BY TONY HUNT
LONDON - Working closely with Washington, the Labour Party
government of Anthony Blair has taken a prominent role
internationally justifying the imperialist bombardment of
Yugoslavia. With notable exceptions, most liberal and social
democratic politicians and commentators support Blair's line.
There has been criticism from figures in the right-wing and
the Conservative party leadership who, while supporting the
war, have expressed deep unease.
While London carries out only 10 percent of bombing raids, Blair has been point man in the propaganda war, aggressively promoting NATO's onslaught during several U.S. media appearances, as well as at home. The war was a "just war in a just cause, a fight for civilization itself," he told reporters April 20 during highly publicized visits to NATO headquarters in Belgium and a British air force base in Germany. "I assure you of our determination to see this through to the end" he added.
Reflecting a shift in policy on the use of ground troops, which he has to date opposed, Blair also said ground forces could be used under the guise of "allowing" returning Albanians back to their homes in Kosova after several weeks of bombing. London is nervous about the use of land forces given the likelihood of fierce resistance from workers and farmers in the Yugoslav workers state.
Foreign Secretary Robin Cook announced the change in a statement to parliament the previous day. Kosova should become a United Nations "protectorate" under military occupation, Cook said. Speaking to reporters April 20, Cook explained this shift did not alter his opposition to self- determination for the Albanians. "No, we are not proposing independence for Kosova" he said.
If anything, spokespeople for the Liberal Democrats, the third bourgeois party at Westminster, have been more bellicose than Blair. Outgoing leader Patrick Ashdown has been in the Balkans and told BBC TV's Panorama that NATO should deploy ground forces and "go in hard." Meanwhile, Kenneth Livingstone, a prominent left-wing Labour Member of Parliament, has supported the war and called in parliament for the use of ground troops. Actress Vanessa Redgrave - another well known figure on the left of bourgeois politics here - has publicly backed the war.
Speaking on the 20th anniversary of her election to office, April 20, former Tory prime minister Margaret Thatcher vigorously supported the war which she said was "eight years too late" and called for a ground invasion.
In parliamentary debates April 19 and 20, the government faced criticism from right and left. Thirteen left Labour MPs tried unsuccessfully April 20 to force a vote as a protest against the war. None, however, is on record supporting the Albanians fight for independence in Kosova. Anthony Benn, the most prominent of these politicians, has called for the involvement of another imperialist body, the United Nations, to oversee negotiations on the future of Kosova. "The bombing won't work," he has said.
Tory foreign affairs spokesperson Michael Howard clashed with Cook April 20, accusing the foreign secretary of a "lack of clarity" over the goals of the military action. The previous day a Tory MP Peter Tapsell described the bombing campaign as "the most incompetent operation in which Britain has been involved in since the Crimea," referring to a 19th century war.
The right-wing former Conservative defense minister Alan Clark, said the NATO assault was "clumsy, wasteful and shambolic." He also employed anti-Americanism to attack the U.S. Air Force for the killings of Albanians.
Behind much of the criticism from the right is the spotlight being thrown on the underlying weakness of British imperialism and concern in ruling circles over their capacity to sustain an extended campaign and its cost. "British Troops Facing Years in Kosovo" was the banner headline in the right- wing Daily Mail April 20 reporting on the proposal for occupying Kosova. Because "Britain already has more ground troops in the area than any other country ... they would inevitably be required to play a major role." This "will alarm military planners," the Mail said because half of Britain's 110,000 army is already on active service. An important factor was that the occupation of Northern Ireland "continues to require massive troop deployment" the paper said.