Attempt to ban protest outside Blair inquiry‏

STOP THE WAR COALITION 
NEWSLETTER  
No. 1137 26 January 2010  
Email office@stopwar.org.uk  
Tel: 020 7801 2768  
Web: http://stopwar.org.uk  
Twitter: http://twitter.com/STWuk

IN THIS NEWSLETTER  
1) ATTEMPT TO BAN PROTEST OUTSIDE BLAIR INQUIRY  
2) AFGHAN MEETING HAS ADDED URGENCY  
3) PROTEST AT GORDON BROWN'S AFGHANISTAN CONFERENCE

**********************************  
1) ATTEMPT TO BAN PROTEST OUTSIDE BLAIR INQUIRY

Negotiations between the police and Stop the War broke down  
today when it became clear that the government is trying to  
hide our legitimate peaceful protest from Tony Blair when he  
gives evidence to the Chilcot Inquiry on Friday.

After days in which we were told by the police that they would 
try to facilitate our protest, Stop the War has been told we  
will not be allowed to protest on the grass outside the QEII  
Conference Centre.

This is a denial of our democratic rights and Stop the War  
will now call for the widest possible mobilisation, not just  
to express the majority view in this country that Tony Blair  
should be held to account for war crimes, but in defence of  
the right to protest.

Why should the public be denied the right to peaceful protest, 
particularly when the latest evidence given to the Chilcot  
Committee shows beyond doubt that Tony Blair knew he was  
taking Britain into an illegal war, and that he doctored legal 
advice to deceive his Cabinet, Parliament and the British  
public.

Stop the War is calling on all its supporters, local groups  
and affiliated organisations to mobilise the widest possible  
support for the Blair protest on Friday.

We urge everyone who can to join the demonstration at the QEII 
Conference Centre from 8am. Full details for the planned  
events are here: http://bit.ly/8mKM0T

Spread the word as widely as you can among your family,  
friends, work colleagues, fellow students etc, etc

TONY BLAIR'S "JUDGEMENT DAY"  
DEFEND THE RIGHT TO PROTEST  
Friday 29 January from 8.00am onwards 
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre  
Broad Sanctuary, London, SW1P 3EE  
Nearest tube: Westminster

**********************************  
2) AFGHAN MEETING HAS ADDED URGENCY

The public meeting From Iraq to Afghanistan on Wednesday 27  
January has added urgency, given government attempts to  
curtail our right to protest.

Included in the discussion on Afghanistan will be the issue of 
how we can build the widest mobilisation possible to defend  
our democratic right to protest peacefully.

Speakers include Tony Benn, George Galloway MP, Seumas Milne  
from The Guardian, German MP Christine Buchholz, Kate Hudson  
from CND and Lindsey German from Stop the War Coalition.

STOP THE WAR/CND PUBLIC MEETING  
FROM IRAQ TO AFGHANISTAN  
WEDNESDAY 27 JANUARY 7.00PM  
CAMDEN CENTRE, BIDBOROUGH STREET  
LONDON WC1H 9DB

The limited edition JAIL TONY t-shirt, specially designed by  
Katharine Hamnett for Stop the War, will be on sale at this  
meeting. For a picture, see: http://bit.ly/72lcYY

The new Stop the War pamphlet, Iraq: The People's Dossier,  
will also be on sale.

**********************************  
3) PROTEST AT GORDON BROWN'S AFGHANISTAN CONFERENCE

Thursday 28 January, 8.30am,  
Lancaster House, Stable Yard, 
St James's, London SW1A 1BB

Protest when Gordon Brown hosts his international conference, 
attended by Hilary Clinton, President Karzai, Ban Ki-moon from 
the UN, and representatives of all the US-led countries that  
are waging war in Afghanistan.

**********************************

The people's voice on Blair's judgement day‏

STOP THE WAR COALITION 
NEWSLETTER  
No. 1135 24 January 2010  
Email office@stopwar.org.uk  
Tel: 020 7801 2768  
Web: http://stopwar.org.uk  
Twitter: http://twitter.com/STWuk

IN THIS NEWSLETTER  
1) THE PEOPLE'S VOICE ON BLAIR'S JUDGEMENT DAY 
2) NEW PAMPHLET - IRAQ: A PEOPLE'S DOSSIER  
3) PUBLIC MEETING: FROM IRAQ TO AFGHANISTAN  
4) GORDON BROWN'S WAR CONFERENCE  
5) L/CPL JOE GLENTON'S COURT MARTIAL HEARING  
6) FUNDING A WEEK OF ANTI-WAR PROTEST

*******************************  
1) THE PEOPLE'S VOICE ON BLAIR'S JUDGEMENT DAY

Writers, musicians, relatives of the dead, Iraqi refugees,  
poets, human rights  
lawyers, comedians, well known actors, MPs and ordinary  
citizens are joining a day of protest, performance and 
politics outside the Iraq Inquiry on Friday 29 January, as  
Tony Blair faces his judgement day.

People who oppose Britain's foreign wars are coming from all  
corners of the country. The verdict on Blair will affect  
present and future wars. It needs to be made clear to the  
world that people here regard him as a man guilty of taking  
Britain into an illegal war.

The approximate timetable for Tony Blair's Judgement Day at  
the QE2 Conference Centre, is as follows:

8.00: PROTEST STARTS AS BLAIR ARRIVES 
A delegation including Iraqi citizens and grieving military  
families take the People's Dossier of questions for Tony Blair 
to Sir John Chilcot.

9.00-10.00: NAMING OF THE DEAD CEREMONY  
When Blair's testimony begins, names of Iraqis killed in the  
war will be read by novelist A.L Kennedy, Musician Brian Eno, 
actor and director Sam West, actor and director Simon 
McBurney, playwright David Edgar, Lancet editor Richard  
Horton, former UK ambassador Craig Murray, Iraqi author Haifa 
Zangana, comedian and author Alexei Sayle, actor Miriam  
Margoyles, and more.

10.00-11.00: SPEECHES, READINGS AND PERFORMANCES  
Including by many of those participating in the Naming the  
Dead ceremony.

12.00-13.00: PERFORMANCE FROM LOWKEY, KING BLUES AND  
OTHER MUSICIANS.

13.00-14.00: MILITARY FAMILIES NAMING OF THE DEAD  
Members of military families who lost loved ones in the Iraq  
war will read the names of all 179 British soldiers who died.

16.00: PROTEST AS TONY BLAIR LEAVES THE INQUIRY

Tony Blair's Judgement Day  
Friday 29 January from 8.00am 
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre  
Broad Sanctuary, London, SW1P 3EE  
Nearest tube: Westminster

*******************************  
2) NEW PAMPHLET - IRAQ: A PEOPLE'S DOSSIER  
A new Stop the War pamphlet, IRAQ: A PEOPLE'S DOSSIER, will be 
available on Blair's Judgement Day. It is a compilation  
representing the voices that have been excluded from the Iraq 
Inquiry - that is, the majority of people in Britain who  
consistently opposed Tony Blair's war.

*******************************  
3) PUBLIC MEETING: FROM IRAQ TO AFGHANISTAN

WEDNESDAY 27 JANUARY 7PM  
CAMDEN CENTRE, BIDBOROUGH STREET  
LONDON WC1H 9DB

At this Stop the War/CND public meeting leading figures will  
focus on another war initiated war by Tony Blair, and expose  
the lies behind the "good war" in Afghanistan.

Speakers include  Tony Benn, Seumas Milne (The Guardian),  
George Galloway MP, a speaker from the German movement, Kate  
Hudson (CND) and Lindsey German (Stop the War) .

*******************************  
4) GORDON BROWN'S WAR CONFERENCE

The day before Blair appears at the Chilcot inquiry, on  
Thursday 28 January, Gordon Brown has called a war conference 
on Afghanistan, which will be attended by Hilary Clinton,  
President Karzai and representatives from all the Nato 
countries supporting the US-led occupation. Stop the War and  
CND are organising a protest demanding an end to a war which  
is every bit as immoral and devastating as the war in Iraq.

Protest on Thursday 28 January, 8.30am, Lancaster House,  
Stable Yard, St James's, London SW1A 1BB

*******************************  
5) L/CPL JOE GLENTON'S COURT MARTIAL HEARING

It is ironic that Tony Blair is facing an inquiry into his  
decision to send soldiers to an illegal war which has 
slaughtered hundreds of thousands on the same day that a  
soldier who refuses to fight what he regards as another  
unjustifiable war started by Blair is facing court martial.

Lance Corporal Joe Glenton, faces the first hearing of his  
court martial on Friday 29 January at Bulford in Wiltshire.  
Stop the War has called a picket to support Joe. Supporters  
travelling from London will meet with anti-war activists in  
Wiltshire.

It is essential that the only soldier to stand up and say  
publicly what many soldiers privately admit - that the war in 
Afghanistan is both unwinnable and unjustifiable - gets the  
widest possible support from the anti-war movement. Messages  
of support can be sent to Joe at defendjoeglenton@gmail.com.

For more information and updates on his case, see:  
http://bit.ly/2vHCKR

*******************************  
6) FUNDING A WEEK OF ANTI-WAR PROTEST

Stop the War has had a hectic beginning to 2010, with three  
major events and the publication of a new pamphlet this week. 
We are now gearing up for the general election campaign, to  
ensure that the war in Afghanistan is not sidelined by the  
major political parties, all of which supported the recent  
troop surge that will inevitably lead to further escalation  
following eight years which have brought nothing but ever  
increasing levels of death and destruction.

We have had a tremendous response to our emergency appeal for 
funds this month, but we still urgently need financial support 
to help sustain our activities and events for peace. We rely  
entirely on the contributions of our members and supporters  
for funding. If you have not donated to the current appeal,  
please consider doing so now:

How to donate: 
   * Donate online: http://bit.ly/8g4iQ4  
   * By credit/debit card: Call 020 7801 2768 
   * By post: Send cheque made out to "Stop the War  
Coalition":  
     231 Vauxhall Bridge Road 
     London UK  
     SW1V 1EH

Protest days in January

23 January, 1.30pm: Protest outside Army Show Room at Kingsland Shopping Centre, opposite Dalston Kingsland Station. Come and give out leaflets to publicise the blocade of Brown's Afghanistan Conference on 28 January and Blair's judgement day on 29 January. Helping us will be a masked Tony Bliar (no, not the real one) to answer any questions you have. 27 January: Central London Public Meeting Why we should get out of Afghanistan

Speakers: Tony Benn, Seumas Milne, George Galloway MP, a speaker from the German movement, Kate Hudson (CND), Lindsey German (Stop the War) 7pm, Camden Centre, Bidborough Street, London WC1H9DB

28 January: Blockade Gordon Brown's Afghanistan conference

Gordon Brown's international conference on Afghanistan is part of a concerted effort to revive the brand Afghanistan as "the good war". In reality the warmongers are gathering for a war council masquerading as a peace conference, which is why Stop the War has called for a blockade. Blockade Gordon Brown's War Conference Thursday 28 January 8.30am Lancaster House, Stable Yard, St James's London SW1A 1BB

29 January: Tony Blair's Judgement Day

Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre, Westminster, London SW1P 3EE On Friday 29 January, Tony Blair try to explain to the Iraq Inquiry the lies he used to take Britain into an illegal war. Stop the War will hold an all-day protest outside the inquiry, which will include a naming the dead ceremony, street theatre, poetry readings, music and other performances. Many military families will be there for the appearance of the man responsible for the deaths of their loved ones.It is time for the voice of the majority to be heard. Over 60% of the British public opposed the invasion in 2003. Today 52% say Blair deliberately misled parliament and the country. One in four say he should face trial for war crimes. On 29 January we will demand no whitewash by the Iraq Inquiry. Join us from 8.00am onwards

The people's dossier versus the dodgy dossier‏

STOP THE WAR COALITION 
17 January 2010 
Email office@stopwar.org.uk 
Tel: 020 7801 2768 
Web: http://stopwar.org.uk 
Twitter: http://twitter.com/STWuk

THE PEOPLE'S DOSSIER VERSUS THE DODGY DOSSIER

Have you submitted your question to Tony Blair for the 
People's Dossier, which Stop the War will be presenting to the 
Iraq Inquiry? Hundreds of questions have been sent in, 
including contributions from Hans von Sponeck, the former UN 
coordinater in Iraq, musician Brian Eno and a number of 
military families.

Sami Ramadani, from Iraqi Democrats Against Occupation, has 
sent in this question:

Mr Blair, you have often said that you "strongly believed" you 
were doing "the right thing" when you sent British troops to 
invade and occupy Iraq. Considering that Hitler and other war 
criminals strongly believed that what they were doing was 
right, do you think that strongly believing in something makes 
it right, or pardonable if it proved to be terribly wrong?

Last week Alistair Campbell told the Iraq Inquiry he defends 
"every single word" of the dossier presented to parliament in 
September 2002. Blair wrote in the forward that it showed 
"beyond doubt" that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, when 
both he and Campbell knew full well that the intelligence had 
not produced any evidence that they existed.

The second "dodgy" dossier" published in February 2003 was an 
even more blatant fabrication intended to justify war crimes.

If you haven't sent in your question yet, please do so now. 
Blair will be appearing at the Iraq Inquiry within the next 
three weeks and we want the People's Dossier to be 
representative of everyone who protested in such vast numbers 
against his warmongering under the slogan "not in our name".

HOW TO SEND YOUR QUESTION 
Send it by email to Stop the War. Write "Blair question" in 
the subject title of the email and send to 
office@stopwar.org.uk

SEE UPDATES TO THE PEOPLE'S DOSSIER 
We have posted a selection of questions received so far here: 
http://bit.ly/5lfaSN 
We will be posting the full list of questions received soon, 
which will be update daily.

PROTEST THE DAY BLAIR GIVES EVIDENCE 
Stop the war will call a protest outside the Iraq Inquiry when 
Blair appears to insist there is no whitewash of his war 
crimes. There will be events all day, including a naming the 
dead ceremony, poetry readings, music and other performances.

Message to all Stop the War Coalition supporters‏

STOP THE WAR COALITION 
NEWSLETTER  
No. 1132 23 December 2009  
Email office@stopwar.org.uk  
Tel: 020 7801 2768  
Web: http://stopwar.org.uk  
Twitter: http://twitter.com/STWuk

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:  
1) A MESSAGE TO ALL STOP THE WAR SUPPORTERS  
2) REMEMBER GAZA: ISRAELI EMBASSY 27 DECEMBER 
3) VIVA PALESTINA CONVOY GAZA 27 DECEMBER  
4) STOP THE WAR'S SONGS FOR CHRISTMAS WEEK

*********************************  
1) A MESSAGE TO ALL STOP THE WAR SUPPORTERS

Dear Friends,

We are writing to thank you for all your work and support over 
the past year.

The Stop the War Coalition began 2009 by mobilising to stop  
the attack on Gaza, which included the biggest demonstration  
for Palestine ever held in Britain, when over 100,000 
protested on 10 January.

We have ended it campaigning to get the troops out of 
Afghanistan and remembering Gaza on the anniversary of 
Israel's attack.

Over this week alone we organised a protest by military  
families at Downing St, where we handed in our petition  
calling for British troops to be withdrawn from Afghanistan;  
we held a successful Beats Beat Bullets gig for Gaza, and --  
together with PSC, CND and BMI -- we will be holding a vigil  
at the Israeli Embassy in London on 27 December (see below).

Over the year we have organised -- both nationally and locally 
around the country --  a series of demonstrations, vigils,  
meetings, rallies, cultural and fundraising events. We will  
begin the new year with two important initiatives.

In London on 28 January, Gordon Brown has convened an 
international conference to discuss further escalation of the 
war in Afghanistan. Stop the War will be organising a protest, 
details of which will be available at the beginning of 
January.

Also in January or possibly February, it is expected that Tony 
Blair will appear at the Chilcot inquiry on Iraq. We want to  
mobilise the biggest possible protest against the man now  
widely regarded as having broken international law in taking  
Britain to war.

There is likely to be a major national demonstration in March 
as part of an international day of action, calling for all  
foreign troops to be withdrawn from Afghanistan.

A general election will be called in the first half of 2010  
and Stop the war will be organising a campaign to ensure that 
the war in Afghanistan is a prominent issue.

Our priority for 2010 will be to intensify the pressure on the 
government to bring the troops home, reflecting the view of an 
ever increasing majority of people in Britain. The recent US  
and British troop surge, the extension of the Afghan war into 
Pakistan and Yemen, and the threats against Iran, make our  
campaign more important than ever.

The coming year is clearly going to be as busy for Stop the  
War as any in our eight year history. Please continue to  
support our work and our activities.

We rely entirely on contributions by our supporters to fund  
our small office and all of our campaigns. If you are not  
already a member of Stop the War, we urge you to consider  
becoming one now, or make a donation to help us sustain our  
anti-war work as effectively as we can. You can join or donate 
online, here: http://bit.ly/APlKX

We wish you a happy holiday and new year, and we hope that by 
active opposition to our government's war policies, together  
we can help make 2010 more peaceful than the year just ending.

Best wishes,

Lindsey German 
National Convenor, Stop the War Coalition

Andrew Murray 
National Chair, Stop the War Coalition

*********************************  
2) REMEMBER GAZA: ISRAELI EMBASSY 27 DECEMBER

To mark that anniversary of Israel's attach and to protest at 
the continuing siege of Gaza,  there will be a vigil outside  
the Israeli Embassy, 3.00 - 5.00pm 5pm, High Street  
Kensington, London W8, called by Palestine Solidarity 
Campaign, Stop the War Coalition, British Muslim Initiative  
and Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

REMEMBER GAZA: END THE SIEGE  
SUNDAY 27 DECEMBER 2009 3-5PM 
HIGH STREET KENSINGTON LONDON W8  
(High St Kensington tube station)

*********************************  
3) VIVA PALESTINA CONVOY GAZA 27 DECEMBER

The Viva Palestina convoy taking 100 vehicles full of aid from 
Britain to break the siege plans enter Gaza on 27 December,  
when it will be joined by convoys from Turkey and the United  
States. For updates on the convoy,  
http://www.vivapalestina.org or Twitter: viva_palestina

*********************************  
4) STOP THE WAR'S SONGS FOR XMAS WEEK

We've chosen two songs for Christmas week.

Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon, which is about  
Christmas Day 1914 when all sides in World War I laid down  
their weapons and made peace by playing a game of soccer.

Barra Barra by Rachid Taha is the soundtrack to a video called 
Israel - An Apartheid State, which powerfully captures life  
for Palestinians under Israeli occupation and siege. Plus  
we've included a bonus video of Rachid Taha and Brian Eno  
performing Barra Barra live at the great benefit concert they 
did for Stop the War in 2005.

FOR BOTH SONGS, GO TO: http://bit.ly/6vnfKN

The only serious exit strategy for Afghanistan‏

STOP THE WAR COALITION 
NEWSLETTER  
No. 1128 30 November 2009  
Email office@stopwar.org.uk  
Tel: 020 7801 2768  
Web: http://stopwar.org.uk  
Twitter: http://twitter.com/STWuk

**********************************  
IN THIS NEWSLETTER  
1) THE ONLY SERIOUS EXIT STRATEGY FOR AFGHANISTAN  
2) THE IRAQ INQUIRY CATCH PHRASE: "NOT ME, GUV'"  
3) VIVA PALESTINA CONVOY TO GAZA: 5 DECEMBER  
4) SUPPORT GROWING FOR MILITARY FAMILIES PROTEST  
5) THURSDAY 28 JANUARY: DATE FOR YOUR DIARY  
6) DON'T FORGET JOE GLENTON  
7) XMAS PARTY: FROM BLIAR TO STOP BUSH 
8) STOP THE WAR SONG OF THE WEEK

**********************************  
1) THE ONLY SERIOUS EXIT STRATEGY FOR AFGHANISTAN

Inevitably the news of yet another British soldier dying in  
Afghanistan coincided with Gordon Brown's announcement that he 
is sending 500 more British troops to fight in a war which in 
the latest poll 71 per cent of the British public opposes.

We are witnessing a very dangerous escalation of the war. With 
Barack Obama likely to announce a surge of around 30,000  
troops, and other Nato allies adding a further five thousand, 
the total number of foreign troops occupying Afghanistan will 
equal that deployed by the Soviet Union in the 1979-89 Afghan 
war, which ended in its catastrophic defeat.

Gordon Brown's troop surge is a response to failure after  
eight years of war. All the various war aims have been shown  
to be false. The war has not made Britain safer from  
terrorism, but has made it more dangerous. The war is not  
being fought for democracy, but to protect one of the most  
corrupt governments in the world. The troops are not engaged  
in a humanitarian mission, but in a war of occupation opposed 
by the majority of Afghans.

Brown and Obama both claim that this dramatic increase in the 
number of troops is the  beginning of an exit strategy. It is 
nothing of the sort. It is the signal that the major powers  
are planning to continue a war -- which after Vietnam is the  
second longest in American history -- for years to come.

Just as in Vietnam the US claimed that sending more troops was 
the key to bringing peace, Obama and Brown are proposing more 
war as necessary for their "exit strategy".

There is only one serious exit strategy: that is to recognise 
that Britain and the other Nato powers have no right to be in 
Afghanistan, and -- far from escalating the numbers -- Gordon 
Brown should be withdrawing all British troops now.

**********************************  
2) THE IRAQ INQUIRY CATCH PHRASE: "NOT ME, GUV'"

The evidence given to the Iraq Inquiry in its first week saw a 
series of establishment figures trying to absolve themselves  
of any blame for their part in the build up to war, implying  
all responsibility lay with Tony Blair.

It appears that Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney General who  
notoriously changed his advice about the legality of the war  
just days before the invasion, is getting his "not me, guv'"  
in early -- even before he appears at the inquiry. The details 
of a letter he wrote to Blair eight months before the 
invasion, in which he stated categorically that the war was  
illegal, were revealed over the weekend. You can read the  
details here: http://bit.ly/6Tk6w7

Apparently Gordon Brown is worried that in the run up to the  
general election all these revelations about Iraq will remind 
people of why they opposed  the war in the first place.

Stop the War is taking every opportunity to ensure that the  
issues remain in the public eye -- not least the key question 
of holding the war criminals to account.

Stop the War held a protest on the first day of the Chilcot  
inquiry, which received worldwide media coverage. (See 
http://bit.ly/5IYYCK). We will announce soon a major public  
meeting on the issue.

And we await with much anticipation the appearance of Tony  
Blair before the Iraq Inquiry -- likely to be in January or  
February -- when we will organise a large scale protest to  
ensure he is warmly welcomed.

**********************************  
3) VIVA PALESTINA THIS WEEKEND

On 27 December, the anniversary of Israel's barbaric invasion 
at the turn of 2009, convoys from Britain, the United States  
and Turkey, packed with aid donated by the people of those  
countries, will converge on Gaza to break the inhuman siege  
which prevents essential resources reaching Palestinians in  
the world's most densely populated area.

The British convoy leaves London this weekend. Details of the 
departure place and time will be available shortly on the Viva 
Palestina website: http://www.vivapalestina.org/

**********************************  
4) SUPPORT GROWING FOR MILITARY FAMILIES PROTEST

Support is continuing to build for the Military Families  
Against the War protest at Downing Street at 5pm on Monday 21 
December.

As well as many families who have lost loved ones in Iraq and 
Afghanistan, or have relatives serving in the Afghan war,  
there will be a number of former soldiers joining the protest, 
when the Bring the Troops Home petition will be handed in to  
Downing Street.

The military families also plan to demand to see Gordon Brown.

All the local Stop the War groups across the country have been 
asked to sponsor military families in their area to come down 
to the Downing Street protest and to send delegations in  
support.

The families are asking for the widest support possible.  
Please help publicise the event as widely as you can.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: http://bit.ly/4Z3eCR

**********************************  
5) THURSDAY 28 JANUARY: DATE FOR YOUR DIARY

Gordon Brown has announced that he is organising an  
international conference on Afghanistan in London on Thursday 
28 January 2010.

As well as organising a protest at Brown's conference, Stop  
the War will in response hold its own alternative meetings and 
conference. Please note the date now. We will publicise  
further details soon.

**********************************  
6) DON'T FORGET JOE GLENTON

Send messages of support to Lance Corporal Joe Glenton, in  
prison for speaking out against the Afghan war and facing  
court martial for refusing to return to Afghanistan.

* Email messages of support to: defendjoeglenton@gmail.com

* Write letters, cards to:  
Lance Corporal Joe Glenton  
Military Corrective Training Centre  
Berechurch Hall Camp  
Colchester CO2 9NU

**********************************  
7) XMAS PARTY: FROM BLIAR TO STOP BUSH 
If you live in London, Stop the War's Xmas party on Friday 11 
December is not to be missed. As well as food, drinks and  
music, the party takes place surrounded by a showcase of Stop 
the War's history, drawn from our archive which is now housed 
at the Bishopsgate Institute.

The displays will include many of the posters and placards  
going back to our earliest demonstrations, including the now  
iconic designs by artist David Gentleman, leaflets, pamphlets, 
press cutting, photographs etc.

Admission is free.

STOP THE WAR'S XMAS PARTY  
FRIDAY 11 DECEMBER 7-10 PM  
BISHOPSGATE INSTITUTE 
230 BISHOPSGATE LONDON EC2M 4QH  
(Opposite Liverpool Street Station)

**********************************  
8) STOP THE WAR SONG OF THE WEEK

Our song of the week is I Come And Stand At Every Door by This 
Mortal Coil. The song puts to music the English translation of 
a poem by Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet, which is a plea for peace 
from a seven-year-old girl who has perished in the atomic bomb 
attack at Hiroshima.

HEAR SONG OF THE WEEK: http://bit.ly/6gufI1

What now? Secret Government reports prove Tony Blair lied

Leaked secret Government reports show that hiding Tony Blair's lies meant some troops were sent to Iraq with only five bullets each. The supply chain was such a farce that one container was sent full of skis to use in the desert. Some troops who were deployed to Iraq by civilian airlines took their equipment as hand luggage and had their weapons confiscated by airport security.
By Robin Beste
Stop the War Coalition
22 November 2009

The Iraq inquiry, chaired by Sir John Chilcot, begins its public hearings on Tuesday 24 November. Whether it turns out to be the whitewash clearly intended by Gordon Brown’s choice of the inquiry's committee members will be determined by how it deals with the latest revelations of secret Government reports, leaked to the Telegraph.

The price paid for Tony Blair's lies.

The reports show beyond dispute that Tony Blair had decided as early as February 2002 that Britain would join George Bush in waging an illegal war on Iraq, which began a year later in March 2003.

Despite this decision having been taken, throughout 2002 and up to the invasion, Blair lied repeatedly to MPs and the public, claiming that Britain’s objective was "disarmament, not regime change" and that there had been no planning for military action.

Because the lies had to be concealed from Parliament, only a tiny number of officials were involved in the planning process for war.

The result, say the Government reports, was a "rushed operation" "lacking in coherence and resources" which caused "significant risk" to troops.

Operations were so under-resourced that some troops went into action with only five bullets each. Others had to deploy to war on civilian airlines, taking their equipment as hand luggage. Some troops had weapons confiscated by airport security.

Skis in the desert

One army commander described the supply chain as "absolutely appalling", saying: "I know for a fact that there was one container full of skis in the desert."

The reports describe the war itself as a "significant military success" but only because the British forces faced a "third-rate army," adding that "a more capable enemy would probably have punished these shortcomings severely."

It was Blair’s lies and concealment that explain the almost complete absence of contingency planning once the military operations were completed. British forces were so "ill-prepared and equipped to deal with the problems in the first 100 days" that they could not safeguard Iraqi civilians.

Military commanders are expected to tell the inquiry that this was because preparations were sabotaged by Blair's government in its attempts to mislead the public. They believe members of the British and US governments at the time could be prosecuted for war crimes, for breaching the duty of occupying armies, as stated in the Geneva convention, to safeguard civilians in a conflict.

These secret Government reports show why Gordon Brown initially intended that the Iraq Inquiry should be held in private.

When he was forced by public uproar to make the inquiry public -- albeit with the inquiry chairman’s discretion as to how much -- Brown then chose a committee for the inquiry which was clearly aimed at exonerating the warmongers. On the evidence of these leaked reports, Tony Blair is incriminated in war crimes that have left hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and 179 British soldiers dead.

Sir John Chilcot was apparently shocked by the unanimity of the military families who lost loved ones in the the Iraq war and who, in giving evidence to the inquiry, insisted there should be no "whitewash" and that if the accusation of war crimes is proven then Tony Blair must be held to account, as must others in the government at the time who knew the scale of the lying Blair was using to justify an illegal war.

That said, Stop the War is not holding its breath as to the outcome the inquiry.

Iraq: Let's demand a proper enquiry

I am forwarding the following to everyone. Stop the War holds no position in respect of 38 degrees. But you may be interested in signing their petition.

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Iraq: Let's demand a proper enquiry

You may be interested in the campaign ‘Iraq: Demand a proper enquiry’, which is being run by an online campaigning organisation called 38 degrees, www.38degrees.org.uk

The campaign was launched this week in response to Gordon Brown finally announcing that there will be an inquiry into the Iraq war. He also announced that he intends it to be held in secret, not report until after the next election, and not apportion any blame. Does that sound like a proper inquiry to you? Brown is hoping that this inquiry will draw a line under the whole episode.

The Iraq war was declared in the face of fierce opposition. Serious questions about its justification and legality remain unanswered. Millions of us marched against the invasion, and many more felt betrayed when claims about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction turned out to be false. Countless thousands of Iraqis have died, as well as 179 British service men and women.

A genuine inquiry would be our chance to understand why all this happened and how to prevent it happening again. A stitched-up, secret inquiry will encourage future governments to think they can get away with the same again.

http://38degrees.org.uk/page/s/IraqInquiry

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Gareth Jenkins

Sec. Hackney Stop The War

IRAQ INQUIRY: PROTEST PARLIAMENT WED 24 JUNE

The scandal over Gordon Brown's decision to hold the Iraq war
inquiry in private has united in condemnation the most
unlikely people, including MPs, peers in the House of Lords,
military leaders, former civil servants, bereaved families and
even Sir Christopher Meyer, Britain's US ambassador at the
time the decision was taken to go to war.

The anger over this appalling decision has intensified with
the revelation that Tony Blair was behind Brown's decision to
have a completely secret inquiry (SEE http://bit.ly/oun55).

A motion calling for a public inquiry is to be debated in
parliament on Wednesday 24 June. Stop the War has called a
protest for 2pm at parliament to insist that there is a full
public inquiry, and not the whitewash Brown has planned,
prompted by Blair.

Stop the War is also asking all its local groups and
supporters to contact their MPs as a matter of urgency, by
letter, telephone, email or fax, and urge them to support the
call for a full public inquiry. A letter from Stop the War to
MPs can be downloaded here: http://bit.ly/GqK1P

There is every chance that Brown will have to make at least a
partial U-turn, but -- as Sir Christopher Meyer says -- there
is no reason why the whole inquiry should not be held in
public. We also need an inquiry with the power to subpoena
witnesses under oath and it needs to be broadly based, rather
than comprising the five establishment toadies appointed by
Brown to produce a cover-up.

Time is short but we need to do all we can to maximise the
pressure on Brown to reverse his scandalous decision. The need
for a full public inquiry has been highlighted yet again by
the leaked government memo from January 2003, which reports on
a meeting between George Bush and Blair, at which they plotted
in secret to commit the supreme crime of an unprovoked act of
aggression. (SEE http://bit.ly/SvSFd)

PROTEST: PARLIAMENT
WEDNESDAY 24 JUNE 2PM
Please publicise as widely as possible.

CONTACT YOUR MP AND URGE HIM/HER TO PRESS
FOR A FULL PUBLIC INQUIRY