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War plans expose fraudulent 'democracy'

There is no clearer illustration of the fraudulent nature of our so-called democracy than the relentless build up to an unprovoked unleashing of horrific military force against the people of Iraq early in 2003. There is a clear majority in Britain and a substantial minority in the United States who are opposed to such a war, which will leave many Iraqi civilians victims of not-so-smart bombs and missiles.

Church leaders, whose predecessors lent religious justification to the crusades of the Middle Ages, now speak as one against the military onslaught that awaits the Iraqi people in the New Year. Even the national capitalist media is split, with newspapers like the 'Daily Mirror' in total opposition. In Britain, the largest anti-government march in a generation united people of all classes and religions against an attack on Iraq. At New Labour's conference, an anti-war motion was only narrowly defeated.

Yet these voices are ignored by Bush and Blair. They head elected dictatorships whose task is to strip away civil liberties, crush dissent and opposition of any kind and ratchet up the war propaganda. Their contempt for the universal desire for peace leads them to invent excuses for attacking an independent sovereign state without cause. The fact that Saddam Hussein is a dictator is clearly not reason enough to invade his country. After all, he could not have got where he is without the support of Western powers.

So "weapons of mass destruction" are made an issue. Iraq is told that it has to prove it does not have any such weaponry! This Alice-in-Wonderland approach is a sure sign of the way the Bush and Blair governments view justice. Soon it will become necessary for defendants to show they did not commit any crime rather than the prosecution having to provide evidence that they did.

In any case, the issue of such weapons is yet another pretext. What about Israel, Pakistan, India, North Korea, France, China and Russia? They all have nuclear weapons and regularly threaten other countries. The Israeli government is a barbaric regime that is systematically destroying vestiges of Palestinian self-rule. Each day the Sharon government murders civilians; each day it defies UN resolutions and remains in control of the Occupied Territories; each day it humiliates the Palestinian people in contravention of international law; each day these crimes against humanity go unpunished.

No matter. Just concentrate on Iraq, we are told. The real reasons, which are never acknowledged, are the economic interests of the West. These revolve around control of oil resources in the Middle East. With Saudi Arabia on the edge of revolution, the oil corporations that put Bush in power need permanent access to Iraqi oil. In addition, global corporations are desperate for new markets as the economic slump begins to bite in the US and Europe.

What the build-up to war reveals to millions is that our democracy is in fact a sham. No one in power is interested in what ordinary people think or want. The mass of people in turn have no control over what parliaments and government do, especially in times of war. This alienation from any direct relationship to power is a reflection of the nature of our society. Capitalism is based on the exploitation of the many by the few, where the majority have no say or control over what happens to the products of their labour. That is why there seems such an inevitability about the plans to attack and occupy Iraq. Every news bulletin reinforces this message, talking about "war coming closer" as a result of this or that event. It is as if it was written in the stars. That's how remote we are from real democracy.

The Iraqi government poses no threat whatsoever to the people of the United States or Britain. Our quarrel is not with the Iraqi people, whose culture and history is among the most significant on the planet. Just as we have to get rid of our own despots, so the Iraqi people have the right to sort out their own affairs, free from Cruise missiles and Anglo-US occupation.

The Bush and Blair regimes are taking the world towards a catastrophe. They are out of control and behave like latter-day Crusaders, this time armed with the most fearful of weapons to use in their imperial adventure against "the infidel". There is no use in hoping for the UN to come to the rescue. This useless body wrote the blank cheque for war with its infamous resolution cast in the language of colonial masters. In the Security Council, France and Russia have come round, promised a share of the post-war spoils. As for the wretched Chinese government, they are as far from their revolutionary origins as it is possible to get.

The struggle against a war on Iraq is simultaneously about the majority being able to exert control and power. This is denied by the existing state and the status quo of globalised capitalism. This powerlessness has to end for history to move forward in a peaceful way. This means fighting for a regime change in Britain and America. We must struggle in 2003 not just to get rid of the Bush and Blair governments but to create new, truly democratic bodies to replace those whose sole function is to deny the majority a voice while providing the cover for war.

Movement for a Socialist Future
1 January 2003