IRAQ:  FIVE YEARS ON, 80,000 DEAD

20-03-2008

On the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, the civilian death toll in the country over the last five years is estimated at more than 80,000.  And there are precious few signs that the bloodshed is coming to an end.

According to the Iraq Body Count website, which attempts to monitor all war-related fatalities, just yesterday there were 45 reported deaths in seven separate incidents – a combination of roadside bombs and sniper shootings. 

Still, that was better than Monday when there were 92 fatalities, including eight children in two separate mortar attacks.

In February, the monthly death toll was back on the rise again, for the first time since September 2007.

Of course, the dead weren’t slaughtered by the occupying forces, but the presence of British and US troops has undoubtedly provoked the so-called “insurgents” seeking to destabilise the country.

George Bush apparently still believes that the ongoing conflict wasn’t only justified – it was necessary.  His Glove Puppet In Chief Tony Blair presumably thinks the same.

The British people weren’t so stupid. 

Two million marched in protest against the war in the first place, and many more of us caught the unmistakeable whiff of bullshit from claims that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction primed to attack within 45 minutes. 

It doesn't matter how much Whitehall whitewash is applied - we know we were lied to.

The removal of one of the world’s most loathsome dictators is, of course, a considerable bonus – notwithstanding the fact that he was previously one of the West’s staunchest allies.

But if you ask the question – has Saddam's removal made life safer/easier/better for the average Iraqi, the answer has to be “no.”

And has the conflict made the world a less dangerous place?  Again, there must be a negative reply.

At best, the Iraq War was a genuine, if seriously misguided effort to rid the world of a dangerous regime which cared little for its own people or its neighbours. 

At worst, it was a reckless misadventure which has left us all more vulnerable to attack – and none more so than the ordinary Iraqis who are dealing day by day with the mess that we have created.

Check out www.iraqbodycount.org

And on Stirrer TV, watch Carol Jones talking about the death of her son Sergeant John Jones from Birmingham who was killed by a roadside bomb in Basra - click here