The attack on Iraq will take place within one of the next two dark phases of the moon after December 8 irrespective of British public opinion and even of the opinions of Labour backbenchers. As with Gulf War I, they will seek to send in ground troops when the moon is completely absent from the night sky, since it is in night fighting that the American-British stormtroopers will have the greatest technical advantages.

What will the consequences be for British democracy? Public opinion has consistently opposed this war, despite the governments efforts to massage and terrorize it into support. The support for this murderous attack, which will kill tens of thousands of innocent civilians, and will leave a legacy of depleted uranium which will cause birth deformities for generations, is lukewarm among Labour backbenchers (cowards though they be, by and large). Even in the Cabinet there are serious reservations raised. What impact will this attack have on people who have faithfully attempted to use the levers of democratic pressure, successfully pressing their members of parliament to take a stand, only to see the oily government whips and speakers ignoring them? What impact will the use of the royal prerogative have on the rise of a real anti-monarchist current? What will people do when the autocratic monster hiding within the British constitution shows his ugly face, when the politics of democracy fail?

Those who start wars rarely understand or control the ultimate consequences. When will they ever learn?