Bombs and Biscuits: UKUSA propaganda offensive
'The well-being of an entire population is now the legal responsibility of the Americans and the British, as Kofi Annan reminded them, and the prospect of them being able to meet it is fanciful. No, the real hearts and minds the Americans and the British are hoping to win by this grotesque charade are those of their domestic audiences at home, and then the global audience watching this war. The aim is to reassure supporters and dampen protests.'

'This is where the future becomes truly frightful because there's no way back, and if America and Britain are not going to be welcomed and loved on the streets of Basra and Baghdad, they will make themselves feared instead. Here, the logic of war takes grip and choices narrow. This war has to be won, and in the end the US will use any means necessary to do so - dragging its British ally with it into a bloody mess.'

The war doesnt have to be 'won', it has to be stopped. Ceasefire and political settlement at the UN Security Council. Why cant people understand that? A ceasefire will be a huge political climbdown for Bush, Blair, Howard and the neo-conservative cabal, but that is all to the good, if they can be forced into it. The pressure should be applied now and relentlessly increased. In my opinion the progressive media underreports the diplomatic front on this war. There are plenty of statements from world leaders such as Chirac, Putin, and many others on the need to stop or end the war and they should be prominently reported, slowly creating an atmosphere where a ceasefire becomes a possibility or a necessity. Too many people in the peace or progressive movements assume that now the war has been started nothing can be done except wring our hands at the horror.

Bombs and Biscuits: UKUSA propaganda offensive
'The well-being of an entire population is now the legal responsibility of the Americans and the British, as Kofi Annan reminded them, and the prospect of them being able to meet it is fanciful. No, the real hearts and minds the Americans and the British are hoping to win by this grotesque charade are those of their domestic audiences at home, and then the global audience watching this war. The aim is to reassure supporters and dampen protests.'

'This is where the future becomes truly frightful because there's no way back, and if America and Britain are not going to be welcomed and loved on the streets of Basra and Baghdad, they will make themselves feared instead. Here, the logic of war takes grip and choices narrow. This war has to be won, and in the end the US will use any means necessary to do so - dragging its British ally with it into a bloody mess.'

The war doesnt have to be 'won', it has to be stopped. Ceasefire and political settlement at the UN Security Council. Why cant people understand that? A ceasefire will be a huge political climbdown for Bush, Blair, Howard and the neo-conservative cabal, but that is all to the good, if they can be forced into it. The pressure should be applied now and relentlessly increased. In my opinion the progressive media underreports the diplomatic front on this war. There are plenty of statements from world leaders such as Chirac, Putin, and many others on the need to stop or end the war and they should be prominently reported, slowly creating an atmosphere where a ceasefire becomes a possibility or a necessity. Too many people in the peace or progressive movements assume that now the war has been started nothing can be done except wring our hands at the horror.