On War

Global events are happening that could force Britain into a war. Donald Trump made the decision to bomb an Iranian general called Qusem Soleimani. Apparently he was a much loved figure in Iran and many people have taken to the streets to demonstrate their anger and mourning within their country.

The Trump administration made the decision to go ahead with this assassination because it wanted to deter Iran from attacking American forces In the Middle East. Yet, the response of the Iranian government was to bomb two military bases in Iraq that held US soldiers. So, Trump deterrent proved to be a failure. Iran also shot down an airliner passenger plane that killed 176 civilians. Initially, they denied that they shot it down but after three days they were forced to admit it. This has led to many Iranian people to protest against their government in the streets. Although, Trump was not responsible for Iran shooting down the passenger plane. It was Trump’s decision to escalate tensions that led to this disaster.

Events could escalate further and drag Britain into a war with Iran because we are Nato allies with the USA. The reason we would be forced into a war is because a Nato resolution states that an attack on one Nato member is an attack on all of its members. Nato has only invoked the resolution once and it was after the attack on New York City by hijacked planes in 2001. So if Iran continues attacking the USA then the Nato resolution would be invoked for a second time and we would be forced to defend the USA and fight Iran. The reason that we shouldn’t fight Iran is because Donald Trump is the one who made the first strike in this potential conflict. Why should British soldiers die in battle because of an egoistic man that appears to want to start a conflict with his enemies? The last war that America dragged Britain into was started using false pretences. We were told that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction yet when Britain and the USA invaded the country no record of these weapons were found. The Secretary-General of the United Nations at the time Kofi Annan even said that from UNs perspective the Iraq war was illegal.

Many people in Britain now regard Tony Blair as a war criminal. Iraq now is one of the most dangerous countries in the world. Since our forces have pulled out of the region there has been a civil war within the country and the rise of ISIS as a terrorist organisation. They created an Islamic State within Syria and Iraq. We invaded their country and created instability. Let us not do the same with Iran.

Wars are very costly to fight, but the greater cost is the loss of human life that inevitably comes with fighting wars. The British people get behind their troops when they are fighting in combat. But we need to make sure that politicians do not take us into endless wars that could jeopardise the lives of our military personnel and civilians that get killed and displaced during conflict. Too often grieving parents are told their child has been killed during a war. What is the result of these wars? Empires, civilian and military casualties, exploiting resources from the conquered nation.

We are living in a dangerous time in the world. We will not become safer from starting more wars. Shareholders of arms traders are the true profiteers of war. We the British people do not become safer from our country fighting a war on our behalf. We the people who sign up to serve and protect our country and are fed a false narrative. When Britain and America are dropping bombs on countries and killing innocent civilians as well as the intended target; we provide these people a motivation to hate us and a reason to become terrorists. They want revenge for an attack on their country. Violence will always lead to more violence.

The people of Llanelli often sign up to serve in the British military. They will be the ones risking their lives to fight Donald Trump’s war if things escalate. Let us not suffer because a billionaire and his cronies can see potential profit from another war.

Up Park Howard there lies a tribute to a soldier that died in Afghanistan in 2010. Corporal Kirkpatrick was a 32 year old Llanelli resident that died because Britain helped to invade Afghanistan in 2001. British forces stayed in Afghanistan for over a decade and this is what will be the outcome if we go to another war. Llanelli people losing their lives for a cause that doesn’t protect British people and make us safer.