Letter from John McDonnell MP, Tariq Ali, Len McCluskey, Ken Loach, Brian Eno, Diane Abbott MP, Michael Rosen, Mohammed Kozbar, Kate Hudson, Caryl Churchill, many more.

The Guardian

Bombing will make the ISIS problem worse

Along with most British people, we opposed an attack on Iraq in 2003. The brutal reality of the invasion and occupation confirmed our worst fears. At least half a million died and the country was devastated.

Now, less than three years after US troops were pulled out, the US is bombing again. The British government is considering joining military action, not just in Iraq but in Syria too.

All the experience of the varied military action taken by the west in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya shows that such interventions kill innocents, destroy infrastructure and fragment societies, and in the process spread bitterness and violence.

While we all reject the politics and methods of Isis, we have to recognise that it is in part a product of the last disastrous intervention, which helped foster sectarianism and regional division. It has also been funded and aided by some of the west’s allies, especially Saudi Arabia.

More bombing, let alone boots on the ground, will only exacerbate the situation. We urge the government to rule out any further military action in Iraq or Syria.

Caryl Churchill playwright
Brian Eno musician
Tariq Ali writer and broadcaster
Jeremy Corbyn MP
Lindsey German convenor of the Stop the War Coalition
Diane Abbott MP
Mark Rylance actor
Ken Loach film director
Michael Rosen author and broadcaster
Kate Hudson general secretary of CND
John McDonnell MP
Jean Urquhart MSP
Nick Broomfield filmmaker
Elaine Smith MSP
Sami Ramadani Iraqi writer and campaigner
Len McCluskey general secretary of Unite
Amir Amarani film director
Mohammed Kozbar vice-president of the Muslim Association of Britain
George Galloway MP
Jenny Tonge
Dr Anas Altikriti
Walter Wolfgang Labour CND
Andrew Murray chief of staff Unite
Piers Telemacque NUS vice-president
Aaron Kiely NUS NEC
Edmund Schluessel NUS NEC
Barbara Ntumy NUS women’s committee
Caroline Lucas MP

Source: The Guardian