"On 15 February 2003 the largest demonstration in history took place across Europe, Asia, Australasia and the American continents. Many millions of people became engaged for the first time in their lives, supported by many millions more who had already formed the movement for global justice. Even where war was prosecuted most vigorously, by the 'Anglo Saxon' governments of the US, Britain and Australia, majorities or large minorities opposed it. In Spain 90 per cent of the population had no wish to be included with their government in the 'coalition of the willing'. In Germany and France, unpopular governments discovered to their surprise that they increased their popular support by opposing the war. It is arguable that the resistance has already had some effect, restraining the US military and reducing the bloodshed in Iraq. It will certainly be harder for the warlords of 'the American Century' to launch the next phase of their military campaign, wherever that may turn out to be. The US military may, for the time being, win its wars. But the resistance can still win the argument. There never was a consistent or coherent case to be made for the invasion of Iraq. So now will Saddam's fabled 'weapons of mass destruction' turn out to have existed at all? Will the conquest of Iraq bring liberation or occupation or the chaos of civil war? Will an 'independent' and 'democratic' Iraq be free – say – to oppose the Israeli occupation of Palestine? Will Iraqi oil – unlike anywhere else – bring shared prosperity to the Iraqi people, or the further enrichment of the oil business that runs the White House and chokes the planet? Or will the issue of oil pale as the country descends into internal conflict, tearing itself apart along ethnic and religious lines, serving as a magnet for extremists and fundamentalists? As the US administration looks beyond the borders of Iraq to other ’rogues’ that need sorting out, the choice we continue to face is between reasoned argument and brute force – between working to create a democratic peace and war without end. If it is to be brute force, then terrorism will claim its vindication and flourish into the indefinite future. If it is to be democratic peace, then there can be no avoiding the legitimacy that only the UN can confer – and the task of making it effective becomes more urgent still. The invasion of Iraq cost the US and its allies cost $78 billion – just $1.8 billion would have fed Africa for a year. This is more than scandalous, it is criminal. There can be no peace, and certainly no justice, until the world resolves never again to privilege pointless death and destruction at the expense of human welfare. - From the NI Co-operative" How can we impose a democracy on another country when we haven't got it right here?

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