Iraq Follow

THE US is preparing for slaughter in Iraq. The administration may be hoping that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein could be ousted by a military coup. But Bush is willing to unleash a bloody battle that will raze Iraq to the ground.

UP TO a million people marched against war through the Italian city of Florence last Saturday. All day they arrived to swell the city to two or three times its normal size. The march was a dense, colourful and energetic show of total opposition to any attack by Bush and Blair on Iraq.

"THE BEST army in the world." This is how the New Labour government and right wing papers like the Sun describe the British army. As Britain gears up to back George Bush's planned attack on Iraq they will be piling on the pro-war and pro-army propaganda. Through the media they promote the image of "our brave boys" putting their lives at risk to defend democracy.

THE STOP the War Coalition is organising a national conference for Saturday 7 December. The coalition has built the resistance to Bush and Blair's war drive in Iraq. It co-organised a 400,000-strong march in London on 28 September and called the nationwide day of action on 31 October.

OPPOSITION TO war on Iraq dominated many of the debates and discussions in Florence. Thousands of people crammed into meetings and forums determined to build a united, strong, mass anti-war movement. An overwhelming majority agreed with a call to turn 15 February into a united Europe-wide day of protest.

THE BRITISH government this week plans to issue a rarely seen Queen's Order to enforce the mobilisation of up to 10,000 armed forces reservists for war on Iraq. The procedure has not been used since the Korean War in the 1950s, and gives the government massive extra powers to call up reservists.

ANOTHER EXAMPLE emerged last week of how the US has been using threats and bribes to get United Nations backing for war on Iraq. George Bush recently met with Mexico's president, Vicente Fox, to try to firm up his support for an attack.

WHATEVER THE ups and downs of media coverage, the planned war on Iraq remains top of the Bush administration's agenda. Once the United States went to the United Nations Security Council for authority to attack Iraq the immediate drama went out of the story. There have been weeks of negotiations over the text of a resolution.

"A RISING tide of student activism. A burgeoning national anti-war movement that is gaining momentum by the day." That was a recent description of US protests against war on Iraq in the Washington Post.

MANIC STREET Preachers have been one of the most controversial and political bands of the past decade. October sees the release of their "greatest hits" album, Forever Delayed. There is much that disappoints about the Manics these days. Their upcoming national tour is sponsored by Carling and the tickets are expensive. The band also seems to be keeping quiet over war on Iraq when other bands like Massive Attack and Blur support the anti-war movement.

GEORGE BUSH IS as determined as ever to attack Iraq. Some newspapers last week claimed a United Nations (UN) deal had averted war. But despite all the manoeuvring at the UN Bush is preparing to attack Iraq. Last week the US continued its huge build-up of weapons in the Gulf. US troops are pouring through the Suez Canal in Egypt. One ship carrying fighter jets has arrived in the Persian Gulf, and another is heading there.

THE WORLD media's attention has been so focused on George W Bush's plans to attack Iraq that little notice has been taken of the fact that the global economic crisis is getting worse. Take the three biggest economies – the US, Japan and Germany.