BRITISH bombing of Yemen should raise the widest possible concern among all progressives, trade unionists and democrats.
CND and Stop the War are absolutely right to point to the “dangerous escalation” that this risks, with a real danger of conflict spreading across the Middle East. In Palestine, in Yemen and elsewhere, the role of Western imperialism, led by Britain and the US, has been to inflame and expand tensions, driving inexorably towards war across the region.
The British and US assault on Yemen comes after a decade of bombing of a desperately poor and devasted population by Saudi Arabia, currently held off by a fragile ceasefire.
Those bombs, which were used to target schools and hospitals, were supplied by Britain and the US, which have prolonged the war while making a tidy profit in the blood of the Yemeni people.
The recent British/US bombing raids serve no military purpose, particularly in light of the failure of Saudi bombing to secure any military advantage through bombing campaigns since 2015. As such, they can be seen at best as revenge attacks and at worst as an attempt to reignite tensions in the region.
Indeed, Britain and the US were accused by the Houthis last summer of attempting to scupper peace talks between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, no doubt because they were bad for business. The fact that the ceasefire has held during the recent escalation in the Red Sea is likely due to the near-universal outrage across the region at Israel’s actions in Gaza, which trumps British and US provocations to renewed war between the two states.
Then, of course, there is the dangerous precedent that this bombing sets, with no discussion with MPs before the attacks commenced and still no parliamentary vote, or even a statement to the house forthcoming. The blatant falsehood that these attacks represent some kind of “self-defence” should be seen for what it is — a sham and an attempt to avoid putting the issue before the elected representatives of the people.
Of course, our hawkish government has been assisted in this sham and given cover by the leader of the Labour Party and the shadow foreign secretary, with Sir Keir Starmer declaring that he is “fully supportive” of the bombing of the Yemeni people.
To place, as he did in response to questioning, the “principle of taking [military] action” above the principles of parliamentary democracy is unforgiveable and shows the weaknesses in a so-called democratic system in which we are “allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class are to represent and repress” us.
Quite appropriately, while all of this military escalation is going on in the Middle East, and our government is right in the thick of it, the Prime Minister is in Ukraine, further stoking the fires of war.
A further £2.5 billion from the pockets of the British people to prolong and deepen the war in Ukraine, while his party claims we cannot afford the cost of foreign aid or to house those fleeing war and terror. The true cost of this military aid to Ukraine will be extracted in the blood of Ukrainian and Russian workers — “a bayonet is a weapon with a worker at both ends.”
When our government acts to escalate tensions and provoke war across the world, threatening the interests of all workers, and Parliament fails to hold them to account or to listen to those who elected it, we are left with just one option.
We must take to the streets.
That is what the British people have done again and again in their opposition to the bombing of Gaza. It is what they do now, calling for a ceasefire in Palestine and an end to the bombing of Yemen.
It is what we will continue to do, our numbers growing each time, until we sweep this rotten government from office and win support for a policy of peace.
