Stand up and be counted

'Peace mom' Cindy Sheehan returns from Jordan with a vital message, writes LOUISE NOUSRATPOUR.

Wednesday August 22, 2007
The Morning Star

US anti-war campaigner Cindy Sheehan issued an urgent clarion call on Tuesday for the British and US public to defy their warmongering leaders.

Speaking at a conference in London, Ms Sheehan said that Iraqi refugees whom she met on her recent visit to Jordan "want people in Britain and the US to rise up against their government and force an end to the occupation."

The high-profile "peace mom," whose son Casey was killed in Iraq in 2004, stopped off in Britain on her return journey to the US from Jordan, where she met Iraqis dealing with the massive refugee crisis that has seen over 4.2 million people displaced by the war.

"They told us that what will help them the most is when the occupying forces leave and their country is stable enough for them to go back to," Ms Sheehan told the meeting organised by the Stop the War Coalition.

She urged Britain to join an international solidarity coalition with Iraqis, which was launched at the event to raise awareness about the crisis and to gather emergency aid.

"There is a humanitarian crisis in the Middle East that is destabilising the entire region," Ms Sheehan said.

"It started in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's spread to especially Syria and Jordan, who have taken the brunt of the refugees who are displaced outside the country.

"Iraqi refugees have no prospect of employment. Mothers and young girls are forced to prostitute themselves to feed their families, while millions are left without a home and children can't go to school."

A joint report by Oxfam and NGOs in Iraq found last month that a third of all Iraqis needed emergency aid because of the humanitarian crisis caused by war.

Around 43 per cent are living in absolute poverty and there has been a sharp increase in the number of children being born underweight or suffer malnutrition, the report warned.

US-based community group Hip Hop Caucus president Rev Lennox Yearwood, who accompanied Ms Sheehan on her humanitarian visit to Jordan, said: "This is not a cause. This is an emergency.

"Countries like Syria and Jordan are at a breaking point and desperately need more resources and international aid to cope with the crisis."

Ms Sheehan demanded that Britain and the US help with the emergency aid operation and take on more refugees from the area.

Britain approves a pathetic 12 per cent of Iraqi asylum claims, while the US has only accepted 250 of the 7,000 Iraqi refugees there. By comparison, Sweden has a 91 per cent refugee approval rate and has suspended forcible returns.

The solidarity coalition's first major event will be co-ordinated mass marches in the US and Iraq on September 15 - the week that US commander of the multinational force General David Petraeus is to give his "progress" report on the situation in Iraq.

"Our message on that day will be to end the war, not only to save the lives of our soldiers but to save the lives of those living in Iraq," Ms Sheehan said.

General Petaeus's report will be followed by a statement from Prime Minister Gordon Brown about the future of British troops in Iraq.

Stop the War Coalition convener Lindsey German, who chaired the meeting, said: "We want to hear Mr Brown announce that Britain will be withdrawing all troops from there."

Ms Sheehan went on to express US citizens' "disgust" at the Democrat Party, saying: "They were elected to Congress House to bring political change. Instead, they are co-operating with the much-hated Bush administration.

"Some 75 per cent of the US public are against the war, but the Democrats have failed to reflect this."

Asked if she was serious about her intention to stand against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, she replied: "I'm a very serious candidate for Congress and I believe I have a very good chance of beating her."

Ms Sheehan announced her candidacy last month, after Ms Pelosi rejected a one million-strong petition calling for the impeachment of US President George Bush for war crimes.

Army general calls for more troops in Iraq

Louise Nousratpour
Wednesday August 22, 2007
The Morning Star

US general Jack Keane prompted a chorus of condemnation on Wednesday when he called for more British troops in Iraq.

Gen Keane, who was behind the failed US "surge" policy which saw over 30,000 troops deployed to Iraq, moaned that Britain's "disengagement" from the southern city of Basra was a source of frustration for US military commanders.

During a BBC radio interview, he insisted that Britain had never had enough forces to "truly protect" civilians, who were increasingly becoming prey to "gangland warfare."

Asked about the consequences of Britain withdrawing its remaining contingent of around 5,500 troops, he threatened: "The situation will continue to deteriorate."

Gen Keane's remarks were the latest in a series of critical comments made by US officials amid fears over British plans to pull out of Iraq.

He insisted that the answer to the soaring violence in Iraq was more US and British troops on the ground.

The US is facing up to that "fact," the general declared, adding that the British army "needs to grow in size to help assist in maintaining security."

But Sami Ramadani of the British-based support group for Iraqi trade unions NAFTANA accused Gen Keane of wanting to "add more petrol to the fire."

"The US-led occupation forces are a magnet for most of the violence in Iraq. Their presence is socially and politically divisive within Iraqi society.

"So, rather than preventing sectarian violence, they are actually encouraging divisions.

"Their departure will be the first step towards healing the wounds of Iraq and bringing its people together to begin the huge task of rebuilding."

Mr Ramadani suggested that Gen Keane's call for more troop deployment could have a more sinister connotation, arguing: "The US may be using Iraq as a launching pad to possibly attack Iran and even Syria."

Stop the War Coalition convener Lindsey German said that Gen Keane "clearly doesn't recognise that the game is up for British troops in Iraq. It is only a matter of time before they withdraw all troops from that country.

"The United States army is not doing too well either and now US President George Bush is turning against the Iraqi government, demanding that Iraqi people elect a new one because the ministers are not doing what he wants them to do."

Ms German reiterated calls for an end to the occupation, arguing: "There is no military solution to the crisis in Iraq and a political solution can only come from Iraqi people themselves."

She advised Gen Keane to "worry about the problems engulfing his own country, rather than making decisions for others."

A Military Families Against the War spokesman added: "Hundreds of thousands of British and US troops have been deployed to Iraq in the past five years, yet the violence is getting worse.

"A peaceful future for Iraq lies in the total withdrawal of all troops from there, not sending more to their death."

In response to Gen Keane's comments, the Ministry of Defence insisted that the US and Britain were "united behind the same strategy" and dismissed his criticism as "one person's view."

Last week, top British commander General Sir Richard Dannatt admitted that his forces were "certainly stretched" in Afghanistan, adding to pressure on Prime Minister Gordon Brown to cut Britain's commitment in Iraq to allow more soldiers to be sent to Afghanistan.

The MoD is reportedly considering a major reinforcement of the NATO mission in Afghanistan, possibly sending up to 2,000 extra troops.

Protesters see off police raid

Louise Nousratpour
Wednesday August 15, 2007
The Morning Star

THE Metropolitan Police stood accused of breaching an agreement with local residents and representatives of the Heathrow Airport protest camp on Wednesday.

Angry protesters said that police tried to provoke a confrontation on Tuesday night when some 30 officers tried to raid the camp, wielding cans of what appeared to be tear gas.

The Climate Camp Action organisers said that the surprise invasion by police was successfully - and peacefully - repelled by more than 100 demonstrators, who raced to block the officers from advancing into the camp.

Spokesman Timothy Lever said: "A large number of police attempted to break into the camp and they were peacefully removed by a large crowd of protesters with their hands in the air who gradually moved the police away.

"The police gave us no warning and did not say why they were coming on the site.

"They did it after the media left and then blocked journalists from returning to cover the stand-off."

Police initially doubled their numbers at the site, with mounted officers, sniffer dogs and an automatic number plate recognition van working alongside vanloads of officers raking in the overtime.

A statement from Scotland Yard said on Wednesday that policing numbers were now back to the "normal patrolling officers."

But protesters vowed to remain vigilant, amid fears that the heavy-handed approach was part of an ongoing attempt to deter others from joining the camp.

Local MP John McDonnell condemned the aggressive attitude of police, which flew in the face of a guarantee from the Met last week that it would adopt a low-level, non-aggressive policing policy.

"What took place on Tuesday night was an invasion of the camp site by 30 to 40 officers and, since then, a fairly aggressive stop-and-search policy of people visiting the camp, including local residents," he stormed.

Mr McDonnell, along with representatives from local resident groups and the camp, met police leaders yesterday morning to discuss the situation.

"We sought to gain reassurance from police that there will be no further aggression policy and no further invasion of the camp site itself," he reported.

Asked whether he was confident that police would uphold the agreement this time, the MP revealed: "As soon as we left the negotiations, we were met with a team of stop-and-search officers," although Mr McDonnell was not himself searched.

"I continue to be extremely concerned about the scale of the policing and the aggressive attitude of some officers."

Veteran protester Penny Eastwood was being held in a west London police station on Wednesday after she superglued herself to a gate at the camp on Tuesday night.

Police used chemical debonder to remove her hand from the metal gate before arresting her on suspicion of criminal damage.

Ms Eastwood is a member of Plane Stupid, the organisation targeted by a limited High Court injunction obtained by airport operator BAA.

She is the third person to be arrested in connection with the Heathrow climate protest.

Green Party principal speaker Derek Wall announced that he will be joining the camp on Thursday "to discuss how to build a green economy - but I will be listening, not lecturing."

He praised the protesters, declaring: "Simply by occupying the proposed runway site, they have provided an inspiring example of how citizens can fight climate change.

"The camp is a scandal to the government because it sits on the very site of the proposed runway, a runway that will bulldoze a whole village," he added.

Mr Wall said that "the camp reminds Prime Minister Gordon Brown, his Cabinet and BAA of their complicity in devastating environmental destruction.

"Non-violent direct action to combat ecological destruction is the right thing and the Green Party explicitly supports it," he insisted, describing it as "shameful but hardly surprising" that anti-terror legislation is being used to "try to silence their voices."

He warned: "Air travel is the fastest-growing source of CO2.

"It is our children that will pick up the bill from this dangerous and ill-thought-out expansion," said Mr Wall.