Socialist Voice Nov. 2002
THE GREEN light for a war against Iraq was given on 8 November after the US- inspired weapons inspection resolution on the UN Security Council was passed unanimously.
By Cillian Gillespie
It is quite possible that US imperialism could launch its war for oil and prestige within the next month, using a supposed breach of the UN resolution on the part of Saddam Hussein as a pretext to attack Iraq. At this very moment, US troops are being mobilised to the Middle East.
The idea that this war is being waged because of the brutality of the regime of Saddam Hussein is laughable. The fact is that successive US and British governments have supported and armed some of the most brutal dictatorships that exist in our world including that of Saddam himself.
This war will mean further death and destruction for the Iraqi people. In the last Gulf War, despite the use of so called "smart bombs'', up to 150,000 civilians were killed as a result of intense bombing by the major imperialist powers. Over the past decade, a further million civilians have died as a result of the brutal sanctions imposed by the UN against Iraq.
This barbaric war will undoubtedly be met with opposition across the globe. This was illustrated the day after the resolution was passed when over a million workers and young people marched in an anti-war demonstration in Florence. Significantly, 100,000 marched in Washington against the war in a demonstration led by striking dockers. The disgust felt by the working class internationally against this war is undoubtedly linked to a growing questioning of the capitalist system itself. This is particularly the case amongst young people.
In Ireland, the Irish government voting for Bush and Blair's resolution on the UN Security Council exposed the myth that the Irish capitalist establishment is neutral in this war. They have also allowed US warplanes to refuel in Shannon despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of Irish people are opposed to a war.
7 December in Dublin will give workers and young people the chance to show their opposition to the war and vent their anger at Ahern's government for supporting this war for oil. Socialist Youth and Youth Against the War will be building for this demonstration in the coming weeks.
We are also seeking to organise young people in schools and colleges in building the anti -war movement. Young people have a crucial role to play in opposing this imperialist war.
Socialist Youth is not only opposed to this war. We are also opposed to the system that creates war. As a result, the fight against a new war is undoubtedly linked to the fight against the madness of the capitalist system itself. We are fighting for a socialist world in which war and poverty are consigned to the rubbish heap of history. Join us today!
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