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Do troops back wars?
• THE demo at Trafalgar Square organised by the Stop the War Coalition last week was well attended by a crowd estimated as 5,000 strong. Following a letter from Tony Benn to the Home Secretary, copied to the Prime Minister, the police at the last minute withdrew their ban on protesters proceeding down Whitehall to the Houses of Parliament.
Tony Benn had written that such a protest was a right enshrined in ancient British law, so the march would take place whether banned or not.
Besides those who took part in the demo, the Stop the War Coalition received dozens of letters from supporters nationwide wishing for its success.
It is clear that huge numbers of people see the attacks on Iraq and Afghanistan, plus threats of military action against Iran, as an unnecessary disaster. Besides the many deaths among our own troops and perhaps millions of Iraqis, this was not a war for our defence but to support our “special relationship” with the United States.
The extent of the protest leads one to wonder what were and are the feelings and opinions of the troops sent out to fight in these faraway places. So many casualties have been of young men barely out of their teens. What did they think about these wars before joining up?
I have read that a few weeks before the start of the new school year recruiting officers were being invited into some schools to speak to the older pupils.
For those, probably the majority, who do not have a clear idea about a future career, it is no doubt helpful to give them information
ANGELA SINCLAIR
Secretary, Islington Pensioners Forum
N5
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