US preparations to attack Iran gather pace.
Warnings have been given for some time that the Bush regime is preparing the attack on Iran. From the news today the preparations appear to be gathering pace.
Having failed to loot Iraq as planned, all the evidence points to the Bush regime now aiming to target Iran.
There is a significant build up of US naval power in the Gulf.
Prior to Christmas we saw leaked the evidence of the Israeli air force undertaking dry run training of the aerial bombardment of the Iranian nuclear establishments.
This week we have seen US spokepeople bring forward claims that Iranians are infiltrating into Iraq to supply arms to insurgents and even launch attacks on US forces.
It is hard to credit it but there is even talk today of the US administration publishing a dossier of their "evidence" proving their allegations about Iran's involvement in the Iraqi conflict. You would have thought that they had learnt their lesson over dodgy dossiers!
The threat of an attack on Iran is serious. Both the USA's military preparations and propaganda justification for the attack are clearly well under way.
Across the world now we need to stand together to reject this course of action. We need to unite our country in opposition to this folly and also link up with progressive thought in the US.
I am calling on our Government to make it clear to George Bush that we will not support an attack on Iran.
I am also calling on all members of our Labour movement to let Tony Blair and Gordon Brown know that we will not support military action against Iran and certainly will not support any British involvement in such an action.
I appeal to all those who hold elected office in the Labour Party and the Trade Unions to make their position clear to the Prime Minister that they will not support military action.
My appeal goes to all MPs, Ministers, Trade Union General Secretaries, and candidates for leader and deputy leader of the party. Gordon Brown especially has a responsibility to make his views known.
If we all stand together this time we can prevent the Government making the same mistake as it did over Iraq and we may be able to prevent further bloodshed and loss of life.
Having failed to loot Iraq as planned, all the evidence points to the Bush regime now aiming to target Iran.
There is a significant build up of US naval power in the Gulf.
Prior to Christmas we saw leaked the evidence of the Israeli air force undertaking dry run training of the aerial bombardment of the Iranian nuclear establishments.
This week we have seen US spokepeople bring forward claims that Iranians are infiltrating into Iraq to supply arms to insurgents and even launch attacks on US forces.
It is hard to credit it but there is even talk today of the US administration publishing a dossier of their "evidence" proving their allegations about Iran's involvement in the Iraqi conflict. You would have thought that they had learnt their lesson over dodgy dossiers!
The threat of an attack on Iran is serious. Both the USA's military preparations and propaganda justification for the attack are clearly well under way.
Across the world now we need to stand together to reject this course of action. We need to unite our country in opposition to this folly and also link up with progressive thought in the US.
I am calling on our Government to make it clear to George Bush that we will not support an attack on Iran.
I am also calling on all members of our Labour movement to let Tony Blair and Gordon Brown know that we will not support military action against Iran and certainly will not support any British involvement in such an action.
I appeal to all those who hold elected office in the Labour Party and the Trade Unions to make their position clear to the Prime Minister that they will not support military action.
My appeal goes to all MPs, Ministers, Trade Union General Secretaries, and candidates for leader and deputy leader of the party. Gordon Brown especially has a responsibility to make his views known.
If we all stand together this time we can prevent the Government making the same mistake as it did over Iraq and we may be able to prevent further bloodshed and loss of life.
posted by John at 6:48 PM
7 Comments:
I agree completely John. Blair has to know he'll be forced out in disgrace if he tries to involve the UK in this - and Brown and Cameron have to know that neither of them will ever be Prime Minister if they support or involve us in any attack on Iran.
Air strikes on Iran would be a gift to the extremists there who rely on pointing to the threat of sanctions or invasion to stay in power(and this is made credible because of the overthrow of Iran's first democratic govt in 1953 by the CIA and MI6).
If the Bush admin did manage to overthrow Iran's government the result would be unlikely to be democracy - and highly likely to be a boost for extreme nationalist and Islamic fundamentalists in Iran much as in Iraq.
The best thing we could do to promote democracy in Iran would be to end sanctions and threats of military action with any sanctions being 'smart sanctions' targeting specific human rights abusers with travel bans and seizure of their foreign bank accounts - plus a crack down on the arms trade so that British military equipment doesnt end up in Iranian hands as it has recently with the night vision binoculars supplied to hezbollah.
Then the regime would have no bogey men to point to.
Our troops should be brought home before they are exposed to any backlash from any ill judged attack by the US on Iran.
The supposed 'nuclear threat' is non-existent - Iran would take years to develop missiles capable of hitting Israel and in any case could not and would not use these missiles because Israel, the US , and the EU would then obliterate Tehran. The Iranian leadership know this and are not personally suicidal (they make plenty of money from their oil exports and value it so much the Iranian parliament vetoed 2 of Ahmadenijad's proposed oil ministers). They are happy to advocate martyrdom for others but show no wish to achieve it themselves.
So Chirac was right when he said that Iran gaining nuclear weapons would not be dangerous however much that fact might irritate Blair , Bush or Olmert who rely on such scare stories for much of their support.
If there is a risk it's that reckless attacks on Iran could hand more support to Ahmadenijad's faction (which currently has control of only the presidency which is fairly weak in Iranian politics) or someone more extreme - or create chaos as in Iraq which allows even more extreme groups to operate freely.
Agree with your analysis Duncan. Just took a quick peak at the NY Times webpage, and their opinion is that Bush & Co are setting up Iran as a scapegoat for the forthcoming official failure in Iraq.
It's strange timing too. Apparently these weapons were first found in 2004. With US politics the way they are now - he's never going to get an attack on Iran past them is he? Unless of course he provokes Iran enough to elicit a response.
Yes, what is GB's opinion?
Totally agree.
How about organising an authoritative e-petition?
I am half Iranian, half British, and I totally agree with you John.
One of the defining features of Iran as a nation, is their unity. However much western media and politicians suggest that Iranians despise their leaders, they despise the threat of invasion from America and Britain, much more.
A war in Iran will open the gates to WWIII. Iraq was a fragmented nation, Iran is not.
how does one man talk so much sense - makes a change to have a politician who is really in touch with reality and not their own personal gains
Machel wrote "How about organising an authoritative e-petition?"
Good idea - i don't know how to program one unfortunately but someone's bound to know.
It might have been a surprise to some people reading this website but it's been obvious for ages that the US would try to attack Iran when you look into it and it was only a question of when exactly.
It's urgent to get John nominated and subsequently voted in or we will be dragged into it which would be pure madness.
The only way we can stop it happening is to do this, to radically break with New Labour. They are nothing like a Labour party in fact we ought to sue them under the trades descriptions act for taking Labour's name in vein. If there was a test you could take in Labour values before joining the party they wouldn't pass!
What is wrong with being a pacifist and a socialist?? I bet they couldn't answer as they seem to have fewer and fewer morals by the day as they must realise the implications of their policies as Thatcher did perfectly well in case anyone is still harbouring any delusions that they mean well.
As for their latest policy via Will Hutton to make single parents work in probably McJobs once their kids are twelve this is totally misguided as in fact research shows kids need their parents just as much once they are teenagers if not more than when they are young. I'm not saying they shouldn't work when the kids are at school or if it's really the only way the family can survive but it would be better to spend the money looking at ways to reduce the tyranny of nine to five as many jobs could be done without having to stick to those hours anyway. There are cautionary tales from the US New Deal such as a mother who was made to work twelve hours a day or something selling muffins in a mall or something for mimium wage or very low I can't remember while her kids had to go to daycare at 7.30 adm or something; might have been a day job and an evening one I can't remember and something awful happened to her kids which wouldn't have happened had she been there I can't remember what now as I must have blanked it out but it was a true story.
Would Michael Meacher stand as John's deputy?
Prob not as he has Ministerial experience. He would be the obvious choice for Environment Minister as Miliband ought to be sacked for saying we can stop climate change while leaving the airline industry exactly as it is. I also don't think Blair should give in to the lobby against road tolls; when I went to France with my family in 1989 we had to pay £7.50 odd every two hours at the motorway tolls; why should we have it easier! That's not to say I'm anti-car as where I live it's difficult without one; just yesterday I had to unsafely block the bus to Henley's corridor with my pushchair as I couldn't fold it as it's broken and on the way back it was full of shopping anyway but there's no pushchair or wheelchair space on the bus as you would get in London. Also the kids are safer strapped in a pushchair when the bus lurches anyway than on your knee. The first thing we should do with transport is make it accessible to everyone in the country. Also if a bus only runs once every half hour and you miss it it's a very long wait for small children so you tend to want to abort your trip or change your route and cars are easier for carrying your stuff around in but I'll have to learn to drive first and if I do I'd like to have the car converted to eco-pertrol of soem kind or buy an eco-car. If we are going to have globalisation we should do it it an ethical and eco way like this instead of using up the world's finite resources and polluting the planet while we do so. There's always a choice but the Blairites keep telling us there's no choice.
Mind you take heart from the speed with which even the media's take on a story can change these days - e.g. the reaction to the looting of the wrecked container ship off Devon recently - one day the media seemed to condone it and almost encourage it the next day they were reporting that the beach had been closed down by the police and that they may be able to trace the owners of the containers so peole really shouldn't take any more....
You would think some of the mainstream media would be left with egg on their faces if John were in fact to win but I expect they's find a way to turn it around as after all you're never QUITE sure of the results of elections until you've had them.
Never give up until the last counter has been played is my motto.
Post a Comment
<< Home