As we pointed out in a recent article, the war is not going according to plan. As each day passes this becomes even more evident. They are now preparing to double the forces deployed in Iraq, and also to hugely increase the budget for this war. In spite of this they are now saying the war could go on for months. Now there is an open polemic among the military strategists about the mistakes of Rumsfeld who thought it could all be over very quickly.
In the beginning they had led people to believe that this war was going to be over in a few days, at most a few weeks, and that casualties would be minimal. This was because as the advancing troops approached Baghdad the people of Iraq were supposed to rise up, overthrow Saddam Hussein and welcome the US and British troops as "liberators". Instead what we are witnessing is dogged resistance of the Iraqi forces. In spite of having outdated weapons, they are taking on the most advanced war machine ever seen. The British and US troops must be bewildered. They were told not expect great resistance!
As these events unfold public opinion in Britain and the US can change dramatically. People will start to ask themselves a lot more questions. Why is there such stiff resistance on the part of the Iraqi troops? Why are the Iraqi people not welcoming the foreign troops as they were supposed to do? Why is this war being fought? What are the real reasons that lie behind it? What interests are being defended? As people find the answers to these questions opposition to the war will grow stronger, not weaker!
Thus while the war on the ground continues the propaganda war is getting more intense and bitter. The latest example of this was Blair's speech yesterday in which he claimed two British soldiers were "executed". The purpose of this statement was to enrage people at home and strengthen support for the war effort. The argument is that the Iraqi regime is a brutal one that can do such barbaric things and therefore we must strengthen our resolve and get rid of Saddam Hussein "once and for all". This kind of statement can have a powerful effect in rallying ordinary people.
The problem is that now it seems very clear that Blair was lying! One of the soldiers killed was 24-year old Luke Allsopp from Dagenham in Essex, who had worked as car mechanic before signing up for the army. His family had been informed that he had died in action. According to reports in the Daily Mirror, Luke's sister, Nina Allsopp, explained that the official army version of events was that he had died in combat and the Colonel who came round to inform the family pointed out that he was doing what he could to "set the record straight" (i.e. deny Blair's version). His sister added that, "It's important to us that people know the truth. That people know what really happened."
Before the family of the dead soldier had come out with their pleas for the truth to be known Blair had announced, "If anyone needed any further evidence of the depravity of Saddam's regime, this atrocity provides it."
After the family explained what had really happened Blair's reply was that, "the reason I used the language I did was because of the circumstances that we know." The Ministry of Defence had to admit they had no proof of any "execution" taking place. They just presumed they were "executed". The reason they made this presumption is that if it were true it would be a powerful tool in their hands to shape public opinion.
The death of these two soldiers is indeed a tragedy. Just as the deaths of 350 Iraqi civilians and hundreds (possibly even thousands by now) of Iraqi soldiers are a tragedy. There is also no doubt about the brutality of Saddam Hussein's regime. But there is also no doubt that in the past the West backed, armed and financed this regime when it was in their interests to do so. Also when 12 years ago the people of Iraq, in particular in the southern town of Basra, were ready to overthrow Saddam Hussein, the western forces sat idly by while the Republican Guard drowned the revolt in blood. The people of Iraq have not forgotten that and they do not trust the imperialists. Therefore it is utter hypocrisy for Blair to now denounce the horrors of the regime.
What the US and British governments are now doing is adding horror to horror. They are bombing the cities of Iraq. The infrastructure is breaking down. Clean water supplies have been cut off. There is the danger of the outbreak of cholera. Many also face hunger. They are adding to the damage by using depleted uranium weapons, which were also used in the last Gulf War, and which has led to a big increase in deaths caused by cancer and leukaemia, particularly among Iraqi children. Unimaginable suffering is being inflicted on the Iraqi people.
The movement against the war was already massive before the war started. As the real nature of this war dawns on more and more people we can expect the lies to get bigger and bigger. But although Blair may think he can just mould public opinion as he wishes, ordinary people do not trust him. An example of this comes from a local London radio station yesterday (which actually puts across a very chauvinistic and rabidly reactionary position in the war and on many other issues). It asked its listeners if they trusted the news they were receiving from the media about the war and to text them with a YES or NO. 86% answered NO!
As the old saying goes: you can fool all of the people some of the time, you can fool some of the people all of the time, but you can never fool all of the people all of the time! The truth will eventually emerge and the liars will have to answer to the wrath of ordinary working people the world over, including the families of those soldiers who are dying for the sake of the privileges of the rich and powerful.
March 28, 2003.
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