Former MP and LFIQ Joint President Harry Barnes reflects on his time as a soldier in Iraq and the changing face of the Iraqi labour movement

Labour Friends of Iraq congratulates Harry on being awarded honorary life membership of the Iraqi trade union movement as a recognition of his long-standing work in support of the movement.

50 years ago I undertook my National Service in Iraq. I mentioned this to Geoff Hoon during the recent invasion of Iraq. As he was the Secretary of State for Defence at the time, I was taken aback by the question he then asked: "Harry, what on earth were British Troops doing in Iraq in the mid-l950s ?"

I had assumed that Geoff would have been briefed on the history of Britain in Iraq as part of the key background to the main area of his Ministerial duties at that time. But it seems not.

A brief answer to his question is that Britain administered Iraq under a League of Nations mandate from the time of the country’s formation in 1916, until l932. Afterwards, apart from a short hiccup during the Second World War, Britain remained the dominant influence until a popular army revolution overthrew Iraq's puppet-like monarchy in 1958.

When I arrived in Iraq in 1955, two major air force bases and a small movements unit were still British Crown Territory. Britain's role is illustrated by the fact that a major military force in the country were the Iraqi Levies, who had British Officers.

The status of the RAF's bases was changed later that year under the provisions of the Baghdad Pact. The Levies were disbanded and most of them then joined the Iraqi Army; although Britain continued to train and equip them. Within two years these former Levies would partake in the revolution and Britain's influence would be on its way out. (Although it has now been re-established by Tony Blair.)

I served in the movements unit at Basra. But unlike today’s British troops in the area, I had the good luck to hear only one shot fired in anger - and no-one was hurt. Yet although I worked closely with Iraqi State Railways, it was only later in life that I discovered that Iraq had a proud Trade Union tradition - especially in the railways. But we all need to learn.

Indeed the first permanent labour organisation was founded in 1929 as the Artisans’ Association, attracting workers from the railway and defence workshops in Baghdad. It organised a successful 14 day General Strike in 1931 against increases in the municipal rates.

Although Trade Unions continued to face bans and other oppression, they grew especially with the industrial developments in the Ports and Oilfields. A high water mark (until recently) arrived following Iraq's revolution of 1958, with a major role being played by the Iraqi General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU). Its 51 affiliated bodies had a membership of 275,000; with Communists being elected in the following year to all 10 seats on its Executive seats.

They helped organise a May Day Demonstration in Baghdad with over 500,000 on the march out of a widely spread population of only 6.5 million. Unfortunately there was soon a series of coups within the initial revolution. Saddam Hussein eventually came to power and banned Trade Unionism within his rapidly expanding State Sector. Private Sector Trade Unionism was only allowed to operate through what was now a rigidly controlled GFTU. This enabled Saddam Hussein to have access to the Arab Federation of Trade Unions, whilst ensuring that his own restricted workers' movement operated on the pattern established in Germany by Hitler.

Those attempting to keep the aspirations of a democratic Trade Union and Labour Movement alive either operated in a clandestine fashion in Iraq or were obliged to flee overseas. Great numbers were captured, tortured and murdered.

When the American and British invasion took place, trade unionism immediately re-emerged into the open. In the Kurdish areas where Saddam Hussein's writ had earlier been restricted, labour organisations had already grown and flourished. The rest of Iraq now saw a quick but mixed pattern emerging.

The GFTU has remained in existence, now mainly restricted to Ramadi. Otherwise it has an unpopular image to overcome from its Baathist days.

An independent body broke away from the GFTU in the South and is known as the GFITU. But the quickest and widest groups to emerge have been the Teachers Union and the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU), who work closely together.

The Teachers' Union organises throughout Iraq, with a total of 400,000 members. The IFTU has 13 affiliated Trade Unions in areas such as Oil and Gas, Railways and Aviation, Transport and Communications, Construction and Wood Workers, Electricians, Agriculture and Irrigation and the Service Industry. It has over 200,000 members.

Fraternal and close working links exist amongst the Kurdish Trade Unions, the IFTU and the Teachers. A recent development seeks to extend the links.

The Arab Federation of Trade Unions will only recognise one Trade Union Federation and have asked the IFTU, the GFTU and the GFITU to combine for this purpose. On 19/20 September an agreement was reached by the three bodies to set up an Iraqi Workers Federation (IWF). Moves are in hand to survey the structures of component bodies and their membership as a means to establishing an overall democratic system with a newly elected collective Executive.

If the IWF is successful then it will be in a position to work closely with the Teachers and Kurdish Unions as sister organisations and encourage either affiliations or other forms of association from other independent unions.

Trade Unions always need to pressurise Governments. The new Iraqi Government will be pressed into ending the freeze on the assets of civil society organisations introduced by the transitional Government. This is in breach of the relevant ILO Convention and undermines effective Trade Union activity.

But it isn't just officialdom that presents problems. Trade Unionists are also under direct threats and attacks from terrorists. This is because Trade Unionists stand for democracy, federalism, secular values, civil rights, gender and ethnic equality, tolerance and the rejection of Baathism. The brutal murder of Hadi Saleh, the International Secretary of the IFTU is a harrowing illustration of this point.

His work helped significantly to establish International Trade Union recognition of the work of the Iraqi Trade Union Movement. When I was an MP, I was privileged to meet Hadi Saleh in the Commons and Chair a meeting in which he talked of his hopes for the future for the Iraqi people. I'm now proud to have been made an honorary life member of the IFTU, which he fought and died for.

There is much work to be done in the British Labour Movement for our Iraqi comrades. For it isn't just Geoff Hoon who has lacked a sense of Iraq's Labour History - or myself when I was 18. Another former leadership figure in the Labour Party once responded to me by saying "Oh! There are Trade Unions in Iraq are they ?" Oh! Indeed.

Iraqi Communist Party statement on the elections

Statement of the Political Bureau - Central Committee of the Iraqi Communist Party

To Overcome the State of Tension and Impasse and Prepare for Setting Up National Unity Government

Our people went to the elections on 15th December 2005 with the hope that it would constitute an important juncture along the path of restoring security and stability, as well as for mapping a democratic path not only for the Iraqi people, but also for the peoples of the region. They also hoped that the elections would open up prospects for tackling the crises that successive governments, since getting rid of the dictatorial regime, had failed to deal with or adopt policies reassuring Iraqi citizens, who had suffered prolonged agony, that there would be light at the end of the tunnel.

The elections were significant as a political and legal obligation, marking the completion of the transitional stage of the political process. The elected parliament, with a full term of 4 years, will take on tasks relating to the constitution and its possible amendments, as well as enacting a host of legislation. Such tasks, taken together, will draw the features of Iraq’s present and future.

It was natural, therefore, that these elections would witness intense competition among political lists and entities. They acquired greater importance given the participation of all parts of Iraq, thus making it possible that a balanced parliament would emerge, reflecting the structure of the Iraqi people, with their political, ideological, ethnic, religious and denominational diversity. Such a parliament would, it was hoped, also create a climate of confidence and calm and help to restore security and stability.

Unfortunately, however, from the early stages, the election campaign witnessed many obstacles and violations. This was also true of the polling day itself. These violations included threatening voters and preventing them from going to the ballot box, killing several candidates and political activists, and the infringement of the supposed neutrality of state organs, especially the security forces. All these practices beleaguered the elections and their potential for heralding a proper democratic life anchored on well-founded institutions.

During the various stages of the election process, many lists and political organisations submitted numerous complaints to the Electoral Commission. The latter, however, seemed indifferent and attempted in various ways to belittle the gravity of these complaints. It has gone as far as openly stating that complaints are voiced by the vanquished, despite being aware that some of those who made such complaints did not fit this label. The Electoral Commission did not take any effective measures, despite announcing that there are “red complaints” that could affect the outcome of the elections. Instead of investigating the complaints and dealing with them in a serious and transparent manner, the Electoral Commission announced, against normal and expected procedure, partial results that were not endorsed, and it was forced later to amend its figures. All this took place in a climate of apprehension, deep concern, tension and anger, thus only making things worse.

The stance adopted by the Government and its apparatus was also disappointing. It did not act or utter even a word,let alone investigate attacks that targeted the offices of well-known parties and organisations, including our Communist Party. It also failed to pursue the murderers and those who stand behind them, and bring them to justice. All this, and other aspects, indicate that the Government did not fulfil its duty to provide protection and security and do its best to ensure the success of the electoral process.

All these practices and violations not only constitute a blatant violation of citizens’ political rights and their freedom of choice as envisaged in the constitution. They also threaten to demolish the hopes pinned by the Iraqis on the elections. With 11 million people turning out to vote, this was potentially a historical juncture which could restore national unity and lay a solid foundation for the national democratic state encompassing the full spectrum of the Iraqi people. The people were looking forward to the setting up of a full time legitimate government that would undertake the huge tasks crucial to building a prosperous, independent, democratic and federal Iraq.

Driven by a sense of responsibility towards the fate of the homeland, and to avert the dangers of a deep political crisis that are too grave for present day Iraq, impelled by the state of tension and impasse caused by the announcement of partial and unapproved results by the Electoral Commission, the Iraqi Communist Party calls upon all the political forces and parties to recognise the gravity of the current challenges, rise above narrow interests, and work earnestly to find solutions for the looming crisis caused by electoral violations. In this respect, our Party calls upon all the relevant sides, especially the Independent Higher Electoral Commission, and the UN, who a bear responsibility in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions, to undertake the following steps:

1- To consider the partial election results that have been announced as suspended.

2- To conduct an honest and transparent investigation of the complaints and appeals made by political lists and entities, and to cancel the ballot boxes that are considered suspect.

3- To repeat the process of vote counting and check the ballot forms, starting with Baghdad and covering all areas where violations are confirmed.

4- To take a clear position with regard to the violations on the basis of the outcome of investigation and vote recount. Perpetrators of these violations, and those behind them, must be condemned and made responsible, legally, politically and morally, for defying the law and infringing upon citizens rights.

The speedy implementation of these measures will help to calm down the atmosphere and diffuse the state of tension, and to embark upon serious meetings and discussions that encompass all political currents and constituents, along the path of setting up a national unity government. This requires abandoning the policy of sharing power along sectarian and ethnic lines, and attempts to marginalize, exclude and eliminate others, regardless of any pretext.

Let us join together in building our Iraq; a homeland for all, that is fully sovereign, where the values of citizenship and national unity are supreme, so that the people could enjoy security, peace and democracy.

The Political Bureau - Central Committee
Iraqi Communist Party
24-12-2005

Terrorists will not win over the resilience of the Iraqi people

The following letter appears in the Guardian.

As a London-based Iraqi currently visiting family and friends all over Iraq, I cannot help but notice the sense of hope surging through this devastated country. The Iraqi people have been summoned to the ballot three times within one year and on all three occasions have responded in their masses, all eager to have a say in the new democratic Iraq. It's a shame, therefore, that despite the optimism within Iraq, the western media continues to portray the situation in Iraq in a negative light - particularly the recent elections.

We should not forget that the concept of democracy is new to the people of Iraq, who have had to endure more than two decades of brutal dictatorship. So the fact many voted on sectarian lines is hardly surprising, nor was it unexpected. The allegations of fraud have also been overblown. The UN representative in Iraq has described the elections as one of the most transparent to be held in the Middle East. Even with the votes under scrutiny for fraud, the final results will remain unaffected.

After three defeats at the ballot box, the Sunnis must now realise that the era when the minority ruled over the majority has passed. That the United Iraqi Alliance, the clear victor of this election, is already beginning negotiations to form a government of national unity that will include Arab Sunnis, Kurds and Turkoman is another positive sign: in the new democratic Iraq, all will share in the building of a bright future.

With every vote cast, Iraqis continue to defy the terrorists who fear a democratic Iraq. Try as they might, the terrorists will not win over the resilience of the Iraqi people as a whole.

Ahmed Alaskary
London

Foreign Office Minister Kim Howells answers questions on Iraq

Kim Howells, the Foreign Office Minister for the Middle East answers questions on Iraq including on its labour movement and civil society.

Foreign Office minister Kim Howells answers your questions on Iraq

Thank you very much for your questions. It has been a very interesting and historic week in Iraq but it is important to remember that there is a great deal of work to do beyond the elections to try and turn the aspiration of 15 million people for a democratic state into a reality.

1) There have been several media reports in the last week about provisional plans to withdraw British soldiers from the Iraqi provinces of Mathuna and Misa, maybe as soon as spring of next year. For example, "Newsnight" on December 12th featured an interview with a senior army officer saying that such a timescale is "not unrealistic". Recognising that you do not wish to encourage the insurgent side in any way, but given that these stories are in the public domain, can you clarify the Government's intentions? James

2) Do we envisage a set of circumstances when we would feel comfortable in withdrawing the majority of troops? If so, are you in a position to share what those circumstances are? If we do envisage a set of circumstances do we have a view of timescales that relate to those? I do understand that we have committed to stay as long as we are needed but I wanted to understand the thinking beyond this statement of fact thanks, Kelvin

3) Congratulations on the political progress made to date in Iraq. Now that the parliament and democratic elections have been set up and conducted; now is the time to introduce the subject of an Œexit-strategy¹ - both allies and non-aligned expect it. Dennis

Kim Howells: Thanks to James, Kelvin and Dennis for their questions. On the question of whether or not we should be publishing an exit strategy or a timetable for withdrawal, I would say this. Multinational forces remain in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi Government under a UN mandate. Iraqis are no different from anyone else they do not like to see foreign troops on their soil, and they want to be able to provide their own security. But they can¹t yet, and they recognise this. That¹s why our policy is designed to give them the means to do the job themselves. Until that time, we have to maintain a military presence on the ground to provide security. The Secretary of State for Defence has confirmed, on several occasions, that if the conditions are met, troops could begin withdrawal within the next year. However, this will be conditions-based and not timetable based and it will be a process and not an event.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1637 extends the UN mandate for the Multinational force to operate in Iraq for a period of a further 12 months from 31 December 2005 on the Iraqi Prime Minister¹s request. It extends resolution 1546 which noted ³the Iraqi request for the continued presence of the multinational force² and set out its tasks including, ³by preventing and deterring terrorism so that the United Nations can fulfil its role in assisting the Iraqi people² and allowing them to, ³implement freely and without intimidation the timetable and programme for the political process and benefit from reconstruction and rehabilitation activities.² Our armed forces are in Iraq fulfilling the terms of this UN mandate, and at the invitation of the Iraqi government, and that their responsibilities will be progressively transferred to Iraq¹s security forces.

4) The advance of social democracy in Iraq should of course be welcomed. What can we as social democrats here in the Labour Party do to support our fellow democrats in Iraq who are working to establish viable trade unions and other parts of civic society? Rory

5) What is the UK doing to support the social and economic reconstruction of Iraq? Nick

Kim Howells: Thanks very much for enquiring about what we ought to think about doing to support our fellow democrats in Iraq and how best to try and establish viable trade unions and other elements of civic society. I found it difficult to imagine how we can help create a stable society in Iraq without the popular participation by ordinary Iraqis in those institutions which determine the nature and quality of day to day life.

The question of how best to develop civic society is a particularly difficult one given that Saddam Hussein had outlawed so much of what we take for granted in terms of the normal democratic process at every level of public administration. Giving people the self confidence and self regard to participate again in creating democratic institutions at national, regional and local level is one of the great tasks that the Iraqi people face and which we face in our attempts to help that country to take its place among the great family of nations. It¹s quite obvious that there is a thirst for democracy in Iraq and what we have to help the Iraqis to do is to show them how it might be possible to harness this enthusiasm and focus it on transforming civic society, as well as the economy and security in that country.

To date, $32 billion has been pledged by the international community for reconstruction, and the UK has committed £544 million for humanitarian and reconstruction assistance, of which £453 million has already been disbursed. This has included money in response to emergency appeals, and millions of pounds for reconstruction and support to central government, the justice sector, independent media, civil society and political participation. We have contributed £70 million to the World Bank and UN International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq trust funds. And DFID has recently announced plans to provide over £10 million to support Iraqi civil society and political participation through two major new funds, managed by the British Council.

The Civil Society Fund is a 2-year programme with a budget of £5 million which will seek to strengthen the capacity of Iraqi civil society organisations to address the needs of poor, vulnerable and socially excluded groups, especially women and young people. The Political Participation Fund also has a budget of £6.25 million and will run for two years. Its purpose is to increase opportunities for political representation and participation by all Iraqi citizens, particularly women. The PPF will contribute to the development of stable political institutions and help to ensure that the needs of marginalised and vulnerable groups are addressed in future government decision making. It will provide assistance to a range of organisations, including professional unions and associations and civil society organisations.

6) How active are trade unions in Iraq now? Emily

Kim Howells: The Iraqi labour movement, persecuted and driven underground by the former regime, has grown enormously in confidence and strength since the fall of Saddam Hussein. There is now one unified union, the Iraqi Workers Federation. Officials are subject to election by union members whether in workplace ballots or at open conferences and there are no appointed officials. The TUC, who have sent a fact-finding mission to Iraq, are working with the IWF and with unions in Iraqi Kurdistan to build the capacity of free and democratic unions in Iraq.

UNISON have also sent a delegation to Iraq and have formed links with sister unions. The development of the Iraqi labour movement is part of the flourishing civil society in Iraq. Freedom of speech and civil society is growing - there are more than 100 newspapers and magazines available in Baghdad and other cities, and private radio and television stations have taken to the air. Under Saddam¹s regime, the use of satellite dishes and receivers was banned and the media strictly controlled.

7) Has the role of women changed since the removal of Saddam Hussein? Jill

Kim Howells: Between the 1920s and 1980s, Iraq had one of the most progressive attitudes towards women in the Middle East. But, during the 1990s, this trend was reversed. Politically, women experienced gradual marginalisation from decision making in the 1990s and, due to years of conflict, a 1991 UN report showed increasing numbers of women-headed households, mainly as a result of widow-hood, living on very low incomes.

The economic downturn of the 1990s meant many women lost their jobs, with the proportion of economically active women falling from 12% in 1977 to 9.7% in 1997 and the quality of healthcare and education services fell: maternal mortality more than doubled between 1990 and 1996, and by 2003 nearly 50% of girls in rural areas did not attend school. A law passed in 1991 banning NGOs meant women¹s associations were unable to operate freely, although this did not affect Kurdish administered areas of North Iraq. Following the fall of Saddam¹s regime, momentum for addressing the needs of Iraqi women is gathering pace as Iraq¹s repressed civil society begins to flourish again.

In addition, there has been development electorally and the British government, through DFID, have included support for women in their programmes as I mentioned earlier. Electorally, in the Transitional Government, a ministerial post was dedicated to addressing women¹s issues and every third candidate on party lists was a woman and in last week¹s elections, 25% of the seats in parliament were reserved for women and of the around 7,500 candidates for 15 December, around 2,600 were women (approx 36%).

8) Why are we so quick to assume that participation in the election signifies a commitment to democratic process? My understanding is that among the most enthusiastic canvassers of support both in this election and in the previous interim one are clerics whose dearest ambition is to establish a Sharia-based theocracy. Charles

9) All evidence points to voting in Iraq being largely on sectarian lines. What possibility is there of genuine democracy without this sort of sectarian voting emerging in the future, as Iraqis unlikely to have a stable future whilst it exists? Mike

Kim Howells: Being democratic is a bit like being pregnant. You can¹t be half-democratic any more than you can be half-pregnant. Profoundly religious people have as much a right to vote as have those who are profoundly sceptical about religion. The point is to make the democratic institutions strong and vibrant enough to withstand all assaults on their integrity no matter where they come from.

10) The Iraqi people must be congratulated for their determination to hold their first democratic elections. Even so, I doubt if this will stop the insurgents trying to disrupt the country and lead it into a civil war. Will the US and the UK now agree to strengthen the Iraq borders with neighbouring countries who are known to support the insurgents and stifle the supply of arms, ammunition and manpower that are now freely entering that country Glenn

Kim Howells: You are quite right about the need to co-operate with Iraq¹s neighbours to strengthen border security and, I might add, greater co-operation in economic development. The Iraqi government has worked hard to encourage its neighbours to ensure that their territory is not being used to launch violent attacks upon their people and institutions. I witnessed, first hand, the cowardly slaughter of innocent Iraqi men and women by Al-Zarqawi¹s suicide bombers in Baghdad some months ago.

Despite the predictions of a significant part of the British media, the slaughter has not resulted in civil war in Iraq along religious lines. On the contrary, it has resulted in 15 million Iraqis exercising their democratic rights to help shape the future of their country and the integrity of its borders. I trust that Iraq¹s neighbours understand the great significance of this and that they will continue to help in every way possible to prevent the flow of suicide volunteers, money, explosives and technology to the murderers who want to return despots to power in Iraq and across the whole region.

Briefing on Iraqi labour movement held in the Commons

Blaydon MP Dave Anderson chaired a briefing in the Commons, on Tuesday, on the new unified Iraqi TUC - the Iraqi Workers Federation - with senior trade union leaders, party activists and Foreign Office and Iraqi officials.

These included Kevin Curran from the International Foodworkers' Union, Tim Lezard, President of the NUJ and Joni McDougall, the International Secretary of the GMB.

The meeting was addressed by the Iraqi labour movement's international representative Abdullah Muhsin who stressed the importance of the free unions as part of Iraq's new non-sectarian civil society.

Dave Anderson, who is Chair of the Labour Friends of Iraq group, said: "People took different views on the invasion of Iraq but we should now do all we can to back Iraqi democrats and the new unions in particular which are trying to bring peace and democracy to their country.The recent elections in Iraq and the development of a genuinely independent trade union movement point to real progress on the road to democracy. At this time of year our thoughts should be with the people of Iraq and our troops on the ground. I intend to continue to work with the Itaqi people to help them in any way that I can to rebuild their lives."

Dave Anderson is also helping to publicise the new Books to Iraq initiative which aims to raise money for medical textbooks to help rebuild Iraq's public health education system. The biggest union in the country, Unison, has agreed to encourage its members to help with the appeal.

Dave Anderson will raise this issue in the Commons in the new year with the following Commons motion:

That this House believes that Iraq has given the world a great legacy of pharmaceutical and medical knowledge; further notes that in addition to the recent conflict and continuing violence two wars and twelve years of sanctions have had a crippling effect on Iraq's pharmacy education and practice, severely affected access to information resources such as books and journals and imposed a total isolation from the international scientific community; and supports the new initiative Books to Iraq - www.bookstoiraq.org.uk - which has been created by pharmacists who wish to contribute to rebuilding Iraqi Schools of Pharmacy by raising money to send them a range of medical and pharmaceutical textbooks because the safe supply of drugs, and drug information is an essential tool of public health which will directly help Iraqi Universities, academics and students and indirectly help the wider Iraqi population as well as help replenish the knowledge that Iraq held for humanity in the past.

Please support Books to Iraq, launched today

Books for Iraq can be found here. The new web site explains its purpose.

In addition to the recent conflict and the continuing violence, two wars and twelve years of sanctions have had a crippling effect on Iraq's pharmacy education and practice. These events have severely affected access to information resources such as books and journals, and imposed a total isolation from the scientific community.

Iraq has an important position in the history of pharmacy. Baghdad was a prominent centre for science and culture; enlightened Caliphs created an atmosphere where Arab, Jewish, Alexandrian and Indian scholars could all contribute to intellectual life. Talented scientists translated and preserved ancient Greek, Persian and Indian manuscripts. In the 9th century, one Baghdad institution, Bayt al-Hikma (House of Wisdom), translated a vast number of medical texts, including the works of Galen.

In future years, the lost Greek knowledge was re-established in the Western world, through the introduction of Latin translations of these Arabic texts. Yet, Baghdad did not merely hold this knowledge in safekeeping - it was added to, and Latin translations of Arabic medical texts were used in Europe for centuries.

Books to Iraq has been created by Iraqi and UK pharmacists in order to help raise funds for the supply of new academic textbooks to the eight Schools of Pharmacy within Iraq. We wish to help support Iraqi Pharmacy educators and students, and by their efforts the nation of Iraq.

Iraq has given the world a great legacy of pharmaceutical and medical knowledge and the world can, in return, help them rebuild their knowledge and infrastructure. Your donation can help replenish the knowledge that Iraq held for humanity in the past.

Purple fingers crossed for elections

Blogger Salam Pax has a fascinating piece in the Guardian on the run-up to the Iraqi election in which he says we go to vote again hoping that we will not be blown to pieces. And I really believe that we Iraqis do deserve a bit of credit for having done that twice now. I don't think there is a better demonstration of the will to get this political process rolling and keeping it rolling than participating under the threat of violent death. I know I make fun of it all the time but this is not to be mistaken for belittling the courage of all those who participate. He concludes that The insurgency is doing its best to defy all the security measures and has blown up the electricity generator that feeds the main water pumps to Baghdad. Most of the city is without running water and the municipality says they hope to get everything running again by tomorrow afternoon. Let's hope that's the only thing insurgents are going to blow up for the next two days.

Whoever you talk to says they think voter turnout will be just as good as last time. I do believe that for many Iraqis the fact that this time we are voting for people who are staying in government for four years has sunk in. We've been through three trial runs and this time it's for real. Keep your fingers crossed for us, will you?

Stick to anti-fascism

Nick Cohen examines the contradictions of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament which he says is tying itself in knots with its position on Iran and should stick to anti-fascist principles. Here is the full article.

Before you go to a left-wing meeting, brace yourself for the likelihood that everyone you meet in the hall will be standing on their head. Do not be surprised to see communists supporting fascism, feminists throwing their arms around misogynists and liberals volunteering to be advocates for tyranny. It's been like this since 9/11 turned the world upside down, and the temptation for a journalist is to play the cynical reporter and pretend to be unshockable. I try my best to be a hard man, but the shocks keep on coming. Take the fates of two venerable left-wing institutions, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and Searchlight.

For 18 months I've had CND workers telling me how they have been forced out by the same people who disgraced the anti-war movement - the Socialist Workers Party, Ken Livingstone's homeboys from Socialist Action, the Jeremy Corbyn wing of the Labour Party . . . the friends of the indefatigable George Galloway, in short. I couldn't see how to write about it. How could I prove that they were victims of a political purge rather than guilty of poor performance? In any case, there was always an element of a Quaker-communist alliance about the old CND, and the ideas it produced weren't always wrong. CND's policy of unilateral nuclear disarmament was political poison for Labour because it was so clearly in the interests of the Soviet Union, but CND had a second argument that was truer than its legions of critics in the 1980s admitted. Nuclear power breeds nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons breed more nuclear weapons, CND's argument ran. Unless proliferation stops, they will get into the hands of men who are prepared to use them.

That was then. Anyone who now believes CND is as much against proliferation as for unilateral disarmament would have been surprised by this autumn's annual conference. Among the guests was the startling figure of Dr Seyed Mohammad Hossein Adeli, the then Iranian ambassador. Iran is building the nuclear power stations CND once protested against - an odd project for a country with one of the largest reserves of oil in the world. Not only the US government but the United Nations and the European Union suspect the Islamic Republic wants the bomb. The obvious course for those sincere about nuclear disarmament is to oppose Tehran as vigorously as they oppose a replacement for Trident. But there's the rub. Standing by its principles would, if only for a moment, have put CND on the same side as George W Bush and Tony Blair, and that would never do.

Betrayal has defined the liberal left since Iraq because anti-Americans find their comrades in the Kurdish socialist movement or the Iraqi Communist Party or Arab liberal parties an embarrassment and cannot stick by them or even acknowledge their existence. Given that record, I guess it was inevitable that CND, whose governing council is stuffed with people who call themselves "socialists", "workers" and "communists", would take the next step and betray the Iranian left.

The Islamists murdered tens of thousands of leftists, perhaps up to 100,000, after the 1979 revolution, which socialists had supported - somewhat unwisely as events turned out. Trade unionists, atheists and women's rights activists can expect floggings and jail sentences. Members of the Worker-Communist Party of Iran exiled in London gazed with astonishment on CND's dalliance with a "fascistic" state. The invitation to the ambassador was an "outrage", the party said. CND was insulting "the people of Iran who are struggling to get rid of this brutal regime", and the countless thousands who have died in the attempt.

Iranians went to the conference to protest. CND stewards threw them out when they heckled the ambassador, just as Labour party conference stewards threw out CND's Walter Wolfgang when he heckled Jack Straw the previous month.

CND's Kate Hudson told me she opposed the Iranian nuclear programme. She was not shouting "rah-rah Iran", and had invited the ambassador, she told me, merely to hear what he had to say. In her small way, I'm sure she's sincere. But if CND doesn't invite speakers from the Ministry of Defence or American embassy - and it doesn't - and never issues a press release condemning Iran - ditto - people are entitled to look at the burden of the evidence Hudson is presenting and consider her opposition to Iran to be little more than throat-clearing.

The conference over, Iran's new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, gave every indication that if he had the bomb he would press the button. His threat to "wipe Israel off the map" got the headlines, but what was as interesting to anyone who knows the history of totalitarianism was his apocalyptic world-view. He saw history as a Manichaean fight to the death stretching back over the centuries.

"We are in the process of a historical war between the World of Arrogance [the west] and the Islamic world, and this war has been going on for hundreds of years. The situation at the fronts has changed many times. During some periods, the Muslims were the victors and were very active and the World of Arrogance was in retreat . . . During the period of the past 100 years, the walls of the world of Islam were destroyed and the World of Arrogance turned the regime occupying Jerusalem into a bridge for its dominance over the Islamic world . . ." He does not sound like a man the Foreign Office can calm down with a little "quiet diplomacy".

This is the Messianic ideology of religious fascism, and the truest friend of British anti-fascists over the past 25 years has been Searchlight magazine. The police use it and centre-left political parties rely on it. If you read a story about the violent criminal record of a BNP candidate, or how Combat 18 is recruiting football hooligans, the chances are it will have come from Searchlight. Dealing with neo-Nazis is dangerous work, and its journalists need physical courage as well as detective skills. They have displayed both magnificently and I cannot think of another left-wing campaign that has been so consistently brave and effective. Now its staff are wondering what has happened to the left they served so well. Searchlight has had to pull out of Unite Against Fascism - a supposedly "broad-based" campaign, run by the usual crowd - because of a whispering campaign against it. The Trots are accusing the magazine of "Zionism" because it stands up for universal principles by condemning Holocaust denial and attacks on Jews, regardless of whether the deniers and attackers have white or brown skins.

The turmoil in small groups may seem trivial but it reflects the fracturing on the wider liberal left. In classic socialist terminology, we are seeing a fight between "anti-imperialists" and "anti-fascists". The anti-imperialists see US power as the greatest threat of our day. The reckless brutality of the Bush administration appals them, as does Tony Blair's willingness to go along with it. This view so dominates the mainstream liberal press and parts of the BBC that it often seems like the only left-wing view. The danger for the anti-imperialists is that they will end up on the far right. A few are already there. The anti-fascists see totalitarianism as the greatest threat of our day and say that in the struggle against it any democracy is better than every dictatorship. Our voice dominates only the left-of-centre weblogs.

The danger for anti-fascists is that we are stuck with George W Bush, who is not a general any soldier should want to follow into battle. They call us neoconservatives, armchair generals and Zionists. We call them the pseudo-left, the red-brown alliance and empty-headed liberals on an ultra-leftist binge. You can see the argument going on in the splits in the Stop the War Coalition when it abandoned the Iraqi democrats, or the slow realisation by CND activists and Searchlight journalists that they can no longer take the goodwill of the people around them for granted.

Although we are in a minority, we believe we will win in the end. As democratic socialists, we are optimists. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, we believe there is only so much rubbish the human race can swallow.

Gary Kent examines the issue of foreign troops

There is a rising crescendo of debate on how and when US and UK troops should and will be withdrawn.

There’s a need to balance the need to increase Iraqi security capacity with reassuring Iraqis that the troops won’t stay forever, as part of a plan of domination, and to take the steam out of the nationalist-inspired insurgency as well as not leaving Iraqi democrats in the lurch.

The Times reports a senior Western diplomat in Baghdad saying one of the first things we will talk about (with the new Iraqi government) is the phased transfer of security, particularly in cities and provinces. It will happen progressively over the next year.

The Iraqi government is already expressing fears that the troops will be withdrawn prematurely.

Hoshyar Zebari, the Iraqi Foreign Minister, told The Times yesterday that a hasty exit risked plunging the country into a new bout of violence.

“Those who advocate an early withdrawal do not know what is at stake. The huge investment in blood and money sacrificed by the US could be squandered.

“There would be regional interventions by neighbouring countries and others. The fate of this country and the whole region could be endangered,” he said.

And this BBC Survey outlines the complexity of Iraqi attitudes.

LFIQ mentioned in despatches in Commons

Mrs. Sharon Hodgson (Gateshead, East and Washington, West) (Lab): If he will make a statement on the development of the Iraqi security force.

The Secretary of State for Defence (John Reid): We are continuing to build the capability of the Iraqi security forces so that they are increasingly able to take responsibility for delivering law and order themselves. The Iraqi security forces will provide the immediate security for the planned elections this Thursday and oversee the whole event.

Mrs. Hodgson: I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. Does he agree that this Thursday's elections will further marginalise the violent forces and increase the prospects of victory and of liberation by Iraqi democrats, especially the new trade unions, which need solidarity from the international community and the British Labour movement, including groups such as Labour Friends of Iraq?

John Reid: I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. This Thursday's elections will be a huge step forward for the people of Iraq, the country of Iraq and the middle east as a whole. Despite all of the threats, 8.5 million people turned out in January, 10.5 million people turned out in October and 15 million people are now registered. I only hope that the people of this country pay attention on Thursday to what the overwhelming majority of Iraqis are saying by coming out to use their new-found freedoms in the same way as some commentators in this country continually pay attention to the minority who are attempting to destroy Iraqi democracy and Iraqi lives.

Footie in Iraq

The Asian Football Business Review reports positive strides in soccer in Iraq and Afghanistan.

LFIQ Joint President Harry Barnes examines options for the British labour Movement on Iraq

I initially make 10 propositions on what has happened in Iraq. I then draw conclusions on how Labour Movement activists can respond.

(1) Iraq suffered from extreme forms of military and political exploitation under Saddam Hussein and his totalitarian Ba'athist Regime.

(2) The economic and social conditions of the great bulk of the Iraqi people then collapsed as a consequence of the lengthy Iraq-Iran War, the Gulf-War and the United Nations economic sanctions. This was extended by Saddam's reactions in deepening his exploitive controls.

(3) The US-led invasion created further deaths, destruction and turmoil and helped to to the stimulate and bring to the surface Iraq's deep religious, tribal and social divisions.

(4) What has essentially been an American and British occupation has been two-sided in its consequences. Whilst seeking to fashion Iraq into a U.N. sanctioned form of democracy, it has had an unhappy record of prisoner abuses and a some heavy-handed responses to terrorists and others; whilst furthering Western free-market interests.

(5) Circumstances in the Middle-East, especially the Palestine crisis, have produced a wave of terrorist activity which has stimulated associated responses from Ba'athist elements.

(6) The main political parties which have emerged in Iraq tend to have strong
ethnic, regional or religious links, so that economic and other interest groups have so far found limited scope in the developing on a national scale.

(7) In order for democracy to become firmly embedded in a nation, it normally requires to be pressed forward over a period of time by indigenous interests who initially are excluded from the political nation, but then mobilise to achieve a breakthrough. This hasn't taken place in Iraq.

(8) To prevent the developing constitutional arrangements in Iraq from throwing up a puppet regime or see diktat by elitist groups, democrats throughout the world need to give verbal and practical support to those brave people in Iraq who press for civil liberties, equality of treatment, freedom of speech and social justice.

(9) The people who need our backing are those who are struggling to develop effective avenues for the expression and realisation of the above views and interests. These are existing and potential self-governing organisations for women, youths and for workers (including the great numbers of unemployed.). They also include those struggling for specific improvements in areas such as health, housing, water and electricity provisions, welfare, education and access to the arts and culture.

(10) The fact that various economic, military and political interests inside and outside of Iraq will seek to subvert its potential democracy into something of a sham is no reason for us abandoning genuine democratic interests and potentials in Iraq.

A problem we face is that although many is the British Labour Movement share aspects of the above analysis, they often still seek to look for straightforward and simple "solutions" to Iraq's problems. There are two main variants of this response.

(A) Some want the "Troops Out" urgently as the answer. The sending-in of the troops they feel was the main source of the problem, so remove the cause and somehow the effects will evaporate.

(B) Others just want to leave everything to the electoral process in Iraq. They clutch at every straw to show that everything is on track. So they will stress evidence to indicate that terrorism may be on its way out.

And indeed there are some welcome signs; especially the widespread reaction in Jordan against the suicide bombings at three hotels in Amman. Whilst the Economist (24th November) reports that "150,000 Moroccans marched in Casablanca---( last month)--- to protest against al-Qaeda's threat to kill two junior diplomats kidnapped on the road to Baghdad".

But even the Economist has to qualify its List of Hope by adding 'Iraq is a nasty and dangerous place, where even a widening commitment to political solutions may not prevent disintegration into civil war. Recent revelations about police death squads targeting Sunnis, and the bombing of Shia mosques, have intensified sectarian animosities."

My conclusion is that whatever the future holds for Iraq, the forces I stressed in point (8) above are those we should learn from and encourage. It is extremely difficult to see a reasonable form of democracy soon being established throughout the whole of Iraq. Yet this is as good an opportunity as we are likely get for some time. It is also easier for Labour Movement activists in this country to assist those who are seeking to build a practising democracy in Iraq then it has ever been in the past.

Why rendition is wrong

The Observer rightly criticises rendition.