Attack
on Falluja
15 November 2004
I opposed the request by the United States for UK troops to be sent to Northern Iraq, in order to free up US troops for their planned
attack on Fallujah (click here for more information).
I was not at all convinced by Tony Blair's statement to the House of Commons last
Wednesday 8 November, when told MPs that the assault on Falluja was the decision of
UN-appointed Prime Minister Allawi and, despite the clear UN objection to the action,
repeatedly used the hoped-for United Nations-sponsored elections as the reason for the
attack. Concerns raised on the international stage by Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of
the United Nations, and within the Iraqi interim Government have been ignored. As you will
know, one of the main Sunni groups, the Iraqi Islamic Party, resigned from the Iraqi
Government in protest at the assault and there were reports that almost a battalion of
Iraqi Government troops had refused to fight alongside the Americans.
Making his opposition absolutely clear, Kofi Annan's letter to the leaders of the
US, the UK and Iraq expressed the view that the assault on the Iraqi city of Falluja could
undermine elections due in January; in it he stated:
"I wish to share with you my increasing concern at the prospect of an
escalation in violence, which I fear could be very disruptive for Iraq's political
transition. I have in mind not only the risk of increased insurgent violence, but also
reports of major military offensives being planned by the multinational force in key
localities such as Falluja."
Of course we only have reports through the media to go on and these will not
necessarily give an absolutely accurate picture of events in Iraq, but I have been given
no convincing reasons for believing that the Government’s assessment is more reliable
than that of the UN Secretary General. When the Prime Minister was questioned about Kofi
Annan’s letter, he did not answer the core argument in it, that this action could
have precisely the opposite effect than that intended as a result of the hostility that
will be created. Lessons from the effect of the brutal attack on Falluja last April appear
not to have been learned and, sadly, we can now see that again there was insufficient
preparation to minimise civilian casualties. The evidence that the insurgents are simply
shifting their activities to other areas such as Mosul, is deeply worrying.
Some reporters have likened the tactics being used in the assault on Falluja to
those used by Ariel Sharon in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Collective punishment of
this sort to ‘get the terrorists’ has led to a dreadful death toll of innocent
victims and a cycle of killing in the Middle East, and this should have been a grave
warning to those making the decision to attack Falluja.
As regards the effects on the Iraqi people, I am extremely concerned that, despite
dismissing the report in the Lancet of 100,000 civilian casualties, the Coalition has no
proper method for providing its own figures. According to Parliamentary answers to
questions posed by concerned MPs, attempts do seem to be made to assess civilian deaths
caused by UK troops. However, in response to questions on civilian casualties caused by
the Coalition, MPs have been told that:
"We are not in a position to comment on civilian casualties allegedly caused
by other coalition partners."
I will be asking further questions on this point.
It seems to me that the 60 day state of emergency, that Prime Minister Allawi has
imposed, is a stark admission that Iraq is sinking into anarchy. Reports state that in
some areas, such as Samarra, ordinary Iraqis are greeting the state of emergency with
hostility. It is crucial that Sunnis take part in the democratic process but it is not at
all clear that Mr Allawi has a strategy to persuade them that his current actions are not
intended to lengthen his unelected tenure, but represent a genuine effort to pave the way
for elections. If the Coalition has any role now it must be to demonstrate that the
interests of the Iraqi people are at the heart of all its actions and to provide the
necessary resources (including, I have to say, security measures) to improve their daily
life.
I will continue to do all I possibly can to express my deep reservations on these
matters.
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