Campbell claims “the foundation of a new strategy should be a peace-process led by the UN to accelerate national reconciliation and the internationalisation of support for Iraq”.

He also states the perspective should be in-line with a programme of “regional contact”, with regimes that are often referred to as being “corrupt”, “repressive” and “puppets of America”.

The party leader believes a greater involvement from neighbouring Arab countries would “require them to play a constructive role in reconstruction”, along with the “UNDP and World Bank” providing greater “transparency and accountability” in Iraqi financial affairs.

Being correct to point out, a 2005 poll for the British Ministry of Defence stated clearly that “eight out of ten Iraqi’s” want all foreign troops out of their country and “between 70%-90%” want a timetabled withdrawal. Sir Menzies Campbell seemed unable to address the fact that both British and American governments continue to wage, what is still an illegal war.

When Iraq was invaded, the country had stood defenceless against the onslaught of bombs and bullets, in an invasion the UN had been unable to prevent, after having condemned an estimated 1.5 million children to death, in a “price worth paying”, through the UNs very own blockade.

This proposed “peace-process”, is more like the desire to capture a horse, which has already bolted, after having already imposed a regime of poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy, unemployment and privatisation upon the people.

A 1935 speech by the Iraqi Communist Party, on British colonialism in Iraq, answers some of the questions to the proposed “peace-process” of Sir. Menzies Campbell,

“The toilers of Iraq see in their government the machinery of British Imperialism which squeezes the last drop out of them and this is called the ‘government of an independent Arabian country.’

“The prisons of “Independent” Iraq are over crowded with peasants who were unable to pay their taxes or their debts”, “The working class is in the same difficult situation as the peasantry. Their wages, their living standards are constantly on the downgrade and therefore the younger worker who is cruelly exploited, ages rapidly and dies an early death.”

“The life of the masses in “independent” Iraq is very cheap. It is cheaper than the life of a sick dog of a British official, for which special hospitals are prepared in Baghdad, at the expense of the Ministry of Public Health.”

“The Imperialists conducted provocative work among the tribes and in the press and strove to attribute to this (anti-imperialist, anti-government) movement the character of tribal and religious discord.”

“A regime of occupation prevails in the country in the true sense of the word” and whilst it has been “alleged that there is no clearly defined national liberation movement in Iraq. It is not true. Our people know the glorious anti-imperialist revolution of 1920, when the peasants fought under the slogan:

‘Out with the British from the country, to the very last soldier!’

Hussein Al-alak,
The Iraq Solidarity Campaign