The Newest Iraq War

People's Voice Editorial

A month after Canada entered the latest war in Iraq for thirty days, the Conservative government made it official: the term of this military mission will be six months. But despite the media manipulation to claim that this war is widely supported by Canadians, the public mood is dubious, and rightly so. One interesting test was an Oct. 4 street poll conducted by Vancouver's StopWar coalition, which found that over 90% of respondents were opposed to Canadian military intervention in Iraq.

The U.S. and its usual "allies", including Canada, argue that they were compelled to begin bombing Iraq and Syria because of the barbaric acts of Islamic State/IS. Yet one of the "allies" in this war is Saudi Arabia, which has publicly beheaded 79 prisoners so far this year alone. The key NATO ringleader, the U.S. itself, has initiated coups and invasions in dozens of countries over the last century, killing millions along the way. Human rights abuses? Just look at the apartheid imposed on Palestinians by PM Harper's best friends, the Israeli government. Little wonder that many Canadians understand the real motive for going to war again; this is another chapter in a long-term conflict to dominate the energy resources of the Middle East and nearby regions by western-based transnational oil corporations.

Much more will be written as this tragedy unfolds. But most important, every effort must go into mobilizing a new upsurge of the anti-war movement. Our opposition must not focus on a few Canadian casualties; it must condemn the devastation spread by the fighter-bombers and missiles of the U.S.-led alliance. If previous wars against Iraq proved anything, the lesson is that imperialist interventions kill innocent people, with violent and unpredictable consequences. Shame on the Harper government for making Canada a partner in this bloodbath. We cannot remain silent!