PHONY ANTI-WAR PROTESTS

Veterans For Peace UK has a membership with a wide range of political views. That is one reason why we don’t get involved in party politics. Another reason is that it doesn’t matter who gets elected, Labour, Conservative or a coalition government, the wars just keep coming.

So if we don’t get involved in domestic party politics, it is a given that we do not interfere in the party politics of a another nation.

8 years ago people proclaimed their support for President Barack Obama. They praised him for saying he would end the war in Iraq and close Guantanamo. They even gave him a Nobel Peace Prize.

President Barack Obama went on to sign orders that led to the killing of thousands. He sent American troops into bases all over Africa. He attacked Libya, turning a functioning state into a basket case. He upgraded nukes and during his final weeks as president he ordered American tanks back into Europe, advancing them into Poland. The war in Iraq continues and Guantanamo is still open.

To sum up, Barack Obama chose to serve the war system. On Friday, Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the President of the USA and people are calling for anti-Trump protests. The rallies are being painted as anti-war rallies, but they are not. They are partisan, party political and will not challenge the underlying war system.

Some of the people calling for these protests have been missing in action from the anti-war movement throughout Barack Obama’s reign of death.

Some of the people calling for these protests completely ignore the war mongering of Hillary Clinton. You have to ask the question, would these people be calling for similar anti-war protests had Hillary Clinton won the presidential election? I think you know the answer.

Trump has not yet been to war, nor has he ordered the U.S. military to bomb, invade or occupy other countries. As far as I know he has not ordered the assassination of anyone. However I am certain that like every president before him, given time, he will be a humble servant of the war system.

Our VFP UK Statement of Intent challenges us to liberate people, the environment and resources from the war system. We will continue to agitate for this no matter who is elected to govern the UK, the USA or anywhere else.

But when it comes to the internal politics of the war system, we won’t be taking sides.


Originally published (Veterans For Peace) 

Ben Griffin is a founding member of VFP UK

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