It’s wrong to pretend there is no connection between UK and US foreign policy in the Middle East and South Asia, and the increase in terrorism over the past decade or more
Press Release: 6 January 2016
One of the resignations today by shadow rail minister Jonathan Reynolds explicitly criticised the Stop the War Coalition. He said, ‘Although I was personally against the proposal to extend airstrikes into Syria, I cannot in good conscience endorse the worldview of the Stop the War Coalition who I believe to be fundamentally wrong in their assessment and understanding of the threats the UK faces.’
This is to misunderstand our position. Stop the War agrees that terrorists have to be held accountable for their own actions, and that attacks like those in Paris can never be justified. We made this absolutely clear in our official statement following the attacks. We feel it is wrong, however, for politicians to pretend that there is no connection between British and US foreign policy in the Middle East and South Asia, and the increase in terrorism over the past decade or more.
In particular, the invasion and occupation of Iraq helped to create the conditions where ISIS were initially able to grow. The bombing of Libya in 2011 led to a civil war where various terrorist groups have flourished. The wars here, and in Afghanistan, have never ended, with terrible consequences for the people there, and with a greater threat of terror attacks in Europe.
It is regrettable that few of the lessons of these wars have been learnt, and that governments are still making the same mistakes.
Source: Stop the War Coalition
