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#504 - Just Cause, Just Laws & Just Wars (On The Desperate Edge of Now)

Robin Upton | 30.06.2010 15:53 | Anti-militarism | Sheffield

Unwelcome Guests episode 504, about how WW2 was justified (Adam Curtis), the Reality of War (David Halpin) & the legal status of the Attacks on Iraq & Afghanistan (Chris Coverdale).

Unwelcome Guests #504 Part 1 - mp3 27M

Unwelcome Guests #504 Part 2 - mp3 27M


The first hour is a radio adaptation of "On The Desperate Edge Of Now", the first part of an Adam Curtis series entitled "The Living Dead". It explains how WW2 was recreated by the Nuremburg War Crimes trials as a just war, with clear heroes and villains. Interviews with veterans reveal the psychological cost of taking part in war, and the difficulty of coming to terms with it in a society which left unexamined the difficult questions of why and how the war was fought.

The second hour features two speeches from www.bbc5.tv. Firstly a speech given to the Make Wars History conference by retired surgeon turned peace activist, David Halpin, on the reality of war, in which he shares his experiences of Gaza and his exasperation at the stupefaction of most of the British public.

It concludes with a presentation by Chris Coverdale in the UK House of Commons to an All Party Parliamentary Group on Preventing war, reviewing the legal status of the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan under existing anti-war laws.

Robin Upton
- e-mail: unwelcome@altruists.org
- Homepage: http://unwelcomeguests.net/