do what our own government is too cowardly to admit: there is scant evidence that Iran is close to developing nuclear weapons — and there was no evidence of any imminent threat to the US.
There are, of course, two nuclear powers in this conflict: Israel and the US. Next month’s UN Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons would have been the perfect place to call for an end to the nuclear arms race. A diplomatic solution was possible, but the US and Israel chose war instead. In doing so, they have jeopardised the safety of humankind around the world.
In taking this action, Trump claimed he was delivering the Iranian people ‘the hour of their freedom’, saying that ‘when we are finished, take over your government.’ Whatever one thinks of the governments of various places, there is no basis in law for an attack to bring about regime change. Whether it’s in Iran or Venezuela, it’s worth noting that Trump takes a particular interest in the ‘freedom’ of people in oil-rich nations. Let’s get real. He isn’t interested in people’s human rights. He’s interested in seizing resources and control across the globe. As Trump declared back in April last year, ‘I run the country and the world.’
The attacks on Iran and Venezuela have another similarity: Keir Starmer could not bring himself to call out the illegality of either. All the more shocking, then, that he would agree to the US’ request to use British military bases for strikes on Iranian missile sites. Today it’s British bases. Tomorrow, what’s next? Mark my words: this is a catastrophic and historic mistake that jeopardises the safety of us all.
Starmer claims that Britain is not supporting the war of aggression launched by the US, and is only allowing the site to be used for ‘defensive’ strikes. Add this to the list of meaningless vocabulary that reveals Starmer’s contempt for the intelligence of the British people. As Labour MP Barry Gardiner said in Parliament yesterday, a ‘defensive strike’ is a contradiction in terms. ‘The usual phrase is a pre-emptive strike,’ he said, ‘and in any language, a pre-emptive strike is an attack.’ As Starmer said in his reply, ‘the use of the bases is to allow the US to use its ability to take out the ability of Iran to launch the attacks in the first place.’ Under this convoluted reasoning, almost any attack on anybody can be classified as a defensive measure. Starmer’s words are Newspeak — and cannot shield his government from complicity in the devastation ahead.
We have not forgotten the role that this government has played in Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people. And neither has Israel, which is perhaps why they feel like they can bomb whoever they want, whenever they want. Deep beneath the rubble of Gaza is international law, buried by the US and the UK. When the powerful speak of a ‘rules-based international order’, they mean rules for others, and impunity for themselves.
For too long, Britain has blindly followed the US as it indulges in disastrous imperial fantasies. It’s time to forge a different path. Now is not the time to try to rescue a ‘special relationship’ characterised by impunity, genocide, and war. Now is the time to forge an independent foreign policy based on international law and peace.
We have seen what happens when a US president launches an illegal war with no care for the consequences. We have seen what happens when a British prime minister blindly follows. Twenty-three years on, the memories of more than one million dead Iraqis should serve as an enduring reminder: war is not a game — and prime ministers live with the legacy long after they’ve pressed the button.
The story of US-led foreign interventions is a story of chaos, instability, and misery. How many more of these catastrophic failures do we need before we learn the lesson? And what will it take for the UK to finally defend a consistent, ethical foreign policy based on international law, sovereignty, and peace?
Source: Tribune