The latest news from Stop-the-War

The Stop-the-War Coalition is running at full throttle. Hopefully, it will have a better record this century than did its predecessors in the last one, but so far things aren’t looking good.

David Cameron has recently called for the young especially to remember those who died in World War One. The people at Stop-the-War don’t think much of that. Neither would Harry Patch who died just over 3 years ago aged 111. The last man to go “over the top”, he described war as nothing less than legalised murder. Cameron may have forgotten this pronouncement already, but others haven’t.

It is surprising that he should have though, because David Cameron is an alumnus of Eton College; the Battle of Waterloo is said to have been won on the playing fields of Eton, and for all the talk by the SWP and the comrades about the evil ruling class, not a few of our aristocracy have experienced the horrors of war first hand, or even paid the ultimate price. Prince Harry is currently serving with the British Army; he is third in line to the throne. How would his grandmother the Queen or his father, the always topical Prince Charles feel if he were shipped home in a wooden box to be buried with full military honours? What was that about the glorious dead?

There is though a suggestion by Stop-the-War’s own correspondent that a big name indeed may be about to break with the pack. The question posed by Robin Beste is Will George Osborne join the campaign to bring the troops home from Afghanistan by Christmas? He is surely not the only Conservative politician or indeed the only member of the British Government who must be asking that question, albeit covertly.

After today, there are three national events currently in the Stop-the-War calendar, and of course they are all in London. On Saturday they will be joining with CND under the slogan Cut War Not Welfare. This can expect a large turn out, and not just from the usual suspects.

It remains to be seen if any of these demonstrations, protests and other meetings will do any good, but at least they have tried.

A parting thought, what if the decision about going to war were taken out of the hands of politicians and their backers? Imagine what would be the response if the whole country had to vote on it. This guy did, twenty years ago!

[The above op-ed was first published October 18, 2012; the original wasn’t archived.]


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