15 November 2007

Brown's Britain -- Labour Remains Pro-War

David Miliband said, in September at the Labour party conference, that, "While there are military victories, there never is a military solution."

This week, however, Miliband told the BBC that a Brown-led Labour government, given the choice again, would still have decided to go to war in Iraq.

And Miliband is encouraging other EU countries to build up their "defence capabilities" for the use of "hard military power."

Gordon Brown refuses to rule out military action against Iran.

Finally, there is Gordon Brown's approval for Menwith Hill, the intelligence listening station in Yorkshire, to be used as part of the US missile defence system.

This was announced back in July, when the government made 46 announcements in the last two days before Parliament broke up for the summer.

The US/UK line is that the system will shoot down intercontinental missiles fired by Iran/North Korea. But the sites are being installed in Poland and the Czech Republic. In June, Vladimir Putin:

called Bush's bluff by offering sites for the missile defence programme in Azerbaijan and southern Russia, which are much closer to Iran. Bush turned him down and restated his decision to build the facilities in eastern Europe, making it clear that their real purpose is to shoot down Russian missiles. Russia has around 5,700 active nuclear warheads. The silos in Poland will contain just 10 interceptor missiles. The most likely strategic purpose of the missile defence programme is to mop up any Russian or Chinese missiles that had not been destroyed during a pre-emptive US attack. Far from making the world a safer place, its purpose is to make the annihilation of another country a safer proposition.
So, we have aggression against Russia, against Iran, and the continued occupation of Iraq. And Miliband urging EU governments to build up their military forces and intervene around the world. Plus new aircraft carrier building, and the retention of Trident, with its £76 billion pricetag.

In what way is this different than Blair's endless military adventures?

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