The Workers League condemns the imminent invasion of Iraq, led by Bush and Blair, and slavishly supported by Howard and Downer.
Whether supported by the UN Security Council or not, this is a war of aggression aimed at establishing a US military regime in Iraq which will give the US control over Iraq's oil and water and reshape the entire Middle East, in partnership with the Israeli regime. It is also aimed at preventing the Euro emerging as an alternative oil currency to the dollar.
It is a war that will be waged with the so-called "Shock and Awe" strategy, which will see hundreds of Cruise missiles rain on Iraq in the opening moments and will result in massive civilian casualties.
Lies have been piled on lies in an attempt to justify this aggression against the Iraqi people. The US is not concerned with Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction. These have been almost totally destroyed and so it is not surprising that the UN inspectors have been unable to find any after 400 inspections.
Iraq's written submission to the UN was censored by Washington to remove the details of the companies - including US, German, French and Russian - that originally supplied chemical, biological and nuclear material to Iraq.
Nor is the US concerned about Sadaam Hussein's dictatorial regime. It was quite happy to arm Iraq when it was fighting Iran and it has a bloody history of defending dictatorships all over the world, providing they toed Washington's line. The task of dealing with Saddam Hussein's regime falls to the Iraqi people, not the US government.
Howard's so-called "peace mission" to Washington and London has been nothing more than a council of war in which he has been promoted as a "world leader" because of his grovelling support for Bush.
Howard enthusiastically applauded the British and US arguments for war. But these been exposed as a mish-mash of lies and distortions. Among many others, Glen Rangwala, the British political scientist, has written detailed criticisms of both the Blair dossier of 2 February and the Colin Powell speech of 5 February detailed criticisms of both the Blair dossier of 2 February and the Colin Powell speech of 5 February, the basis of the Howard government's case.
Journalists such as John Pilger and Robert Fisk and organisations such as the Campaign against Sanctions in Iraq and Indymedia have also unmasked the lies and deception from Canberra, London and Washington.
The powerful demonstrations across Australia and internationally this weekend express the widespread opposition to the war. Of particular significance are the actions that have been taken by trade unionists in a number of countries such as the two Scottish train drivers who refused to move a freight train carrying ammunition believed to be going to the Gulf and the trade union branches in the US who have carried anti-war resolutions.
Created on February 16, 2003