[A-List] Scotland: left opposition to Iraq war

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

Vital to regain democratic control
The Herald, 16 January 2003
Letters

LET us not be fooled by talk of war "becoming" inevitable. It has been
inevitable ever since George Bush Jr quietly agreed to make it so for those
who paid for his election campaign. Tony Blair was right to say that he
supports American war plans because our government shares the same values
and interests as theirs. These are the values and interests of BP, Shell,
Esso, etc, not those of the British public.

It was an agreement on the post-war management of Iraqi oil reserves that
lay behind the current Security Council consensus. Western military powers
are in serious danger of becoming the armed wing of the oil industry. It is
vital that we regain democratic control over our government. That is why I
agree with the Scottish Left Review's appeal (January 15) for the Scottish
people to be heard. Democracy: use it or lose it.

Dr Keith Farnsworth.

THE excellent letter from Scottish Left Review on the need for a debate on
the war will be answered on January 16 when the SNP uses its time for a
three-hour debate on the war in the Scottish Parliament. This is to be
welcomed, yet the motion says that we should only go to war with the
approval of the UN. This is a dangerous position as we have seen in the
past, particularly during the last Gulf war.

The US can bully and bribe the UN into submission. That is why Tommy
Sheridan, MSP, has put down an amendment opposing war against Iraq even if
the UN approves. This amendment is backed by John McAllion, Robin Harper,
Dennis Canavan, Dorothy-Grace Elder, and hopefully others. So the Scottish
Parliament, unlike the Westminster Parliament, will get a chance to debate
the war and to have a vote. Readers should scrutinise the debate and the
vote carefully.

Hugh Kerr, press officer, Scottish Socialist Party, The Scottish Parliament.

Could somebody please explain to me why we can't go to war with Iraq without
a resolution from the UN? Will innocent Iraqis die with more dignity because
the bomb that drops on their heads has "sanctioned by the UN" stamped on it?
Has nobody realised yet that the initials UN and US are interchangeable when
it comes to deciding to go to war?

Norma Anderson.

Addressing the UN some weeks ago, President Bush said that how it acted in
respect of Iraq would be key in determining whether it really was an
effective institution or whether it was going to be just another League of
Nations. For once, I am happy to agree with him. But is he or Tony Blair
prepared to support the UN and the principles it stands for and which it
exists to give effect to?

Is not the litmus test for the UN its preparedness not to be a tool of
American imperialism and British nostalgia for days of empire, but to stand
up for the principles of peace and justice on which it was founded?

I cannot remember a time - even before the end of the nuclear stand-off of
the cold war - that I felt a greater sense of foreboding than now.

Now is the time for the New Labour clones to discover their individuality
and independence and to do what they were elected to do - represent the
people of Britain, and not the vainglorious fantasies of the best leader the
Tory party never had.

Michael Collie.

IS it just me or does some of the propaganda emerging from 10 Downing Street
and the security services seem somewhat reminiscent of some of the
propaganda that came out during the First World War and subsequent
conflicts? It must surely only be a matter of time before we see some of the
old stories repeated in new forms such as Sadaam Hussein eating babies
(presumably using cutlery supplied by the CIA, although that information
will probably not be made public). What is clear is that truth is being
sacrificed on the altar of political expediency and that another old cliché
is being repeated - ie, if a lie is repeated often enough people will start
to believe it.

Rev John Nugent.

I AM serving 14 days in Cornton Vale for protesting at Faslane against our
possession of weapons of mass destruction. I am listening to Newsnight and
Tony Blair preparing to go to war against Iraq because of its potential
possession of weapons of mass destruction. Am I missing something?

Louise Robertson, Cornton Vale Prison, Stirling.