No safety in capitalist war
WORKERS, OCT 2006 ISSUE
The US-led war in Iraq has not made the world any safer. As UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said, "I cannot say the world is safer when you consider the violence around us, when you look around you and see the terrorist attacks around the world and you see what is going on in Iraq."
The number of terrorist atrocities, and of their innocent victims, continues to rise each year. The US State Department itself reported that in 2004 there had been 651 "significant" terrorist attacks in the world, killing 1,907 people. In 2003, there had been 175 attacks, killing 625, in 2002, 139 attacks, and in 2001, 123.
Speaking about his tour of Middle East nations, Kofi Annan said, "Most of the leaders I spoke to felt that the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath have been a real disaster for them... They believe it has destabilised the region." He also noted, "One used to be worried about Afghanistan being the centre of terrorist activities. My sense is that Iraq has become a major problem and in fact is worse than Afghanistan."
Security for the Iraqi people is worsening. According to the website Iraqbodycount.com, at least 43,269, and possibly as many as 48,046, Iraqi civilians have been killed, and the pace of killing is quickening – 20 a day in the first year of the occupation, 31 a day in the second year, and 36 a day in the third. The UN recorded 2,669 violent deaths in May this year, 3,149 in June and 3,438 in July. 890,000 Iraqis have fled the country.
The US military has suffered 2,689 deaths since the war began and 19,945 wounded. 232 troops from other coalition forces have also been killed. There are, according to the Pentagon, 500 attacks a week on the occupying forces, up from 250 a week last year. A recent poll funded by the US National Science Foundation shows that 84.5 per cent of Iraqis "strongly oppose the presence of coalition forces in Iraq".
This failed "war on terror" has so far cost the US state £254 billion. It has cost us in Britain £4.5 billion so far. A Populus poll carried out between 1 and 3 September found that 62 per cent of us agreed that "To reduce the risk of future terrorist attacks the Government should change its foreign policy, by distancing itself from America, being more critical of Israel and declaring a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq."