“We must oppose all attempts to drive us to war in Iran. We will argue for peace in the Middle East. And we will continue to fight for political leadership which wants peace, which finds money for health and investment and not for war.”
Diane Abbott MP
We are pleased to publish below Diane Abbott’s speech at the recent #NoWarWithIran protest ⬇️
Donald Trump has used US military forces to illegally assassinate General Solemaini . It is widely known that Solemaini was the main architect of the fight against ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
In killing Solemaini, Donald Trump not only shows he has the politics of a Mafia gangster. He has also dealt a big blow to all efforts to create a just peace in the Middle East and to the struggle against ISIS, Al Qaeda and al Nusra.
Boris Johnson claims this is nothing to do with him. He is completely desperate to have a trade deal with Trump, because he is ending our trade arrangements with the European Union.
But he claims neutrality – saying that he is urging ‘restraint on both sides’. But this is a big lie. He never once condemned the illegal assassination. Instead, he attempted to justify saying – repeating the rubbish from the CIA and the State Department.
Johnson acts as an advocate for the US. But he doesn’t stop there. The Tory government has just sent ships and helicopters to the Gulf. This increases the risks of this country becoming involved in a wider conflict in the Gulf and the wider Middle East.
This isn’t neutrality. It’s the opposite. These are the statements and the actions of the Empire’s most faithful lapdog.
And we know how Trump treats so-called allies. Senior Iraqi personnel were also murdered when the US assassinated Solemaini. With friend like Donald Trump, you don’t need enemies.
We aren’t getting back control. We are becoming even more subordinate to the US- and to Trump.
But Trump is not the British people. And neither is Boris Johnson.
No one in December voted for more wars. The Tories didn’t say in their manifesto, “Whenever the US commits illegal acts of war and threatens or commits war crimes, we will go along with it.” There was no Tory leaflet telling US, ‘When the US says jump!, We will say, how high?’.
The Iranian people don’t want war. The Iraqi people don’t want war. The British people don’t want war.
And most people in the US don’t want war. Like us, like them, they want healthcare, they want education, they want housing.
So our priorities are really clear. We must oppose all attempts to drive us to war in Iran. We will argue for peace in the Middle East. And we will continue to fight for political leadership which wants peace, which finds money for health and investment and not for war. That fight isn’t over!
- Check against delivery. This was originally published on Diane Abbott’s Facebook page here.
