Moving on from his restrained statements immediately after last month's bombings, Mayor of London Ken Livingstone is again
speaking out against an occupation that is making us all less safe:
It is four weeks since bombers indiscriminately killed and maimed ordinary Londoners. Protecting London from terrorists requires the best possible policing - which, in turn, needs the greatest possible flow of information from all communities. It also demands that we shrink the pool of the alienated that bombers draw on by treating all communities as equal parts of British society - not only theoretically, but in reality. And it means withdrawing from Iraq. All are interrelated.
Good to know that Robin Cook is not the only voice of reason in a Labour party dominated by the wilfully blind.
More after the jump...
On Iraq:
Acceptance that the invasion of Iraq increased the likelihood of a terrorist attack on London now extends far beyond the usual suspects - from Guardian writers to MI5, Douglas Hurd, the Daily Mail, the Spectator, and a majority of the British public. Jack Straw has also acknowledged this debate. If the invasion of Iraq had been justified, it would be possible to argue that we must bear the sacrifices necessary to achieve a just outcome. However, it is evident that the war in Iraq was not justified. It has made the situation worse. The illusions with which it was launched are collapsing.
The reason the US is not able to stabilise Iraq is related to the same critical issue that affects policing in Britain: information. Which is simply another way of saying the attitude of the population.
US forces are ineffective because the great bulk of the population will not give them intelligence voluntarily. Therefore elements within the US military are led to resort to ritual humiliation and torture. This does not yield remotely sufficient information. Therefore US forces are led to relatively blind strikes against those opposing them - inevitably killing innocent civilians. This, of course, has the effect of alienating the population further.
The Iraqi people see US policy in practice. Successive US administrations showed no interest in Iraqi democracy - so long as Saddam Hussein gassed Iranians, Kurds or other US opponents he was supplied with weapons and other support. Only when he struck a US ally was he opposed.
After the 2003 invasion, when US troops were deployed to protect the oil ministry while looting gripped Iraq, when key reconstruction contracts were awarded to US companies, Iraqis understood what was in store for them. US forces cannot win over Iraq's population because the formally stated democratic goals of the forces have nothing to do with the actual policy pursued.
That is also why al-Qaida, previously without a presence in Iraq, now has a strong base there - damaging the fight against international terrorism.
On the calls to ban a Muslim speaker from Britain and on Israel/Palestine:
Consider the consequences of a ban on Qaradawi for relations with the Muslim community. My political record makes clear that I totally disagree with Qaradawi on gay rights and many other questions. Nevertheless, he is one of the world's most eminent Muslim religious leaders. It is impossible to say that Britain's Muslims should be treated with respect but that their religion's most eminent representatives must be banned. Imagine how the Jewish community, many of whom do not agree with the policies of Israel's government, would react if Israeli leaders were banned because of military actions that have killed thousands of Palestinian civilians.
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As only dialogue and negotiation will end this cycle of violence, I favour banning neither Israeli leaders nor Qaradawi. I don't believe there is any prospect of achieving a lasting peace in the Israel-Palestine conflict until all sides come to terms with the horrors they have perpetrated. The injustice done to the Palestinians does not justify the actions of a suicide bomber. But neither can anything justify the killing of civilians by Israeli forces.
The London bombings, demand clear thinking, not rhetoric. People's lives depend on the decisions made. These must be for every community to aid the police in preventing attacks; to treat Britain's Muslim community with respect, both because it is right and to shrink the pools terrorists operate in; and for Britain to withdraw from Iraq.
This kind of straightforward honesty is what has made the man once known as `Red Ken' into one of Britain's most popular and respected progressive politicians. Such a contrast from Blair's blindness and Bush's flights of fantasy.