End The Occupation Of Iraq
Bring The Troops Home Now!
OVER 600 Iraqis slaughtered in just one city. The corpses of children, women and elderly as well as young men lying in the streets.
70 coalition troops killed in just over a week. Foreign workers kidnapped. 100,000 people fleeing US Apache helicopter gunships in Falluja.
Christine Thomas
This is what 'liberation', 'freedom' and 'democracy' looked like in Iraq, one year after the fall of Baghdad.
Bush and his cronies say that coalition troops are fighting a few "thugs, gangs and terrorists" and that 95% of those killed are "legitimate targets". But the director of the main hospital in Falluja said that women, children and the elderly made up the majority of those who died.
Blair has given his total backing to this brutality and bloodshed, which is turning more and more Iraqis against the occupation. "Everyone has become a fighter" said one Iraqi journalist of the situation in Falluja.
It is becoming increasingly clear that there will be no end to this bloodshed as long as the occupation continues. The troops should be withdrawn and the Iraqi people allowed to democratically decide their own future.
Future
Instead, US commanders are calling for up to 10,000 more troops to be sent to Iraq.
The spectre of Vietnam, of more and more troops being sent into an unwinnable war against a whole country, is now haunting George Bush.
A significant movement, involving the families of forces serving in Iraq, has already been built in the US (see last week's the socialist), campaigning around the slogan "Bring them home now".
The chaos in Iraq could derail Bush's plans to be reelected president in November.
This would be a nightmare for his buddy Blair. Only last month the Spanish people kicked out the government of pro-war Prime Minister Aznar.
Build the socialist alternative
The new Spanish government is threatening to withdraw its troops from Iraq. A mass movement here for British troops to be brought home could put pressure on Blair who is anxious to avoid the fate of his fellow warmonger.
At the same time, a political alternative needs to be built in the form of a new mass workers' party that can unite all those opposed to war, privatisation and exploitation, and fight for socialism - the only guarantee of a decent future for ordinary working people and youth in Britain, Iraq and internationally.
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In The Socialist 17 April 2004:
Socialist Party campaigns
Civil service strikes: Fighting Low Pay
NUT conference: Building A Fighting Leadership
Getting Organised In The Fast Food Industry
Socialist Party news and analysis
Welsh Assembly: Re-Arranging Titanic's Deckchairs
Austria: Court Victory Against Extreme Anti-Abortionists
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