BY IAN GRANT
LONDON - British prime minister Anthony Blair and other UK government officials have stepped up their campaign to win backing for military strikes against Iraq. Interviewed in flight to his meetings with U.S. president William Clinton in early February, Blair outlined a two-week plan to "educate the public" about the supposed danger to world peace from the Iraqi rulers.

Taking a line from his American counterpart, Defence Secretary George Robertson went on the TV news program "Newsnight" the same evening and held up a glass of water. He declared, "If this was VX [nerve gas], it could probably kill the whole of London."

British forces in the Arab-Persian Gulf now comprise the aircraft carrier Invincible and four other naval vessels with a total compliment of around 2,500 personnel aboard. The Invincible carries seven Royal Navy Sea Harriers, seven Royal Air Force Harrier GR7 jump-jets, and eight helicopters. London has six Tornado GR1 bombing planes stationed in Saudi Arabia, six more in Turkey, and two tanker aircraft based in Bahrain. On February 9 the British government sent eight more Tornado GR1s to Kuwait from their base on the Dutch-German border.

Editorial columns in the bourgeois press here have taken a range of views within the spectrum of supporting some kind of military action against Iraq. An editorial in the February 5 Financial Times of London stated, "On it's own, a campaign of targeted bombing is most unlikely either to destroy those weapons or remove Saddam from power." The editors of that paper argued for holding off on aerial bombardment and instead trying Iraqi president Saddam Hussein for "crimes against humanity" before an "international tribunal."

The Sunday Telegraph of February 1 struck a more bloodthirsty chord. "Women and children will be killed, and others will be horribly injured" in bombing Iraq, the editorial declared. "There will be no immediate benefit. Bombing Iraq will not look like an exercise in moral purity because it isn't. But in the circumstances it is the strategically rational option."

Around 80 people picketed here February 7 outside the official Downing Street residence of Prime Minister Blair. Demanding "Hands Off Iraq," "British Troop out of the Gulf," and "End the Sanctions, Withdraw the `Inspectors,' " the picket was called by the Communist League and the Hands Off Iraq Committee. Iraqi students in London, activists in the struggle for Irish freedom, members of the Young Socialists, and several other political organizations participated.

A statement circulated at the action by the Young Socialists said, "The UK and U.S. rulers use hypocritical arguments about `weapons of mass destruction' and the provocation of `inspectors.' These are all a pretext for using their weapons against the people of Iraq.. Working people and youth need to organise independently of the bosses to defend our rights and to take the power out of the hands of those who wage war on working people."

BY SUSAN BERMAN

TORONTO - In a special nighttime parliamentary debate February 9, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien announced that Ottawa would join the U.S.-led military campaign against Iraq. The next day the Canadian government announced it had diverted the HMCS Toronto, a frigate engaged in military exercise in the Mediterranean, to the Arab-Persian Gulf. It is also deploying two Hercules transport planes and between 300 - 400 soldiers.

So far this participation is modest compared to the 1991 Gulf War, when Ottawa sent three naval vessels and Canadian CF-18 warplanes flew protective cover for U.S. airplanes on bombing missions over Iraq.

Reform party and parliamentary opposition leader Preston Manning gave full backing to the government decision. "The reason for supporting military action is our moral obligation and our national interest in stopping terrorism and the production of weapons of mass destruction," he said.

Both the Conservative Party and Bloc Quebecois (BQ) support the idea of military action "if necessary," but under the banner of the United Nations. "A diplomatic solution has not been exhausted," BQ Leader Gilles Duceppe stated.

Alexa McDonough, leader of the New Democratic Party, declared support for more UN weapons "inspections" to Iraq, but proposes easing the economic sanctions on Baghdad as an enticement to gain entry, rather than using military force. "As a respected middle power, Canada should adhere to its well-recognized role as a peacekeeper in international affairs," she said.

The looming showdown in Iraq has intersected with a public discussion in the Canadian ruling class on the weakness of its military as a tool to defend Canadian capitalist interests in the world, especially in the shadow of its biggest competitor - the United States. This has been at the heart of the differences in ruling-class circles over whether or not Canadian forces should operate under U.S.-led military coalitions as opposed to UN or NATO forces.

The Globe and Mail has been editorializing for Ottawa to join the military operation in the Gulf, saying, "Canada cannot afford to leave the handling of this crisis entirely to others." Tory leader Jean Charest labeled the limited Canadian deployment to the Gulf tokenism. He said it showed the "weakness of our own capacity to participate."

In a speech to the Conference of Defence Associations, Defense Minister Arthur Eggleton said, looking at the situation in the Gulf today, "the objective of a multipurpose combat- capable force is very relevant today."

"Working people should demand that Ottawa get out and stay out of the Gulf," declared Communist League (CL) leader Michel Prairie. "Whether marching under U.S., UN, or NATO banners, Canadian forces have never been `peacekeepers' -they are forces of imperialist war aimed at propping up Canada's ruling rich. They already have blood on their hands from the slaughter of Iraqis, Somalians, Koreans, and the list goes on." Members of the CL and Young Socialists have helped initiate several pickets since late January in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver to protest the war moves by the Canadian and U.S. rulers.

SYDNEY, Australia - Australian prime minister John Howard announced February 10 his government's decision to dispatch 110 SAS commandos to the Gulf, along with two 707 air-to-air refueling aircraft capable of servicing U.S. F/A-18 Hornets and British Tornadoes, and other personnel up to a total of 250. Opposition Labor Party leader Kim Beazley immediately pledged support.

This came three days after U.S. president William Clinton reportedly phoned the conservative prime minister to request military support in the impending attack on Iraq.

There had been some modest protests against the imperialist war moves against Iraq beforehand. Forty people picketed the U.S. consulate here February 2 with placards reading "U.S. Hands Off Iraq," "Australian Troops Out of Bougainville," and "No Blood for Oil."

On February 9, at a stop work rally in Sydney of several thousand Maritime Union members fighting against union-busting, the Communist League carried placards that said "Solidarity with the Iraqi People and the Wharfies! Oppose the Bombing! Oppose Union Busting! U.S., Australia Hands Off Iraq." In contrast, a hand-lettered placard was placed prominently behind the speakers that read, "Soldiers for War, not the Wharves."  
 
 
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