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| Victims in Rubble of Palestine War on Terror Middle East West allied against Palestinians |
Government must recognize damage its wars have inflicted and change foreign policy accordingly
Editing, bracketed additions by Carolyn Bennett
Stop the War Coalition to government after Southeast London’s
Woolwich district attack ─ never before launch of Global Perpetual “War(s) on Terror”
 |
| City Hall Woolwich |
“The balance sheet of the last decade and more would
demonstrate that the war on terror has been a failure in its own terms. It has
not prevented terrorism but caused it to spread” says a statement by Stop the War Coalition (convener
Lindsey German), Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (General Secretary Kate
Hudson), and CagePrisoners (Outreach Director Moazzam Begg).
|
“T
|
here were no such cases (as the Woolwich attack) in Britain before the start of the ‘war on terror’ in 2001,
which led to the invasions and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq.
The consequences of those wars have been devastating for the
people of those countries and further afield. Up to a million died in Iraq and
4 million were made refugees. Tens of thousands have died in Afghanistan.
Fighting still continues and in Iraq looks like descending into civil war in
some parts of the country.
War on Terror ─
…has also led to a rise in
Islamophobia in Britain and elsewhere.
The invasion and occupation of
mainly Muslim countries abroad has led to the dehumanizing of the victims of
the wars.
Racists like the EDL turned up in
Woolwich to try to further foster Islamophobia.
Wikipedia note:
The English Defense League (EDL) is a far-right street protest movement that opposes
what it considers to be a spread of Islamism, Sharia law and Islamic extremism
in the United Kingdom. At many of their demonstrations, EDL members have
clashed with counter-demonstrators, including supporters of Unite Against
Fascism (UAF). [Unite Against Fascism is an anti-fascist pressure group in the
United Kingdom, with support from MPs of all mainstream UK political parties -
including the current Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron. It describes
itself as a national campaign with the aim of alerting British society to a
perceived threat of fascism and the far right.
Stop the War Coalition statement continues
“We call on all everyone to resist any racist backlash as a
result of this attack.
We also call on the government to recognize the damage
done by these wars [against the peoples of Afghanistan and Iraq and Pakistan
and Syria and other places] and to change its foreign policy accordingly.”
 |
| Civilian dead Afghanistan |
What the Coalition directs to the Britain’s government in
light of the Woolwich incident, I repeat to the United States government.
The May 22 attack in Woolwich “was horrific,” the Coalition
correctly responds.
“There can be no justification for a murderous attack on an
individual soldier in the streets of London. It must have been awful too for
the local people who witnessed it [the assault].”
Wikipedia note: A
district in South East London, England, located in the Royal Borough of
Greenwich, Woolwich declined as a
town in the late 20th century, starting with the closure of the Siemens factory
in 1968 and continuing as the Royal Arsenal scaled back operations and finally
closed in 1994; its demographics changed when major local employers left and
depressed the local economy.
The Coalition reports that the “Woolwich attack carried out
by two men now shot and wounded and under arrest in hospital appears to
represent a phenomenon that was pointed out by the security services in Britain
nearly a decade ago:
 |
| Victims of War on Terror Iraq |
that
the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq would lead to a growing threat of terrorism in
Britain.
Many of us have long predicted that
these sorts of attacks would happen because of the ‘war on terror.’
|
“T
|
he men [attackers] claimed that the killing of the soldier was in response to the killing of Muslims by British soldiers in other
countries. One said that the government did not care for people and should get
the troops out.
 |
| Royal Arsenal Gatehouse Woolwich |
“The response from the government has been to declare this a
major terrorist incident. We do not yet know whether they had wider connections
or whether this was a one-off [limited to a single time or instance] incident.
|
“T
|
he government response fails to deal with the political
causes underlying such attacks.
We call on the government to recognize the damage done by these wars and to change its foreign policy accordingly.
Sources and notes
“Stop the War/CND Statement: Woolwich killing of a British
soldier,” May 23, 2013, Stop the War Statements: “Woolwich killing of a British
soldier” Statement by Stop the War Coalition and CND [Campaign for Nuclear
Disarmament]; Supported by Cage Prisoners
Statemenrt by
Lindsey German Convenor, Stop the War Coalition
Kate Hudson General
Secretary, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Moazzam Begg Outreach
Director, CagePrisoners
Add your name to the statement on the Woolwich killing
Link: http://stopwar.org.uk/index.php/usa-war-on-terror/2484-stop-the-war-statement-woolwich-killing-of-a-british-soldier
Stop the
War Coalition
The Stop the War Coalition was formed on September 21,, 2001
at a public meeting of over 2,000 people in London.
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in South East London, England,
located in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London
Plan as one of 35 major centers in Greater London.
Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of
London was created. It is notable as a river crossing point, having the
Woolwich Ferry (and the lesser-known Woolwich foot tunnel) to North Woolwich,
and as the one-time home of the Woolwich Building Society (now owned by
Barclays plc).
Woolwich declined
as a town in the late 20th century, starting with the closure of the Siemens
factory in 1968 and continuing as the Royal Arsenal scaled back operations and
finally closed in 1994.
Without major
local employers, the local economy was affected and the demographics of
Woolwich changed.
In the town center,
department and chain stores closed and the sprawl of the town center shrank.
The focus of shopping activity was limited mostly to Powis Street and the area
around the market. By the early 1990s, the town center had the typical
appearance of a town in decline—discount retailers and charity shops using the
empty stores. The local council used several properties as offices. The last
cinema, the Coronet, closed and in general Woolwich seemed to have lost its
previous vigor.
2013 Woolwich: May 22, 2013, two British men armed with
machetes and meat cleavers murdered soldier Lee Rigby close to his base at the
Royal Artillery Barracks. The attackers asked shocked bystanders to take
pictures of them and made efforts to justify their actions to the crowd, making
no effort to escape. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woolwich
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