“The real solution lies in immediately ending the occupations of Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine,” says Tariq Ali in a classic confusion of cause and consequence. September 11 preceded the removal of the Taliban and the invasion of Iraq. The perpetrators of 7/7 seek a 7th-century Islamic Caliphate, not the resumption of the roadmap. A precipitate withdrawal from Iraq isn’t sought by most Iraqis and would create a security void in which a democratic constitution and the rights of unions and women could be consumed by sectarian strife. It could also force the Kurds into a unilateral declaration of independence and threaten a regional conflagration.
The terrorist outrages in London should strengthen our resolve to back, not abandon, Iraqi democrats, and increase our determination to see through the UN-backed political process in Iraq, not hand Iraqis over to Tariq Ali’s “resistance”. (9 July)
Alan Johnson
Jane Ashworth
Labour Friends of Iraq