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Speech by Andrew Wilkie, Sydney Palm Sunday Rally, 2003Some people think that the war in Iraq is finished, that a great victory has been won, and that a rally like ours is irrelevant. But we, and many others like us around the world, know that this is not the case. Because after more than three weeks of fighting, the Coalition of the Bumbling has managed to produce one of the worst sets of outcomes possible. Despite all the claims about smart weapons and precision bombing, thousands of civilians have been killed or injured in Iraq and there is anarchy on the streets. In Baghdad alone, there is still fierce fighting and groups of terrified Iraqi civilians are still being shot dead by jittery US soldiers who can't understand that some people in this world don't speak english. The bottom line remains, that until the situation is stabilised, there is a high risk of many more violent deaths, as well as widespread disease, famine and dehydration. Of course the implications of this war are much broader than the tragic circumstances that are set to prevail in Iraq for the foreseeable future. For a start, the precedent has now been set for the pre-emptive use of force against a sovereign state without UN backing. Who could blame Indonesia for now invading PNG to get at OPM camps? Or blame India for now invading Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir dispute? Moreover, the progress of the military phase of this drama is legitimising the war in some people's minds. This is especially frightening, because there is a great risk that this will embolden the US to again act recklessly the next time it decides to deal with a perceived security concern. Watch out Syria, Iran and North Korea. Shame North Korea has nuclear weapons and sophisticated missiles. Secondly, the UN has been sidelined. But let's be clear about a few things. The UN's sidelining was not the UN's failure. It was the failure of the US, UK and Australia to conform with the UN's processes. And it's not the UN's responsibility to now clean up the mess in Iraq. That responsibility rests clearly in law with the occupying army. The UN is not perfect. But its still the best thing we've got, especially to balance US ascendency. So how about the US, UK and Australian governments worry less about waging wars and more about democratising and improving the UN. Thirdly, hatred of the west in the Middle East has been stirred up even further by US imperialism. The threat of a terror backlash is increased and we are now just that bit closer to the so-called clash of civilisations. Fourthly, this latest show of US military superiority will encourage further proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and state sponsorship of terrorism, because countries wary of the US will seek to prepare for an asymmetric conflict. Again, it seems to me that the US can't stop fostering exactly what it's trying to prevent. Fifthly, the US has distracted us successfully from their previous misadventure in Afghanistan. In that sorry place little aid has been forthcoming. The central government is still to establish authority outside the capital. Bin Laden is still to be found. And US occupation forces remain in place. As recently as a few days ago, 11 Afghan civilians were killed accidentally by a US bomb. It seems to me that one of the few changes in Afghanistan since US intervention is that Kabul is now pro-US. And at the end of the day that's probably going to be the US's main concern in Baghdad. Australia is clearly not immune from any of the strategic implications of the war in Iraq. And it now has it's own problems to deal with as well. For a start, Australian democracy has been seriously wounded. The government is clearly not interested in majority public opinion. Instead, it is now more convinced than ever that it knows better than the people who elected it. Of course honesty in government, or the lack of it, has been a big dimension of this whole Iraq drama. The Australian government said it wasn't committed to a war in Iraq. But it obviously was. It said a war should have UN backing. But it went to war without it. The government said a war would stop Iraq passing WMD to al Qaida. But there was never any hard intelligence on a link between the two. The government said it cared about the Iraqi people suffering under Saddam's regime. But it closed our borders to them. The government said Australia would not leave our military forces in Iraq. But it now intends to. The government said there is no increased terrorist threat to Australia. What rot. And now the government wants us to think that Australia won't automatically jump on the Bush bandwagon next time around. Yeah right, pull the other leg Mr Howard. Australia's place in the world, and especially in the region, has been seriously diminished. Our relations with some regional countries were difficult enough. Pity the diplomats who now must manage our international relations in the wake of this. Australian interests in particular are now at greater risk of terrorist attack. Mr Howard's denial of this is dishonest, outrageous and unforgivable. How on earth can he say there is no increased risk when his government is increasing counter-terrorism spending, barricading off much of the public area of Parliament House, and issuing warnings about attendance at this year's Anzac Day ceremony at Gallipoli. There is also the high likelihood that at least some Australian military forces will be stuck in Iraq indefinitely if we are to live up to our responsibility as an invading country. And all of this because Australian foreign policy is hostage to US foreign policy, and will remain that way so long as this Australian government is committed to support the US at any cost. Australia must have an independent foreign policy. There's nothing complicated about that. Yes, let's put it within an alliance framework if that's what most Australians want. But let's make our own decisions based on Australia's national interests, not the US's. The bottom line hasn't changed here. The US is a good country in many regards. But it is not more important than any other country. And it's values are not superior to the values of other peoples. |
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© Walk Against the War Coalition 2003. |
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