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IRAQ - THE BIGGER ISSUES

TAKE ACTION NOW Directly ask the government the questions you think are the most important after 5 years of war in Iraq AND Call on the government to answer the 10 key questions, from OWOS supporters, about Iraq, on the 5th Anniversary of the start of the war.

 

Further Action

Write to Des Browne and join the Virtual Lobby calling for a UK & US withdrawal from Afghanistan and Iraq

 

Sign the CeaseFire Campaign petition:

"President Bush, we implore you to recognize that your policies in the Middle East have not brought democracy or stability, but have profoundly threatened the peace of the region and the world. We urge you to adopt some of the key recommendations of the Iraq Study Group and restart the Middle East peace process, pursue a diplomatic strategy and withdrawal from Iraq, and engage in talks with Iran. Countless lives and hopes for a better future hang on your decision." to sign the petition click here

 

The Background

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Here in the UK, the imminent threat of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) was the most widely used explanation of why we had to go to war.  As Paul Wolfowitz, US Deputy Secretary of Defense explained in a rare moment of candour:

"For reasons that have a lot to do with US government bureaucracy, we settled on the one issue everyone could agree on, which was weapons of mass destruction, as the core reason (for war)".

Now, David Kay, the US official charged with looking for these weapons says: "I don't think they existed". A detailed investigation by the independent Carnegie Endowment came to the same conclusion . And even the US Secretary of State has said that the existence of WMD is an "open question".

By January 2006 Colin Powell was saying "We were wrong"

Yet all along, Tony Blair has insisted that we were in imminent danger from WMD.

We were also told that Saddam was an evil and murderous dictator. Indeed he was, but Britain and the US continue to have friendly relationships with evil and murderous regimes around the world. No-one believes Tony Blair is about to invade Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Zimbabwe and the many other countries with tyrannical and undemocratic rulers.

Indeed, during the 1980s, while he was murdering and gassing his own people, Saddam was an ally of the West. In 1987 and 1988, Tony Blair did not take the opportunity to sign parliamentary Early Day Motions criticizing Saddam's human rights abuses and UK arms exports to Iraq.

Finally, it was said that Saddam had ties with terrorists like Al Qaeda. Given that Saddam was an authoritarian socialist and Bin Laden a Muslim fundamentalist, this always seemed unlikely. Unfortunately, 70% of Americans have been persuaded that Saddam was involved in the 9/11 attacks, even though no credible evidence has been produced.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell has now admitted that coalition forces in Iraq have not discovered "any smoking gun (or) concrete evidence" demonstrating ties between Iraq and Al Qaeda. While his allies are rapidly changing their tone Tony Blair refuses to formally admit that there is any room for doubt about the existence of WMD in Iraq.

Our World Our Say believes it is time to call to account the politicians who dragged us into war against the opposition of millions of us.

 

The War on Iraq - what happens next?

"Up In The Air - Where is the Iraq war headed next?" by Seymour Hersh

 

Where is the inquiry into civilian deaths in Iraq?

"Change the channel"  - Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt's advice to Iraqis who see TV images of innocent civilians killed by coalition troops.

The coalition hold no records of the number of civilian deaths in Iraq - Iraq Body Count

Calls are mounting for a full inquiry into the number of civilian deaths in Iraq. A recent authoritative Lancet study estimates the total number of deaths (including military deaths) at more than 100,000. Jack Straw puts civilian deaths at 3,853.

Report on the letter handed into Downing Street, including the signatures of an ex-ambassador to Iraq; calling for an inquiry.

Contact your MP to press the calls for a proper investigation into the number of civilian deaths.

 

Hold Tony Blair to Account

- Make War History a group founded "to hold Britain's political, civil and military leaders to account for the genocide of the Iraqi people."

- A campaign by a cross party group of MPs to impeach Tony Blair.

To read more about the campaign click here.

- To sign the petition calling for his impeachment click here.

"A Case To Answer" - Report produced in August 2004 by Dr Glen Rangwala and Dan Plesch for Adam Price MP on the potential impeachment of the Prime Minister for High Crimes and Misdemeanours in relation to the invasion of Iraq.

The impeach Bush campaign www.afterdowningstreet.org