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Why Are We Still At War?

The Butler Report

The Butler Report says that everyone is to blame yet no-one is to blame - that no civil servant, intelligence service agent, and no politician should be held responsible for their failings. For collective blame to mean the organisational voids between entities is very modern, and very convenient in that it leaves all component parts unaccountable and blameless. If Hutton was a 'whites' wash then Butler is the tumble dryer, all garments are now clean and dry, despite the blood.

Back in the real world, Saddam has been deposed, tens of thousands of people have been killed, Iraq is occupied, controlled and sold by Bush, and the world is divided. Blair would have us believe that he made a mistake in believing other people's errors, but that he's done the right thing anyway. We are told that the world's intelligence services got it wrong - "everyone got it wrong". There was of course a long list of specialists flagging the lack of WMD threat from Iraq (headed by Hans Blix and El Baradei - the official UN inspectors, backed up by previous inspectors like Scott Ritter). War by mistake is bad enough, but did the Bush government plan for and then precipitate war, with Blair the junior officer?

The 45 minute claim was being discredited by intelligence services as the dossier was being drawn up. Then Blair repeatedly told parliament of his certainty of Saddam's weapons and the imminent threat that he posed to the world. The next day Newspapers shocked us with headlines of "Brits 45 minutes from Doom". The government knew the intelligence was unreliable and referred to battlefield munitions, yet it hyped and spun this tenuous piece of intelligence instead of downplaying or qualifying it. The single-sourced claim was supplied through CIA agent and former MI6 client Iyad Allawi [1a], the U.S. appointed Iraqi Prime Minister. Allawi also provided reports on 'Saddam's connection to Al Qaeda' and the 'Niger uranium shipment' - all now proven to be fabrications. [1b]

At every turn, Blair claims ignorance and innocence while inconsistencies and contrivances pile up [2a] - officials around him find Blair's version of events "staggering", "laughable", "baffled", and "weird" [2b], and the majority of Britons think Blair is a liar [3].

Warmonger

"a person who tries to precipitate war, or whips up enthusiasm for it"   [Chambers Pocket Dictionary]

"a politician or other leader who is often encouraging a country to go to war"   [Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary]


War aims

U.S. advance plans for the Iraq war are well documented. Blair was politically committed to Bush in supporting the war and deployed British troops well in advance. The real reasons for war were numerous and understood by anti-war researchers globally. Events since are much as predicted:

  1. U.S. corporate control of Iraqi oil - including:
    • U.S. leverage over OPEC and global trade in oil
    • switching the oil currency from Euros to Dollars - the issuing in U.S. currency providing $billions of 'free' imports for the U.S. economy which increase the U.S. trade deficit only (no U.S. product is exchanged for the import)
    • the overturning of substantial French and Russian oil contracts (TotalFinaElf, Lukoil)
    • profits for U.S. oil companies
  2. Bargain-basement sale of Iraqi national infrastructure (privatisation to U.S., U.K., and Israeli capital), flagrantly breaching the Hague Regulations and Gevena Convention [4d] (occupiers cannot change the constitution or change the ownership of national assets, only manage industry and renewable resources).
  3. $Billions for U.S. arms companies in prosecuting the war (including extensive outsourcing to new mercenary companies as legislated for by Dick Cheney).
  4. $Billions for Bush-friendly corporations (Halliburton, Bechtel, etc.) in military work and closed contracts for infrastructure work (preventing competitive bids of around 10% cost by Iraqi companies). These infrastructure contracts are paid for by $12b from Iraqi oil sales of $20b ($4billion is 'lost' or 'unaccounted' [4a]) and supposedly from U.S. taxpayers ($20b allocated for Iraqi infrastructure, actual spending is $366m [4b]). (There was also about $10b 'lost' in the Iraqi financial system soon after the occupation [4c].)
  5. U.S. military bases in Iraq - a massive military presence in the strategic heart of the planet, for an indefinite period.
  6. Regional instability - caused by the illegal policy of unilateral 'pre-emptive' war, breakdown of international law and treaties, and an increased desire to develop genuine WMD as a deterrent.
  7. Increased threat of terrorism worldwide.
  8. Worldwide increase in authoritarian legislation (repealing hard won human rights laws) and abuse of civil rights (breaking of remaining human rights laws) for domestic political purposes, in the name of 'The War on Terror'.
Note: War aims 1, 2, 4 and 5 cannot continue unless a new puppet government represents U.S. interests instead of Iraqi interests. This is why campaigning against the occupation at this time is so important.


Who Are We Fighting For?

The U.S. military claims to have killed 4,000 Iraqis in April 2004 (there are countless reports of war crimes [5]). British troops are aligned with local warlords (like Karim Mahood in Majar al Kabir) against ordinary Iraqis to suppress dissent [6]. The military occupation continues after the supposed 'transfer of sovereignty'. British troop deployments may be increased (or sent to Afghanistan in a political shuffle with the U.S. - another war of strategic and corporate interest, a mire of warlords and drugs). Who are we now fighting for?

Apart from supplying false intelligence used to justify the war, designated Prime Minister Iyad Allawi was recruited to the CIA in 1992 and was a terrorist bomber and saboteur from 1992 to 1995 [7a]. Witnesses say he personally executed six suspected insurgents with his pistol at a Baghdad police station a week before becoming Prime Minister [7b]. Does he remind you of a former Iraqi leader (who also came to power with CIA help)?

The appointment of John Negroponte as 'U.S. ambassador to Iraq' (replacing Paul Bremmer) is shocking and brutal. He proved a capable oppressor in Central America - as U.S. ambassador to Honduras 1981-1985, he supervised the training and funding of Battalion 3-16 and Contra death squads, and created El Aguacate air base which was used as a torture centre where 185 corpses were recently excavated [8]. He then denied and suppressed the reporting of execution, rape, pillage and torture. He was central to the Iran-Contra deals. With a grotesque c.v. spanning 30 years, why has Negroponte been chosen for Iraq? Perhaps he has a copy of the CIA authored 1983 "Honduran Interrogation Manual" and 1984 "Contra Manual" for Allawi's sercret police.

Who are we fighting? Moqtada al-Sadr is supported by 67% of Iraqis (second only to Ali Sistani with 70%), while Iyad Allawi gets only 23% support with 61% opposing the U.S. appointed leader. 55% would feel more safe if coalition forces left immediately and 74% "believe all foreign forces must leave at once". 78% "believe the Coalition is trying to steal Iraq's wealth". 92% of Iraqis see coalition forces as occupiers, 5% as liberators or peacekeepers. All these figures are from a Coalition Provisional Authority sponsored poll in May [9].

The strategic and corrupt gains of the warmongers are intact, their war crimes unpunished (the illegal war, the use of depleted uranium and cluster bombs, the multiple and continued breaches of the Geneva Conventions and Hague Regulations). We must expose the lies and hold our government to account for their actions. We must protest to bring our troops home. Our troops follow our government's orders, our government must follow ours.


References
  1. Iyad Allawi provides false intelligence on Iraq WMD and 9-11 links:
    1. [1a] Patrick Cockburn "Exiled Allawi was Responsible for 45-Minute WMD Claim", The Independent 2004-May-29 : The Independent (requires subscription) or commondreams.org (copy)
    2. [1b] Iyad Allawi profine on Disinfopedia : Disinfopedia

  2. Blair's version of events implausible:
    1. [2a] Andy McSmith, Andrew Buncombe, Raymond Whitaker "It comes down to this: What did Blair know?" The Independent, 2004-Feb-08 : The Independent (requires subscription) or Usenet (copy to "...war when it is not necessary") or New Zealand Herald Part 1 , Part 2 (split copy, slight changes)

    Government officials find Blair's version of events "staggering", "laughable", "baffled", and "weird":
    1. [2b] ITN News July 2004 (6:30pm, approx 13th July)

  3. Polls on trust in Blair:
    1. [3a] 59% think Blair dishonest on WMD, 61% do not trust Blair (ICM / Daily Mail, 2004-Jul-26)
    2. [3b] 57% would not trust Blair to take Britain to war again (YouGov / Sunday Times, 2004-Jul-18)

  4. Murky Coalition money issues:
    1. [4a] "Fuelling suspicion: the coalition and Iraq's oil billions" Christian Aid, 2004-Jun-27 : Christian Aid
    2. [4b] Geov Parrish "The massive heist", WorkingForChange.com 2004-Jul-09 : WorkingForChange.com
    3. [4c] Gordon Thomas "CIA Accused Of Bank Heist" (International Currency Review), American Free Press 2003-Sep : International Currency Review (americanfreepress.net copy)

    Breaches of Hague Resolutions and Geneva Convetion law on occupation:
    1. [4d] Aaron Mate "Pillage is forbidden", The Guardian 2003-Nov-07 : The Guardian

  5. "in April alone, U.S. forces killed as many as 4,000 people":
    1. [5a] Jim Krane "AP: Iraq Insurgency Larger Than Thought", The Washington Times (Associated Press) 2004-Jul-09 : Washington Times (google cache) or Lancaster Online (copy) or Radio Free Europe (copy)

    46 Iraqis from Mugrldeeb village killed in April (compare and consider 4,000 Iraqis):
    1. [5b] Felicity Arbuthnot "Crimes in Iraq: 'Regrettable' Statistics", Islam Online 2004-Jul-07 : Islam Online

  6. British troops side with Warlord Karim Mahood:
    1. [6] Lee Gordon "British troops accused of killing Iraqi prisoners. M.O.D. deny allegations", Camden New Journal 2004-Jun-17 : Camden New Journal

  7. Iyad Allawi (CIA recruit and terrorist bomber):
    1. [7a] Joel Brinkley "Ex-C.I.A. Aides Say Iraq Leader Helped Agency in 90's Attacks", New York Times 2004-Jun-09 - New York Times (requires registration) or commondreams.org (copy)

    Iyad Allawi accused of executing suspects:
    1. [7b] Paul McGeough "Allawi shot prisoners in cold blood: witnesses", Sydney Morning Herald 2004-Jul-17 : Sydney Morning Herald
    2. [7c] Paul McGeough interview transcript "Iraq's interim PM executed six insurgents: witnesses", Australian Broadcasting Corporation 2004-07-16 : Australian Broadcasting Corporation

    Iyad Allawi profiles:
    1. Wikipedia profile of Iyad Allawi : Wikipedia
    2. Disinfopedia profile of Iyad Allawi : Disinfopedia

  8. John Negroponte articles and profiles:
    1. Duncan Campbell "An exquisite danger", The Guardian 2004-Jun-02 : Guardian
    2. Fawaz Turki "John Negroponte’s Haunted Past", Arab News 2004-Jul-01 : Arab News
    3. Wikipedia profile of John Negroponte : Wikipedia
    4. Disinfopedia profile of John Negroponte : Disinfopedia
    5. Derechos Human Rights "Impunity: John Dimitri Negroponte" : Derechos Human Rights
    6. World Court judgment "Case concerning the military and paramilitary activities in and against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v. United States of America)", 1986-Jun-27 : International Court of Justice

  9. Coalition sponsored poll May 2004 (suppressed but leaked to AP):
    1. "Public Opinion in Iraq: 14-23 May 2004", IIACSS 2004-Jul-16 : Associated Press
    2. Chris Shumway "CPA suppressed poll showing most Iraqis want U.S. troops out now", The NewStandard 2004-Jul-15 - The NewStandard

Buxton Against War, 30th July 2004
Buxton Against War