Shame on Stop The War...

Liverpool, named 2008 Capital of Culture, has always been synonymous with unions, industry, football, and of course the success of the Beatles; but a row has been sparked in recent weeks about the invitation of a Hezbollah activist to a Methodist Church in the Toxteth area of the city, by local anti-war campaigners. Ibrahim Mousawi, chief spokesman of the extremist Lebanese group, is due to speak at a 'Stop the War' rally on Tuesday evening, to talk about the invasion of Lebanon. Mousawi, who is currently banned in France and Ireland, is known to have been in charge of a 30-part 'documentary' which claimed Jews were behind a secret plot to take over the world, and is also known to have said in an interview with Australian broadcasters that '...pain is the only language the enemy understands...' when referring to the deaths of Israeli civilians. Jacqui Smith, the home secretary, has been criticised for allowing Mousawi into the UK, even though the Government has safeguards to prevent the entry of such people; David Cameron has also condemned the visit by the Hezbollah spokesman, claiming it to be a mistake.

The Stop the War Coalition was formed following the events of the September 11th, openly declaring at the time that they were opposed to any form of response by the U.S against those responsible for it. Amongst it's ranks are Communists, Islamists, and other 'do-gooders' who seem to have known in advance that there would be bloodshed in Iraq and Afghanistan should the countries be invaded. It is most famous for it's 'Not in My Name' posters and it's mass rallies in London; and claims to be opposed to; the American War of Independence, the American Civil War, World War I, and World War II. The group however seems to advocate armed resistance, like in movements such as those against the state of Israel, which from the start jumps out to me to be their first and most obvious ideological flaw. Though it might be too much of me to ask that they look for the trees of hypocrisy, beyond the their dense forests of bigotry.

It seems to me that such an organisation cannot ever gain the credibility it requires to bring about the changes it strives for. Being part of a pacifist movement (like those in many strands of Buddhism) does not involve the advocating of any form of violence or aggression, physical or otherwise; and most certainly does not see armed resistance as acceptable. The Stop the War Coalition is a coalition of left wing, anti-imperialists, many with individual aims and ideologies. Some are anti-capitalist, others anti-Jewish, and some members even claim 9/11 was an American conspiracy executed in order to justify it's subsequent foreign interventions. Despite what their more trivial personal quarrels may be, members of the group rely heavily on common values to get air-time and press-publicity, giving the Government and members of the public the illusion that most people in Britain are opposed to 'War' full stop.

Another problem with the group, due to the fact that it claims only to be 'Anti-War', is that there are many people on the right who also do not agree with the invasion of Iraq or Afghanistan, yet they are not involved at all. Nick Griffin of the ghastly BNP, Peter Hitchens an admirable journalist and critic, and many old-style Conservatives such as Kenneth Clarke and Michael Heseltine, I can't however see any of them joining the coalition any time soon. Could it be perhaps that the Stop the War Coalition has additional agendas as well as the false claim of supporting pacifism, knowing jolly well that anyone (including Islamic militants) can aid their cause quite substantially by speaking at their wretched rallies, thus gaining even more support from people who despise the West we live in.

If the Stop the War Coalition wish to gain any ounce of credibility from the message they so persistently preach, perhaps they should study the true pacifist nature of the Buddhist monks protests in Burma last year, where their behaviour gained them world wide support. The Stop the War Coalition should hang their heads in shame for inviting such hate-fuelled racists to Britain, and Jacqui Smith for allowing it. Although the desire for the abolition of war is something which is to be admired, it is only practically existent in an ideal world. Also it should not be associated with radical political groups which claim to be something that they are not, but rather with true pacifist religious groups like Buddhists and the once existent Cathars of Medieval Europe.

The Stop the War Coalition is now so against what it sees to be a threat to it's leftist ideals, that it is now importing enemies of the West and our allies to talk in our towns and cities. God only knows where the bloody hell such deplorable people would have been put at Dunkirk, probably in the sea I suspect...

(Picture: Ibrahim Mousawi at a recent anti-war rally in Birmingham.)