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What If Britain Drops Out of All US Wars?

By davidswanson - Posted on 12 June 2011



Over two-thirds of the people over here, just like back home, want out of the wars. They're going to deliver a petition against bombing Libya to Downing Street, along with a number of members of Parliament on June 28th, and they are planning to occupy Trafalgar Square in October on the 10th anniversary of both the invasion of Afghanistan and the creation of the Stop the War Coalition -- which organized the world's largest demonstration against the invasion of Afghanistan 10 years ago. They support and will work in solidarity with Americans' plan for the same anniversary:

London is like DC and New York combined in one place, with the rest of the country compressed into the mid-Atlantic. There's a relatively good communications system, relatively good social supports, far better public transportation, and a tradition of leftist activism with no shame or self-loathing. Labor unions here oppose the wars, including the one in Libya. Random people asking questions during sessions of Saturday's conference demanded that the movement become more intellectual. It's a different world. It's not shocking that the British government agreed to pull its troops out of Iraq. Nor is it surprising that Tony Blair has been unable to hold a book event in London, facing the threat of massive protest.

The peace movement has struggled over here, just as in the United States, with momentum slowing down in recent years, and with hesitations over the propaganda for the Libya War. But the Stop the War Coalition is growing, bringing in more dues-paying members and prominent supporters. Saturday's conference included speakers from abroad, including Arab Spring activists, students, artists (see this young woman's powerful poetry: ), military family members, historians, intellectuals, and members of Parliament.


Jeremy Corbyn, MP, was introduced on Saturday by Stop the War Coalition's Andrew Murray as working with a pack of war lords. Corbyn agreed: Parliament is made up of war lords and war criminals, he remarked. Corbyn credited Stop the War Coalition with helping to prevent an attack on Iran in recent years, just as I believe the US peace movement deserves credit. Corbyn called the idea that more time is needed to finish a job in Afghanistan a "load of tosh." He also pointed out that the two sides fighting in Libya can exchange parts for their rifles, because they both have rifles provided by Britain. I didn't hear a good word about Gadaffi in London -- in fact, plenty of condemnation. But many speakers, including Fiona Edwards of Student Broad Left argued that a rebel movement subsumed under international imperialism would be even worse than Gadaffi. A young woman from Tunisia expressed the sentiment shared by others from that region: "Our countries do not want Western intervention, or money! It comes with policies. It's not free or even just with high interest."


Tariq Ali said that people should be left free to succeed or fail. No one ever proposed that China invade Indochina, he said. Why should NATO invade Libya? Or Syria? Or Yemen? Bahrain didn't ask for intervention, he pointed out, but got it anyway. Bahrainis chanting "Neither Sunni nor Shia but Bahraini" were attacked and the struggle sectarianized by the Saudis with the support of the United States.





Galloway chose to speak slightly out of turn again: "We're fed up with marching!" he said. "We're going to occupy public space!"

A standing ovation followed.


The Authorization to Use Military Force [ AUMF ] that Congress voted for never authorized George W. Bush to break the signed Treaty with the United Nations, which required a new war resolution to attack Iraq [ the only exception being an attack by Iraq on the United States which was lacking and none planned, an acting in self-defense cannot be anticipated in advance ] - the Security Council denied twice George W. Bush's request for a new war resolution to attack Iraq - and this Authorization, did not, under any circumstances known to law abiding citizens, authorize George W. Bush to lie so repeatedly to the American people and the congress about an imminent threat from Iraq, his telling hundreds of lies about an imminent threat from Iraq to intentionally deceive the United States and Great Britain into supporting his War of Aggression against Iraq.

Criminal murder indictments for crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, for George W. Bush and Tony Blair, should be forthcoming, if the United States and Great Britain were to remain nations of laws, where signed Treaties are honored and upheld, with the force of law, and where "no one is above the law".

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