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VOICES
NEWSLETTER # 55 ( May/June 2008) “While we were preparing for evening prayer, U.S. aircraft bombed this house, we rushed to save survivors but in vain. The father, mother and a young boy were killed and three others were buried under rubble. We evacuated two people and one is still under the rubble” – Basra resident Haj Juwad (AP, 3 Apr). The Iraqi government’s assault on Basra, begun 25 Mar – which drew in both US and British forces, sparked fighting in Baghdad and the south, and ‘left about 600 people dead’ by early April (WP, 4 Apr) – starkly illustrates the way in which the occupation has helped to ‘polaris[e] the Shiite community and creat[e] the foundations for endemic intra-Shiite strife.’* It may also have been an attempt to disrupt British plans for the area (see here). Nominally a government crackdown on “rogue” militias, in reality it was primarily an assault on Muqtada al-Sadr’s Sadrist movement (‘a deeply entrenched, popular mass movement of young, poor and disenfranchised Shiites’**) by its US-allied Shiite rivals – most notably the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), itself ‘a militia masquerading as a political party’* (see Democracy Now! interview with Patrick Cockburn, 27 Mar, tinyurl.com/2o6hkq). As vocal opponents of the occupation and ‘the only mass-based indigenous, post-war movement to challenge the returning’ US-backed exile parties*, the Sadrist movement and its militia, the Mahdi Army, have long been US targets (see eg. Voices #35). Creating strife Prior to the assault on Basra, the ICG presciently noted that ‘[u]sing [ISCI] as an instrument with which to militarily defeat the Sadrists is a policy that is bound to backfire, polarising the Shiite community and creating the foundations for endemic intra-Shiite strife.’* Armed enclaves ”We are essentially supporting a quasi-feudal devolution
of authority to armed enclaves, which exist at the expense of
central government authority,” notes Chas Freeman, former
US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia under Bush Snr (Nir Rosen, ‘The
Myth of the Surge’, Rolling Stone, 6 Mar, tinyurl.com/3copkj). The untold story ‘Early on, they had a huge impact on daily life, but largely remained above the fray; now, they’re right in the middle, making deals, creating some alliances, destroying others, deciding which groups to strengthen and which to weaken. This is an essential part of counterinsurgency and is a feature, not a bug, of the new strategy. Unfortunately for Iraqis, it means not only more distortion of their politics, but more of a reason for the major Iraqi players not to reach a modus vivendi that could lead to a stable peace.’ * Shiite Politics in Iraq: The Role of the Supreme Council, International Crisis Group, 15 Nov 07, tinyurl.com/5l2ft8 ** Iraq’s
Civil War, The Sadrists and the Surge, International Crisis
Group,
7 Feb, tinyurl.com/6rjrkd According to Coughlin, the ‘offensive was aimed as much at removing’ General Mohan al-Furayji – the avowedly secular commander of Iraqi forces in Basra, who had been the UK’s main ally in Iraq – ‘as dealing with the militias.’ Mohan was a ‘key figure in the deal under which British forces withdrew from Basra city’ last year (Independent, 27 Mar). Not told, turned away Moreover, ’At the height of the fighting Brigadier Julian Free, commander of 4 Mechanised Brigade, flew by helicopter to Basra to see the Iraqi prime minister, but al-Maliki refused to see him. Instead Mr al-Maliki turned for help to the US 82nd Airborne Division, who acted as combat advisers and air controllers’ (Coughlin). The final battle The time has come On 1 Apr,
UK defence secretary Des Browne announced that ‘the
number of UK forces would stay at 4,100 for the foreseeable future’,
nixing earlier plans to withdraw 2,500 this spring (Guardian,
2 Apr). In the Imam Ali Hospital in Baghdad’s Sadr City, ‘Sabah Raheem’s family sat on the bed next to his. The skin on his face was black from the burning shrapnel of a US airstrike. On his chest were black craters where metal pieces had gouged his flesh. His left eye was gone, along with one of his legs. Around him were four other men with missing limbs. His parents were at home, mourning his two brothers, both killed in an airstrike’ (McClatchy Newspapers, 1 Apr). “We haven’t told him about his brothers yet,” his uncle, Saad Naathoul explained. Ceasefire? On 11 Apr six people were killed in a British airstrike on Basra (Reuters, 11 Apr), and on 21 Apr the Independent reported that ‘[t]he Iraqi army, supported by US airstrikes and British artillery … [had] advance[d] into Basra against little resistance.’ Meanwhile, fierce fighting has continued in Sadr City, with
an estimated 500 killed and 2,100 injured by late April (WP,
30 Apr), and the US building a massive concrete wall to partition
the mega-slum of 2.5 million people (NYT, 18 Apr). According to Amnesty the UK ‘has been one of the key players in forcible returns of Iraqis’ returning more Iraqis than any other European state. Moreover, ’[t]he UK operates a harsh practice of cutting
off assistance, including accommodation and benefits, for people
who reach the end of the asylum process.’ Consequently,
the Refugee Council notes, large numbers of Iraqis ‘are
now living in destitution, in a legal limbo, and under constant
threat of removal’ (Independent, 9 Aug 07). The Iraqis in question came to Britain before 2005, and ‘[a]lthough their claims for refugee status had been rejected, they were unable to leave the country because there was no safe way back to Iraq and they faced destitution in Britain. They have received "section four support"’ (see ‘Ahmed’s Story’). Now they ‘are to be told that unless they sign up for a voluntary [sic] return programme to Iraq within three weeks, they face being made homeless and losing state support. They will also be asked to sign a waiver agreeing the government will take no responsibility for what happens to them or their families once they return to Iraqi territory.’ Ongoing deportations Despite government assertions that these returns involved only Iraqis from the Kurdistan Regional Government area in nothern Iraq, several of those deported were apparently from Mosul, Kirkuk and Baghdad, outside this region (Guardian, 29 Mar). Some of those on the plane were allegedly beaten by guards on their arrival, and one 19-year-old man from Mosul was forced to sleep rough. A Sword of Damocles In the sort of case that gives lawyers a bad name, the Home Office argued successfully ‘that there was no ‘internal armed conflict’ in Iraq as defined’ by a European Council directive that had been thought to protect Iraqis. “As things stand now a sword of Damocles hangs over the head of every Iraqi in the UK,” a spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR told the Observer. A crucial role NOTES TAKE ACTION - Join Voices’ 24-hour “tent city” protest in Parliament Square against deportations on 21-22 June. See here. - According to the Coalition to Stop Deportations to Iraq, the Home Office has been using Royal Jordanian airlines to deport Iraqi asylum seekers. Please contact Royal Jordanian (Space One, 1 Beadon Rd, Hammersmith, London W6 OEA or lontbrj@rj.com) and urge them not to accept any more bookings from the Home Office Office for such deportations, and to cancel all previous bookings. Let them know that if RJ continues deportations you will no longer be using them. fax: 0208 748 5251 email: lontbrj@rj.com * Support
the Coalition to Stop Deportations to Iraq: sarahp107[at]hotmail.com,
t: 07856 032 991, w: www.csdiraq.com. ’This minimal level of support is awarded temporarily
to some destitute failed asylum seekers, but the criteria for
eligibility are strict. Those who qualify are given accommodation
allocated on a "no-choice" basis and £35 per
week in supermarket vouchers, but no cash. Ahmed finds it hard
to live on this, because he has no money in his pocket: "I
can't get a bus - I always have to walk, even if it takes two
hours." Sometimes he sells his vouchers at half price to
get some cash. Under the new rules he is likely to find himself
on the street.‘ ”If Iraq is safe,” he notes “then why don’t
British people go on holiday there? It is a very beautiful country.” ‘[O]fficials have told the Guardian that defence chiefs, deeply concerned about the pressures placed on the armed forces, are worried that if they complain the government may not send them off to war again. "The last thing they want is the armed forces not being used," said a Whitehall source’ (Guardian, 21 Mar). A massive Government propaganda campaign – designed to stop people thinking about the reality of war and instead rally them behind a meaningless “support” for British troops – has already had a significant impact on UK public opinion. And there’s more to come. Though 48% still opposed UK military operations in Afghanistan, a 12-13 Mar ICM poll found a sharp rise in expressed support, which stood at 40%, up from 31% in September 2006 (BBC, 14 Mar). ICM’s Nick Sparrow said coverage of ‘Prince Harry’s deployment to Afghanistan may have boosted support’, and no doubt the saturation coverage of the Prince’s exploits – during which he spent time in ‘a fortified position a distance away from the front line in Helmand’ giving the final clearance to drop bombs (Guardian, 29 Feb) – played a role. However, this was probably only part of the story. A Major Campaign *
the Sun-backed ‘Help for Heroes’ charity (whose
patrons include Jeremy Clarkson, and truck-manufacturer MAN ERF
UK Ltd, ‘awarded the contract to manufacture over 7,000
support vehicles for the British Armed Forces ’ – see
www.helpforheroes.org.uk) Now this campaign looks set to escalate. Armed Forces Day He
is also backing plans to ‘encourag[e] more state secondary
schools to join the cadet corps’ so that pupils can ‘sign
up for military drills and weapons training’ (Observer,
6 Apr). A Fraying Relationship? In reality, all the evidence suggests that the cult of the British soldier is alive and well: in a Jan Populus poll for the Army, ‘95% said they “respect” soldiers, and 91% [that] they “admire” the army’ (Guardian, 18 Mar). Nine out of ten ‘believed that the Army had an important role to play in society’ and ‘[a] similar number said soldiers were the epitome of heroism’ (BBC, 17 Mar). 77% back the idea of an ‘Armed Forces Day’ (12-13 Mar ICM poll, tinyurl.com/48vpue). Hijacking support In
reality, the British Government is trying to hijack the widespread – and
as far as one can tell, largely uncritical - support for Armed
Forces, to enable its occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. The
peace and anti-war movements must take vigorous and sustained
action to counter them. ‘3 Para and the MoD say that it was written because the battalion's experience in Afghanistan was neglected by the media,’ Lloyd notes. ‘The accusation is true, in so far as that the MoD quickly restricted access to journalists in Helmand province after an early and illuminating dispatch by Christina Lamb, a foreign correspondent for The Sunday Times.’ Lamb
had reported on Afghan civilians killed by British forces (Sunday
Times,
10 Sept 06). Happily for the MoD these appear
to be entirely absent from Bishop’s book. Largely hidden from public view, the massive numbers of Afghans being killed by British forces in Afghanistan are boosting the Taliban and radicalising the movement, making a negotiated settlement – the favoured option of the vast majority of ordinary Afghans* - less likely. According
to ‘defence sources’, paratroopers of
the 16 Air Assault Brigade killed at least 1,000 “Taliban” during
their first deployment to Helmand province in 2006, and have
killed a further 6,000 since then (Sunday Times, 13 Apr). Bombings & assasinations ‘Western military officials say privately that approximately 200 medium and high-level Taliban commanders were killed countrywide in targeted bombings or assassinations by American and British special forces last year, and a further 100 captured,’ leading to ‘increasing radicalisation … as more extreme fighters, many of them al-Qa'eda-linked foreign militants, fill the gaps left when experienced Taliban leaders are killed.’ Britain’s deployment in Afghanistan now looks set to increase
to over 8,000 (Telegraph, 7 Apr) and a new expeditionary force
of US Marines is being sent to Helmand, promising to “stir
things up” with ‘new and more aggressive tactics’ (Times,
29 Apr) In line with past experience (see eg. voices 51) a second poll without the timetable option produced different results: 38% said that ‘US and other Coalition forces’ should ‘leave now’ (down from 47% in Aug 07), 35% that they should ‘remain until security is restored’, and 24% that they should ‘remain until the Iraqi government is stronger’ (14%) or ‘until the Iraqi security forces can operate independently’ (10%) (12-20 Feb poll conducted by D3 Systems for the BBC, tinyurl.com/5743gd). According
to the BBC poll, 73% of Iraqis think that the presence of US
forces in
Iraq is making security worse (61%) or having ‘no
effect’ (11%), and 69% of Iraqis believe that the security
situation in Iraq would be ‘better’ (46%) or ‘about
the same’ (23%) if American forces left the country entirely. Nonetheless, since the 2003 invasion, the UK has been one of the key players in forcible returns of Iraqis, and has operated a harsh practice of cutting off assistance, including accommodation and benefits, for people who reach the end of the asylum process. As a result large numbers of Iraqis are now living in destitution, in a legal limbo, and under constant threat of removal. Bring a tent and join us on 21/22 June to demand an immediate end to all forcible returns to Iraq, and the restoration of benefits, housing and the right to work for all rejected Iraqi asylum seekers. For info
contact Voices: 0845 458 2564 or voices[at]voicesuk.org. In a similar vein, students at University College London recently voted ‘to ban the military from setting up recruitment stalls there’ (Times, 8 Mar). Military recruitment is a crucial Achilles heel for the British Government: ‘With the Army significantly under-strength by 3,500 troops it is struggling to plug the gaps on the frontline’ (Telegraph, 29 Apr). ‘To meet the ‘trained requirement’ of personnel, over £2 billion is invested every year in recruiting and training around 20,000 new personnel to replace those who leave’ (David Gee, Informed Choice, www.informedchoice.org.uk). ’The primary target group for armed forces marketing are children and adolescents’ and non-officer recruits are drawn ‘mainly from young people with low educational attainment and living in poor communities.’ * A school lesson plan on Iraq, produced by marketing agency Kids Connections on behalf of the MoD, asserts that the 2003 invasion was “necessary” (Independent, 14 Mar). The accompanying “Student’s Worksheet” highlights alleged “reconstruction” but makes no mention of civilian casualties. TAKE ACTION For more info and suggested actions see www.beforeyousignup.info Shell
and BP TAKE ACTION * Iraqi AP photographer Bilal Hussein has finally been freed (under an Iraqi government Amnesty law) after more than two years in US detention (see Voices 54). * Section 132 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (SOCPA) - which bans “unauthorised” protests within 1km of Parliament – is to be repealed (Guardian, 26 Mar). While there’s still time for the Government to try and sneak in more anti-protest legislation to replace it, this is a significant victory for campaigners. See www.repeal-socpa.info. *
Over 400 anti-war protestors – including the ‘Judges
for Justice’ (see here) - with pots,
pans, whistles, drums, klaxons, and burglar alarms, surrounded
Westminster Cathedral on 3 Apr to create a 2½ hour “wall
of noise” to accompany a lecture by Tony Blair on “Faith & Globalisation.” The
official launch of Blair’s ‘Tony Blair Faith Foundation’ is
scheduled to take place in May … Muqtada al-Sadr and the Fall of Iraq by Patrick Cockburn (Faber and Faber, 2008; £16.99) Readers of this newsletter will be familiar with the name of Patrick Cockburn - one of the most knowledgeable western journalists to report from Iraq over the past ten years – and anyone wishing to understand the current situation in Iraq will want to read this book. Drawing on scholarship, interviews (many of them necessarily carried out via intermediaries, given the current dangers to western journalists in Iraq) and his own personal experience, Cockburn tells the story of one of the most surprising consequences of the 2003 invasion: the re-emergence of the Sadrist movement under the leadership of Muqtada al-Sadr. Though nominally a biography of Muqtada, this is really a biography of the movement, and more than half the book is actually devoted to its pre-invasion history and the broader historical context in which it emerged: from the conversion to Shiism of the Sunni tribes of southern Iraq in the 18th and 19th centuries, through the Iran-Iraq war and Saddam’s horrific repression of the uprisings that followed the 1991 Gulf War, to the building of the Sadrist movement in the 90s under Muqtada’s father Muhammad Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr (after whom the movement is named). He also notes the important role played by sanctions, quoting former UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator Denis Halliday’s prescient observation that the bitterness and rage of young men without a future was encouraging the development of fundamentalism and “pushing people to take extreme positions.” Though often lazily described in the western media as a “firebrand cleric” - suggesting a spontaneous and ill-considered militancy - Cockburn notes that Muqtada has ‘frequently proved astute and cautious in leading his followers’, and that his success in Iraqi politics ‘has often been due to his ability to make swift retreats, politically and militarily’ when faced with a stronger opponent. US accusations of Iranian support for the Sadrists have been both hypocritical (the main US-allied Iraqi Shia group, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, were ‘demonstrably Iranian creations’), and, to a degree, self-fulfilling as ‘American pressure meant that the Sadrists had to look to help from Iran.’ Meanwhile, US threats likewise encouraged Iran to strengthen its links with the Sadrists, ‘to make sure that it had assets in Iraq which could help ignite an anti-American explosion in Iraq’ if Iran were attacked. Muqtada, Cockburn notes, was probably ‘the one Shia leader capable of uniting with the Sunni on a nationalist platform.’ Tragically, that possibility probably no longer exists. Anti-war
film Peace News have acquired the rights for multiple showings of Lynne Sachs’ acclaimed 45-minute documentary film about the Nine: Investigation of a Flame (www.investigationofaflame.com). A launch screening will be taking place at Housmans Bookshop at 6pm on Saturday 31 May at Housmans Bookshop, 5 Caledonian Rd, N1 9DX. Contact the PN office for a copy to show at your local peace
group, front room, arthouse cinema, community space, and inspire
your neighbours, friends and community to action! tel. 020 7278
3344. Watching the Warmakers |
5 Caledonian Road, King's Cross, London N1 9DX telephone : 0845 458 2564 voicesuk@fastmail.fm |
