Stop the War Coalition Newsletter – 6 March 2017
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The “war on terror” rages on. Almost 14 years since Bush and Blair proclaimed the end of the Iraq War, that war-torn country remains one of the key Middle Eastern battlegrounds.
The UK and US-assisted Iraqi government assault on Mosul is continuing with savage bombardment of the highly-populated city. Most of the British media are failing to report this, even though around 650,000 civilians – including thousands of children – are trapped in the west of the city and are, according to the UN, “at extreme risk”. The siege has already produced at least 200,000 refugees.
As Patrick Cockburn has pointed out in his article, shelling and airstrikes have been “causing heavy casualties among families sheltering in cellars or beneath the stairs in their houses”. Meanwhile, fuel and food supplies are dwindling and drinking water and electricity are scarce.
In the words of Professor David Keen, “trying to apply the old militaristic model to the problem of terrorism is like trying to destroy a liquid with a sledgehammer”. The bombing and siege of Mosul are adding fuel to the fire of an intractable conflict. By supporting and getting involved in the anti-war movement, you can help break this brutal and senseless cycle of violence.