Iraq, Iran and Trident - join the 24th Feb demo

Casualties in Iraq are reaching even greater obscene levels. Yet Bush responds with plans to escalate the war with his troop "surge". Tony Blair says this "makes sense." I think there are now few who agree with such madness.

The Green party, alone amongst the main parties, was against the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq - the Liberal Democrats have at last now called for the complete withdrawal of British troops by the end of 2007. In the US the tide is turning rapidly against Bush. Even Russia's President Putin is strongly criticising US policy.

Bush's only answer to the growing condemnations is more war in Iraq, the intensification of the nuclear arms race and the threat of an attack on Iran. A massive expansion of the US military budget will mean that in 2007 the cost of the Iraq war alone will be $800 for every American man, woman and child - paid for by yet more cuts in welfare services for the poor.

Iran (see article by John Pilger) is a deeply worrying development - fears have been growing for some time - back in April I condemned the BBC with others for their grossly unfair coverage of the country. Indeed in 2005 Greens raised concerns and fears about Iran being the next target. It seems things are moving in that direction and if we are not careful there will be another war.

I have just sent out a letter by Stroud Greens Parliamentary candidate, Martin Whiteside to other local political parties calling on them to sign a letter with him to Tony Blair urging the Government to take actions to prevent a war in Iran. The Stop the War Coalition write:

"Can it get any worse in Iraq? The answer is, yes, it can, if we let it. The response to the escalation of the Bush-Blair wars must be to do all we can to make our elected representatives act in accordance with the wishes of their electorates. The US anti-war movement has responded magnificently to the challenge. Its demonstrations across America on 27 January brought hundreds of thousands onto the streets for the largest protest since the war began. Campaigns are now running in localities across America to make the US Congress stop Bush in his tracks by withholding the funding he needs to escalate the war. We in Britain on Saturday 24 February will have our opportunity to give voice to the view of most people in this country that the war must end and all British troops must be removed from Iraq."

We do indeed have the national demonstration on 24th in London and Greens are organising coaches from Stroud and Gloucester. Iran will clearly feature as an issue but the focus is 'Troops Out of Iraq' and 'No Trident' - Martin Whiteside will have a comment piece re Trident in The Citizen tomorrow, but Ruscombe Green readers can see it here now:

The Government is about to spend an estimated £76 billion of your tax money to replace Trident nuclear weapons with an updated system. This is a decision that defies logic. Nuclear weapons make us less safe, not more. Nuclear weapons are not a credible defence against the key threats facing us in the 21st Century. Nuclear weapons are no defence against terrorists, whether home grown or from abroad.

Senior Government figures have at last admitted that the greatest threat facing Britain is not actually terrorism – but climate change. £76 billion spent on a new nuclear deterrent is £76 billion that is not being spent on tackling climate change (or world poverty, or child poverty in the UK). This money could be used to make Britain a leader in taking positive action to make the World a better and safer place. Instead our Government plans towaste it on something that is illegal, unnecessary and a catastrophe for our future.

As a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Britain and other nuclear states are legally committed to prevent new countries adopting nuclear weapons AND to move towards phasing out their own nuclear weapons. How can we argue that Iran, Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea should not have nuclear weapons and at the same time spend billions replacing our own with an updated system for the rest of the century - demonstrating very clearly to the World that we have no intention of phasing them out?

Are we, the people who are paying for it, being consulted about how our hard earned cash is being spent and how our future security, and the security of our children is being compromised? It doesn’t seem so.

Unlike the Labour and Conservatives, the Green Party opposes Trident's renewal outright (the Lib-dems seem to want to delay the decision). Many ordinary people share our views and no longer want to waste money on a mythical threat or supporting some vision of us as a warrior nation. At a debate on Trident in Higham, chaired by Citizen Editor, Ian Mean, 126 people voted in favour of ending the UK's nuclear weapons, 10 abstained and only 15 voted to replace Trident.

Next week Gloucestershire people are taking their disgust at the way our Government is acting to London, where they will be joining tens and perhaps hundreds of thousands of others in a demonstration against Trident replacement and against the continued presence of our troops in Iraq. Many of us will also be voicing our concerns about Bush’s threats and build-up to attack Iran. We have got to stop this madness now.

Coaches are going to London from Stroud (01453-750962), Gloucester and Cheltenham (01452-549669) on Saturday 24 February.

Interestingly I just heard from CND today that Tony Blair speaking at a Young Labour conference in Glasgow said that he ‘doesn’t really know’ why there has not been a debate on Trident replacement in the Labour Party!!! This is what CND write:

During the Q&A, a delegate asked the Prime Minister why there has not been a debate and vote in the Labour Party on Trident. Mr Blair, visibly caught off-guard by the question, replied:

‘I don’t really know the answer to be frank. I think in the end there will be a vote in the Commons. There should be a very lively debate in the party and elsewhere. The trouble is we need to take a decision at some point…In terms of the process I honestly don’t know the answer. I know it was an issue at the National Policy Forum and so on but I don’t have a problem with people voting on it at all. Let the party express their view on this but we will need to take a decision on this as a government.’

Let us not forget that 17 motions on Trident replacement from Constituency Labour Party groups were ruled out of order before the Labour Party conference in 2006. In January 2007 three motions on Trident from members of the Labour National Executive Committee, including CND Vice President Walter Wolfgang, were again ruled out of order.


NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION: TROOPS OUT OF IRAQ/NO TRIDENT
SATURDAY 24 FEBRUARY
ASSEMBLE HYDE PARK 12 NOON
MARCH TO TRAFALGAR SQUARE