Nuclear weapons, Afghan war, in British election

This video from the USA says about itself:

U.S. Army Vets Join With Afghans For Peace to Lead Anti-War March at Chicago NATO Summit.

This video says about itself:

NATO in Afghanistan – An antiwar primer
Canadian and British soldiers in Afghanistan. Canadian forces in Shah Wali Kot district are seen firing artillery at distant Afghans ‘suspected’ of spying; firing warning shots at motorcyclists and vehicles, which causes a bus to crash. British troops mentoring Afghan National Army call in close air support against insurgents; captured Taliban suspect will be ‘abused’ by ANA, says British officer.

By John Millington in Britain:

‘Put war on election agenda‘

Thursday 08 April 2010

Peace activists have pledged to put Trident and the Afghanistan war on the political agenda in the run-up to the general election.

Speaking on Wednesday afternoon in Parliament, campaigners accused the three main parties of avoiding the issues despite nearly all polls showing both the war and Trident to be overwhelmingly unpopular with the electorate.

CND chairwoman Kate Hudson pointed out that there was “strong support” for Trident to be scrapped among first-time voters and working people.

“Nuclear weapons are not a military weapon for defence. It is about power projection,” she said.

The Stop the War Coalition has released figures showing that the British government could have spent the £12 billion for Afghanistan on 23 new hospitals, 11 years of student grants and 800 new secondary schools.

Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn insisted every MP must be questioned by constituents on their view of the Afghanistan war and how it benefited constituents.

“We are wrongly involved in these wars. This country is often the source of conflicts around the world,” he said.

But the Islington North MP also warned that Iran was coming under renewed pressure surrounding accusations it is trying to develop a nuclear bomb.

“Iran is still a signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty,” he said. “The US has deployed missiles in friendly countries in the area.”

Respect MP George Galloway said he believed it was likely that Israel, with its US-funded nuclear arsenal, could attack Iran in the near future.

Labour MP Paul Flynn said the war was being “prolonged by those who can prevent it,” comparing the sending of British troops to Afghanistan with the “slaughter like cattle” in the “pointless” first world war.

Mr Flynn slammed new parliamentary rules banning individual MPs from naming the dead in Parliament.

“It is communal cowardice,” he said.

Mr Flynn also said that increased poppy production in Afghanistan had led to four million new heroin addicts in Russia.

Referring to Western-backed President Hamid Karzai, Mr Flynn added: “He is not a democrat. If there was any notion of democracy he would have his own brother arrested on drug-dealing charges.”

Tony Blair and the British election: here.

Plaid Cymru has pledged to push in the event of a hung Parliament for an increased state pension, more Treasury funding for Wales and a withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan: here.

Johann Hari: The Great Bloody Hole in the British Election Campaign: Afghanistan: here.

Pundits are quick to tell us that this will be Britain’s first “new media” election. Jonny Jones is not so sure: here.

The German defence minister has acknowledged that the German army is involved in war in Afghanistan: here.

Australia has announced that it would no longer accept refugee claims from Afghan nationals, declaring bizarrely that they are no longer “genuinely in need of protection”: here.

Galbraith: Karzai Ripped Off U.S. Taxpayers: here.

President Barack Obama opened the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington Monday, a two-day event that, in the guise of promoting disarmament and opposing terrorism, seeks to line up international support for the US campaign to isolate, pressure and ultimately overthrow the governments of Iran and North Korea: here.

Uncovering the business interests clamouring for Nato to keep the nuclear weapons flying: here.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has rejected calls to remove hundreds of US nuclear missiles from Europe at a Nato meeting in Estonia: here.

USA: Four Decades Ago, a Senator Warned About the Revolving Door of the Military-Industrial Complex. Zaid Jilani, Republic Report: “The Center for International Policy (CIP) released a new report this month focusing on the nuke lobby – the coalition of defense contractors and former government officials who continue to push for costly Cold War-style nuclear stockpile and delivery systems…. The author of the CIP report notes that there are scores of former government officials working in the nuclear weapons lobby, providing it with special access to the government that it otherwise would not have”: here.

Related articles

• NATO airstrike kills 10 civilians, Afghan official says (edition.cnn.com)
• Dutch army injures Afghan child (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
• Afghan pullout gathers speed as Britain slashes troop numbers (standard.co.uk)
• Ten Afghans killed in NATO air strike-officials – Reuters UK (uk.reuters.com)
• British service member killed by uniformed Afghan (cnsnews.com)