War

War

• World War 2: we weren’t all in it together

  

  Oven-ready myths are being used to corral the herd during this crisis; we must resist, insists Lindsey German

• Endless conflicts are deepening Coronavirus crisis

  

  In this critical hour, all sanctions and hostilities must cease argues Chris Nineham

• US sanctions on Iran are fuelling the spread of coronavirus

  

  Trump's sanctions on Iran are limiting the country's ability to deal with the coronavirus outbreak effectively and it's costing lives, writes Jonathan Maunders

• A People’s History of the German Revolution 1918-19 - book review

  

  William Pelz’s People’s History of the German Revolution is a vivid and accessible introduction to socialism’s greatest lost revolution, finds Tom Whittaker

• Afghanistan is a prime example of why 'humanitarian intervention' is a lie

  

  After spending trillions of dollars and killing countless civilians, the US has admitted defeat in Afghanistan, but don't expect any honest accounting, writes Lindsey German

• Why socialists oppose imperialist wars

  

  Smashing the link between militarism and the system is a fixed task for our side, argues Dominic Alexander

• After a bruising election... What next for the left? - Counterfire Freesheet January 2020

  

  Labour leadership contest, general strike in France, growing protest movement in India, why socialists oppose imperialism, a year of climate strikes and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet

• Behind Trump's tantrums: the US, Iran and the continuing threat of war

  

  The decline in the US' strategic power in the region is leading to desperate measures from Trump writes Chris Nineham

• War with Iran is still a danger

  

  The threat of war with Iran isn't over and the anti-war movement must continue to organise against it, writes Shabbir Lakha

• The anti-war movement gears up to oppose war with Iran

  

  Protesters took the streets to say no to Trump's drive to war with Iran, reports Shabbir Lakha

• Labour needs Corbyn’s anti-war politics more than ever

  

  The leadership contest is likely to be a missed opportunity for making Labour a serious anti-war party, argues Alex Snowdon 

• Decade of austerity: 10 reasons to get the Tories out

  

  Tory PM Boris Johnson cannot be allowed to pretend that ten years of Tory rule are nothing to do with him, argues Alex Snowdon 

• If you are against the West's wars you need to be against Nato

  

  Chris Nineham looks at Nato’s interventionist history and its deranged bid to expand operations to every corner of the world

• Labour and the warmongers – election briefing 2 December

  

  Lindsey German on imperialism and anti-imperialism 

• We need to talk about Nato: an imperialist war machine

  

  Ahead of the Nato Summit in London on 3 December, Sweta Choudhury busts the myths that portray Nato as a force for peace

• Fire, floods and emergencies: these are what the election is about - election briefing 18 November

  

  Lindsey German on broken infrastructure, social crisis and covert war crimes  

• The nasty parties unite to stop Corbyn - election briefing 12 November

  

  Lindsey German on Farage’s non-aggression pact, media warmongering and imminent strikes 

• What the government wants us to forget on Remembrance Day

  

  Poppies must not distract us from the Tories' contempt for the working class, writes Mona Kamal 

• Stop Turkey's mass murder of Kurds say protesters in London

  

  Tens of thousands of protesters demanded an end to the barbaric attacks on the Kurdish people by the Turkish army, reports Shabbir Lakha

• With friends like this: John McDonnell’s flirtation with the right is damaging and inexcusable

  

  Alastair Campbell and the Gentlemen’s Quarterly should be treated like enemies, argues Alex Snowdon 

• Say no to war and invasion of Rojava - SPOT statement

  

  Statement from Solidarity with the People of Turkey following Erdogan's invasion and airstrikes on northern Syria

• Kick out the crooks - Counterfire freesheet October 2019

  

  Tory crisis, Corbynism, drive to war with Iran, austerity, climate strikes and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet

• Why join Counterfire?

  

  We need a bigger, stronger extra-parliamentary left.

• Trump betrays the Kurds: never trust the imperialists

  

  US and British imperialism will never be an ally for the liberation of people anywhere, writes Shabbir Lakha as Erdogan begins bombing northern Syria

• Netanyahu and Pence: Boris Johnson's warmonger allies

  

  Boris Johnson's meetings with Netanyahu and Pence were about coordinating the drive to war with Iran, writes Lucy Nichols

• Bolton's out, but we can't trust Trump or Johnson

  

  John Bolton's sacking is good news, now we need an alternative foreign policy by an anti-war government, argues Lindsey German

• Profiting from death and destruction: DSEI 2019

  

  The world's worst arms dealers will be gathering to exhibit their instruments of death at London's ExCel Centre once again, writes Lucy Nichols

• Where is the love?

  

  An anti-arms trade campaigner explains what the DSEI arms fair is and why it is so important to join the protests against it when it comes to London in September

• How far will he go? Trump and the limits of populism - book review

  

  Chris Nineham assesses the varied interpretations of Trump in this year’s Socialist Register, pointing out the opportunities for the left

• India's annexation of Kashmir sets a path for war

  

  The Indian government revoking Article 370 is an outright transgression of the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination, writes Sweta Choudhury

• Stand with Kashmir against military occupation and colonialism

  

  At a London vigil for Kashmir after India's suspension of Article 370, Nirmala Rajasingam of the South Asia Solidarity Group gave this speech

• Iran: stop this war before it starts

  

  We shouldn't be fooled, the British state has been deliberately ramping up military aggression with Iran, argues Alistair Cartwright

• Boris Johnson is a racist, sexist, warmonger who must be stopped - video

  

  "If you try to have a war with Iran... you will create a mass movement against war in this country of the sort that you haven’t seen in more than a decade"

• Not my Prime Minister - People's Assembly kicks off week of protest

  

  On the eve of Boris Johnson's coronation as Prime Minister, Londoners gathered outside Downing Street to show their opposition, reports Chrissy Brand

• The environmental cost of the United States war-machine

  

  The sheer scale and perpetual nature of US military operations make it unimaginably destructive for the planet, argues Pete Morgan

• Britain is following Trump and escalating the threat of war with Iran

  

  The British Navy's seizing of an Iranian oil tanker shows Britain following Trump, trading in diplomacy for the threat of military confrontation, argues Lindsey German

• BBC Panorama hatchet job on Labour antisemitism is a farce

  

  The BBC's Panorama on antisemitism in the Labour Party provides no real evidence and shows how cynical the smear campaign is, argues David McAllister

• Be in no doubt: Britain will be involved if there is war on Iran

  

  If there is war, Britain will be part of it, writes Chris Nineham

• Organise now to avoid war with Iran

  

  Despite platitudes from both sides of the Atlantic, we cannot ignore the very real risk of another disastrous conflict in the Middle East, writes Chris Nineham

• Game of Thrones: dragons of mass destruction

  

  The disappointing ending to the latest and last series of Game of Thrones betrays an artistic and political laziness from the writers, argues Sean Ledwith

• No to Trump, no to war on Iran

  

  Trump and his neocon advisers are taking us to the brink of yet another disastrous war in the Middle East, writes Hilary Stephenson

• Ten things they don't tell you about D-Day

  

  As the commemorations of the 75 year anniversary of D-Day take place, Lindsey German reminds us of the truth about the end of the Second World War

• Why Theresa May is the most disastrous Tory PM ever

  

  Following Theresa May's resignation, Chris Nineham looks at her record as Prime Minister and what the left should do next

• Nia Griffith has to go, say Labour members

  

  Over 1,500 Labour Party members have signed an open letter calling for Nia Griffith’s resignation, reports Shabbir Lakha

• There is something happening here but you don’t know what it is, do you Mr Centrist?

  

  It’s the failure of centrist politics that fuels the rise of the populist right, but the centrists just don’t get it, argues John Rees

• Seven demands for stopping climate change

  

  Environmental activist and author, Elaine Graham-Leigh, highlights seven key demands the movement against climate change needs to be making

• Keep fighting for Corbyn: Stop the attacks - Counterfire freesheet March 2019

  

  The soft coup against Corbyn and the weaponisation of antisemitism, Tory Brexit crisis, Winston Churchill, Venezuela, climate change, Palestine and more in this month's Counterfire Freesheet

• Nato and the new imperialism

  

  Written in June 1999, John Rees explains why the war in the Balkans was not about the plight of refugees but part of Nato’s expansion. It wanted to dominate the Balkans and eastern Europe as well as control the oil rich areas of the Caspian Sea

• Why stopping wars is essential for stopping climate change

  

  War isn’t just a waste of resources that could be used to tackle climate change, but is itself a significant cause of environmental harm, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

• Who's to blame for the rise of Islamophobic terrorist attacks?

  

  After the terrorist attack in Christchurch and now the attacks on Birmingham mosques, Shabbir Lakha finds that it's leading politicians and the media fuelling Islamophobia

• US military: the world's biggest polluter

  

  The fight against ecological disaster must include fighting the war machine of the US state, argues Jago Corry

• Tony Benn: socialist, comrade, friend

  

  An obituary written at the time of Tony Benn's passing by John Rees on a life well lived

• Conspiracy theory: the answer is more left-wing theory not less

  

  Ruling class power can’t be understood as a conspiracy, argues John Rees

• Revoking Shamima Begum’s citizenship is unjustifiable

  

  Removing Shamima Begum's citizenship is a violation of international and human rights law and would set a dangerous precedent, argues Shabbir Lakha

• Chuka's core values: privatisation, austerity and war

  

  What the 7 MPs who quit Labour have in common is their voting records supporting welfare cuts, privatisation and foreign intervention, writes Mona Kamal

• From toy drones to real ones: the arms trade and education

  

  By allowing the arms trade into schools, colleges and universities, we are teaching children that innovation for the sake of destruction is acceptable and desirable, argues Lucy Nichols

• Gavin Williamson: delusional and dangerous

  

  Gavin Williamson's latest speech with jingoistic rhetoric and calling for more military spending shows just how out of touch with reality he is, argues Lindsey German

• Before Venezuela: a long history of US imperialism in Latin America

  

  The push for regime change in Venezuela represents the latest in an abhorrent history of intervention in Latin America, writes Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

• There's no refugee crisis in Britain, only a hostile environment and racist scapegoating

  

  The current Tory-manufactured “refugee crisis” is part of the same hostile environment that this government has created for its own citizens, argues Cathy Augustine

• They've got to go! General election now - Counterfire freesheet January 2019

  

  Tory Brexit crisis, the fightback against austerity, Eurovision boycott campaign, Trump and Syria, remembering Rosa Luxemburg, Yellow Vests and protests across Europe in this month's Counterfire Freesheet

• Climate chaos is the most political issue of our time, to stop it we need systemic change

  

  Climate breakdown is a political issue, and to stop it we need to tackle it at the root, argues Jim Scott

• Counterfire's books of the year - part one

  

  We asked a few leading campaigners and performers from the left what books have inspired them over the last twelve months

• Hundreds rally in London to end arms sales to Saudi Arabia

  

  A packed out public meeting organised by Stop the War demanded an end to Britain's complicity in the war on Yemen, reports Chris Nineham

• Britain must stop arming the Saudi war criminals now

  

  A new offensive in the Saudi war on Yemen will ratchet up the humanitarian crisis. We must build a huge campaign to end arms sales, writes Chris Nineham

• The politics of Remembrance

  

  Remembrance is about the present and the future, not just the past, argues Alex Snowdon in this repost of his 2015 article

• A hundred years after WW1, what are we remembering?

  

  The establishment makes a big display of remembering fallen WW1 soldiers while justifying today's wars. We should remember those who fought hard to stop war, argues Lindsey German

• Afghanistan's unending war: seventeen years since the Western invasion

  

  The Taliban is advancing again, met by escalation from Trump and NATO. Amidst the devastation, our leaders still can't recognise defeat, writes Stop the War's Chris Nineham

• Trump targets Iran: not just talk, this is serious

  

  The Trump administration is stepping up its aggressive campaign against Iran, writes Chris Nineham

• Corbyn makes defiant speech as thousands welcome him to Liverpool

  

  At a Labour rally at Liverpool's pier on the eve of Conference, Jeremy Corbyn gave a radical speech to rapturous applause and loud chanting

• The importance of mass mobilisation against war

  

  Build the mass movements against war. Kevin Courtney's speech from the Stop the War Coalition national conference

• Aftermath: Art in the wake of World War One - review

  

  Modern art was a way of actively willing war towards an end says Alistair Cartwright in his review of the Aftermath exhibition at the Tate

• To be called a political artist is no insult - Rachid Taha tribute

  

  An obituary for the iconic Algerian singer who stood up against war and racism

• Military propaganda must end

  

  The MoD is attempting to rebrand life in the military in order to recruit vulnerable young people, argues Jago Corry

• Libya: chaos reigns seven years on

  

  Libyans are still paying the price with their lives for the 2011 Nato intervention. A stark reminder of why we urgently need an antiwar government argues Eleftheria Kousta

• Afghanistan: more troops to continue an endless war

  

  Britain sending more troops to Afghanistan shows the end of the war isn't in sight and lays bare what the 'special relationship' is all about argues Lindsey German

• Together against Trump: a mass show of opposition

  

  Looking back at the quarter of a million strong demonstration against Trump, Daniel Jakopovich argues that it was a mass display of people power

• Together we can defeat Trump, and the Tories too

  

  Opposing Donald Trump can play a role in bringing down our own vicious government

• Why we should all be out protesting against Trump's visit to the UK

  

  We must be united in our opposition to Trump and everything he represents

• The human rights abuses that couldn't be closer to home – weekly briefing

  

  Will the New Labour imperialists ever pay for their crimes, asks Lindsey German  

• The far right threat is real and we can't be complacent

  

  After the big Free Tommy Robinson rally in London, the entire left need to get serious about organising against the far right argues Shabbir Lakha

• Trump's ditching of Iran deal is paving the way to war

  

  Trump pulling the US out of the Iran nuclear deal is a step on the path to more war in the Middle East argues Shabbir Lakha

• The idea that the West have been “inactive” in Syria is completely untrue

  

  Politicians and commentators supporting more military action in Syria say inaction has consequences, but the West haven't been inactive in Syria argues Shabbir Lakha

• The mission accomplished that is nothing of the sort – weekly briefing

  

  A primed anti-war movement finds the new warmongers much the same as the old warmongers, writes Lindsey German

• Six things we learnt from the Syrian airstrike

  

  John Rees on the immediate conclusions we can draw from the US led airstrike on Syria

• Syria: the solution is not more military intervention

  

  As Theresa May prepares to back Trump in escalating military intervention in Syria, Stop the War published the following letter in response

• Douma attack and the war in Syria - Stop the War statement

  

  Statement from Stop the War Coalition following the attacks on Douma in Syria

• The Salisbury incident: facts not necessary

  

  After Porton Down experts revealed that they can't confirm the origin of the nerve agent, it's clear that the government is trying to manipulate the public argue Johnny Charles and Harry Rogers

• John Bolton: the return of the uber hawk

  

  Trump's new National Security advisor will see his appointment as an opportunity to test his military prowess, argues Lindsey German

• The problem is jingoism, not conspiracism

  

  Spurious national unity does not serve working people. The left must resist, argues Kevin Ovenden

• Apocalypse Then: the My Lai Massacre

  

  Fifty years on from the worst US atrocity of the Vietnam War, Sean Ledwith explains what happened that day

• The War? The Suffragettes? How did women win the right to vote?

  

  On the centenary of women winning the right to vote, Katherine Connelly explores how they fought for their rights and resisted war

• Back to the future? The possibility of a new arms race

  

  Just as Trump feels that “unmatched power is the surest means to our true and great defence”, Putin evidently feels much the same way

• This St David's Day, let us remember guerrilla leader Owain Glyndŵr

  

  14th-century Welsh leader Owain Glyndŵr deserves to be remembered as one of the great rebels of history

• 15 years on from the biggest protest in British history

  

  Lindsey German looks back at the day in 2003 that millions took to the streets to protest the Iraq war

• Despatches from the Tory civil war – weekly briefing

  

  It’s a mistake to allow ruling class divisions on the EU to be refracted onto our side, argues Lindsey German  

• An anti-war government: a formation whose time has come

  

  Jeremy Corbyn’s roots in the global anti-war movement offer an unprecedented opportunity to marginalise the warmongers, asserts Chris Nineham     

   

• False alarm in Hawaii: Trump and nukes keep the world on edge

  

  With Trump in the White House boasting about his nuclear button, the world is on knife-edge and events in Hawaii serve as a warning to us all argues Tom Unterrainer

• Darkest Hour - film review

  

  Darkest Hour offers some truths on ruling class contradictions, but retells the myth that the people were fighting for Empire, argues Chris Bambery

• Britain is hardening its foreign policy

  

  As the British state's new aircraft carrier, worth billions of pounds, springs a leak, Lindsey German takes a look at the war games being played

• Trump: one year of waking hell

  

  Donald Trump was elected just over a year ago. In that time, he has wreaked havoc

• Not fit to govern - Counterfire freesheet November/December 2017

  

  Tory crisis, Catalonia, Universal credit, foreign policy, and more. Counterfire freesheet, November/December 2017

• Taking sides in the next major Middle East war - weekly briefing

  

  Anti-war activists are at the ready as imperial rumblings indicate a new phase for the region, writes Lindsey German

• A government that is not fit to govern at home or abroad

  

  This government is rotten to the core, with a duplicitous Foreign Office representing the worst of it

• We need a new foreign policy built around peace

  

  Jeremy Corbyn's rise has put anti-war politics centre stage. We now have a chance to do things completely differently, argues Chris Nineham 

• Don’t be blindsided: the threat of nuclear war is real

  

  Recent rhetorical grandstanding should not obscure a clear and present danger, writes Lindsey German  
   

• Shock and remembrance: how not to commemorate war

  

  We cannot let our histories become grist for the bosses’ war drive, argues Mick Wattam   

• Survival is victory: the facts and fictions of the Dunkirk evacuation

  

  Dunkirk 1940 has always been an ideological field day for our ruling class, Chris Bambery cuts through the fog of war  

• UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia ruled lawful by High Court

  

  Does anyone really believe Saudi Arabia respects international law? Today's High Court ruling fails to deliver truth argues Chris Nineham

• Is there any war you don't support Theresa May?

  

  Corbyn is wrongly labelled a pacifist by the Tories and the media, but his opposition to unnecessary war without end is in stark contrast to Theresa May's endless warmongering

• Trump the warmonger

  

  Just over a hundred days into office and confrontation with imperial rivals is already brewing, writes Chris Nineham

• The nuclear question: Tory warmongers’ first strike

  

  The case against a trigger-happy Prime Minister

• Yemen: a very British disgrace

  

  The conflict on the Arabian peninsula shows that our hysteria is selective

• The new taboo: terrorism and its causes

  

  As the media blizzard around the Westminster attacks begins to recede, Chris Nineham looks to some home truths

• Martin McGuinness and the armed struggle in context

  

  What actually sustained one of the final stages of England’s oldest imperialism, asks Lindsey German

• Trump’s coming war with China?

  

  Is Trump heading for war with China? Sean Ledwith takes a look

• Iran and The Donald: the US isolationism that did not happen

  

  Trump’s destabilising gestures in the Middle East are an alarm call to us all, asserts Chris Bambery

• Obama: the peacenik’s president?

  

  Don’t believe the hype, the Obama administration’s war record is bloody and shameful, argues Lindsey German

• A poppy for our thoughts

  

  Ahead of the England vs Scotland game, Mark Perryman responds to Fifa's poppies ban

• The hypocrisy of the British war machine

  

  The duplicity of British politicians condemning Russia in Syria but supporting the Saudi bombing of Yemen is revolting, argues Lindsey German

• War and remembrance: the poppy and the butcher

  

  The stark horrors of World War I cannot be cleansed to serve the interests of our rulers, past and present, argues Chris Bambery

• 'Keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down': a potted and bloody history of Nato

  

  From its inception to the present, Nato has been intent on pursuing a policy of aggression. Jonathan Maunders explains 

• Yemen: Blairite Labour's addiction to war

  

  Labour 'rebels' show their true colours by refusing to stop supporting Saudi bombing of Yemen argues Lindsey German

• Calais: Europe's shame

  

  The closure of the Calais camp is an act of barbarity, but solidarity with refugees remains strong, argues Shabbir Lakha  

• War begets war: the case against intervention in Syria

  

  As many push for escalation in Syria, Chris Nineham takes a look at why this is a bad idea

• Mosul: Stop the War statement

  

  More aerial bombardment of civilians will not help to bring about peace and stability in Iraq

• Corbyn represents change: the anti-war movement must stand behind him

  

  We must renew our efforts, build the anti-war movement and support Corbyn, argues Mick Wattam

• Permanent intervention: the calling card of the neocon warmongers

  

  As the war drums starting beating ahead of next month’s US election, Stop the War convenor Lindsey German notes a renewed urgency and sense of purpose for the movement   

• Libya: blood on their hands

  

  The imperialist chickens keep on coming home to roost, observes Alastair Stephens in this article republished from the current Counterfire paper

• Corbyn: a view from afar

  

  An Argentinian perspective on the rise of Jeremy Corbyn from journalist Mariano Schuster

• Syria: a war without end?

  

  As aid convoys to Syria are suspended, Jonathan Maunders takes a look at where we are, and where we are going to 

• Who's to blame for the end of the ceasefire in Syria?

  

  The cessation of the Syrian conflict begins with the end of foreign intervention, argues Chris Nineham

• Looking beyond the Referendum

  

  Whatever the outcome, the left will have to unite after the referendum to fight against racism, austerity and war argues Lindsey German.

• Libya: Britain heads to war

  

  The government is taking us ever closer to war in Libya, says Chris Nineham

• War Against the People

  

  Jeff Halper’s War Against the People exposes the global role of Israel’s military and security industry, finds Kit Klarenberg

• The causes of chaos: interview with Patrick Cockburn

  

  Patrick Cockburn’s latest book on the Middle East, Chaos and Caliphate has just been published. Chris Nineham spoke to him

• Macedonia at the crossroads

  

  Activist Maz Saleem continues her frontline reporting from the refugee crisis with this insight into the Alexandreia Camp

• Greece: the port and the storm

  

  Anti-racist activist Maz Saleem reports from Piraeus Port, Athens, the frontline of the current refugee crisis

• Trident: pointless, wasteful and very very dangerous - podcast

  

  We spoke to Kate Hudson, General Secretary of CND about why we all need to be at the Stop Trident demonstration on 27th February

• Fire and Blood: The European Civil War, 1914-1945

  

  Fire and Blood brilliantly recounts the European civil war of 1914-45, which brought the idea of capitalist progress to an end, argues Chris Bambery

• Saudi Arabia: a major part of Cameron's war

  

  As the west pushes on with the 'war on terror' Saudi Arabia moves centre stage, writes Kevin Ovenden

• Hungry Bengal: War, Famine and the End of Empire

  

  Hungry Bengal demonstrates the central role of imperialism and racism in creating the wartime Bengal famine which killed millions and divided the country, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

• MPs complaints of bullying show contempt for democracy

  

  Many of those complaining fear greater accountability and the wave of anti-war feeling evident from Corbyn's election as Labour leader

• Back on the attack: the meaning of Cameron's defence review

  

  Not only is new money being pumped into the military – it is being targeted on strengthening UK ability to intervene internationally