Time to withdraw UK troops from Iraq, say families
Iraq-UK, Politics, 6/10/2006

Some families of British soldiers serving in Iraq launched a new petition today, calling on Prime Minister Tony Blair to withdraw "demoralized" troops from Iraq.

The unprecedented revolt from wives and mothers of serving soldiers, who described the war as "based on lies," was highlighted at the fifth annual Stop the War Coalition conference in London Saturday.

They were joined by sons, husbands and grandsons, calling for the safe return of Britain's remaining 7,000 troops in Iraq as a "matter of urgency." In a petition to Blair, they said that "already too many people on both sides have died and too many others have suffered" since the 2003 invasion.

"The situation in Iraq is deteriorating. It is an abuse of the loyalty of members of the British armed services to continue to force them to risk their lives in an immoral war which a majority of people oppose," it said.

STWC, which has grown to become Britain's biggest ever peace group since the launch of the war in Afghanistan in 2001, said that its latest conference was important because thousands of Iraqis are killed every month, "many victims of random massacre by the US." Nine British soldiers died in May, the highest monthly figure since 2003 and close to 2,500 American soldiers have also lost their lives and many thousands more have suffered serious injuries, it further pointed out.

"Twenty-five percent of Iraqi children suffer from either acute or chronic malnutrition. Much of Iraq has only a few hours power a day and is without clean drinking water or a functioning sewage system," the peace group said.

It said that the "anti-war movement has to be as visible and vocal as possible to help end the war and bring Blair to account for his war crimes." "Blair hopes that however bad it gets in Iraq, he won't face any political consequences for taking Britain into an illegal war, but the majority of people in Britain oppose the war and want the troops to come home," SWTC said.

Delegates from over 150 organizations were attending the conference, including political parties, trade unions, campaign groups, peace organizations, civil liberties groups and faith and community groups.

Previous Stories:
  Hope for inquiry into UK soldiers' deaths in Iraq   (6/7/2006)
  85 percent of police trained in southern Iraq, says UK   (6/7/2006)
  UK soldiers killed in Iraq awaiting inquests   (6/1/2006)

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