Those against an attack on Iraq must do more than shake their heads at the television
George Monbiot
Tuesday January 7, 2003
The Guardian
The rest of Europe must be wondering whether Britain has gone into hibernation. At the end of this month our prime minister is likely to announce the decision he made months ago, that Britain will follow the US into Iraq. If so, then two or three weeks later, the war will begin. Unless the UN inspectors find something before January 27, this will be a war without even the flimsiest of pretexts: an unprovoked attack whose purpose is to enhance the wealth and power of an American kleptocracy. Far from promoting peace, it could be the first in a series of imperial wars. The gravest global crisis since the end of the cold war is three weeks away, and most of us seem to be asking why someone else doesn’t do something about it.
It is not often that the people of these islands have an opportunity to change the course of world events. Bush knows that the Americans’ approval of his war depends, in part, upon its credibility overseas: opinion polls have shown that many of those who would support an international attack would withdraw that support if they perceived that the US was acting alone. An international attack, in this case, means an attack supported by Britain. If Blair pulled out, Bush could be forced to think again. Blair will pull out only if he perceives that the political cost of sticking with Bush is greater than the cost of deserting him. Bush’s war, in other words, depends upon our indifference. As Gramsci remarked: “What comes to pass does so not so much because a few people want it to happen, as because the mass of citizens abdicate their responsibility and let things be.”
There are several reasons why most British people do not seem prepared to act. New military technology has removed the need for a draft, so the otherwise unengaged young men who might have become the core of the resistance movement are left to blast imaginary enemies on their Gameboys. The economy is still growing, so underlying resentment towards the government is muted; yet we perceive our jobs and prospects to be insecure, so we are reluctant to expose ourselves to trouble.
It also seems that many people who might have contested this war simply can’t believe it’s happening. If, paradoxically, we were facing a real threat from a real enemy, the debate would have seemed more urgent. But if Blair had told us that we had to go to war to stop Saruman of Isengard from sending his orcs against the good people of Rohan, it would scarcely seem less plausible than the threat of Saddam of Iraq dropping bombs on America.
Comment: Hizb ut Tahrir Britain is launching a Petition campaign against the
impending war on Iraq. The petition will be launched this Friday, at Mosques
throughout the UK. It is anticipated that tens of thousands of Muslims will
be signatory to the petition.
This Petition will reflect the fact that the overwhelming majority of
Muslims in Britain are opposed to military action against Iraq, whether
authorised by the UN or not. Furthermore, the Muslim community views the
‘war on terror’, as a pretext employed by the Britain and America to
re-colonise the Muslim world and prevent the emergence an independent
powerful Islamic state.
The aim of the petition is to target the Embassies of Muslim countries,
whose corrupt rulers are partners with the West in this war against Islam
and the Muslim people.
Whilst Muslim masses are staunchly against a war on the Muslims of Iraq, the
corrupt leaders of the Muslim world continue to aid and abet the Anglo
American war effort.
These rulers see nothing wrong in surrendering their sovereignty by
providing American and British forces access to military bases, airspace,
waterways and intelligence information etc. In the absence of such support,
America and Britain will be unable to prosecute their colonial war on Iraq
and capture her oil.
The only solution to the problems of faced by the Muslims in the World is
the re-establishment of the Khilafah(Caliphate) State, which will be
ideologically and politically independent of the West and her agents.
