A day to remember. It must not be forgotten
Campaigner on lessons of anti-war rally
That cold, clear February day, 100,000 of us marched from Glasgow Green to the SECC to tell Tony Blair and his supporters they were wrong and sowing the seeds of disaster. A few yards away, Blair had given his speech to the Labour Party conference early to avoid any danger of meeting us. But in his speech, he had a word for the marchers. He told us there would be “bloody consequences if the Iraq War was stopped”. It beggars belief that he could be so dangerously wrong and 100,000 so instinctively instinct iv right. My own disappointment was deepened by the fact I expected much of Blair and believe he could have done so much good. I believe the best speech of his life was the one he gave just after the horror of 9/11.
He spoke of a time of opportunity when there was unprecedented global support and sympathy for the US.
So much could have been done had he followed his heart and insight – but within weeks he was promising to support Bush whatever happened.
Going back to the rally, one of the songs we sang was Hamish Henderson’s Freedom Come-All-Ye, with its call for a welcoming, free and caring society. Back in 1960, Hamish and I walked with a few hundred others from Dunoon Pier to Sandbank war memorial, within sight of the Polaris base. Hamish wrote his song in honour of those marchers.
As a new generation take up the struggle, Scotland has much to fight for and much to offer Europe and the world. We stand with Europe and against the uselesness and waste of Trident.
In the long run, the question about Blair is simple: Did he lie or did he believe in his massive mistakes?
Chilcot seems to waver between the two. I f ind it hard to believe Blair thought he was telling the truth when he told Parliament Saddam could mobilise his alleged weapons of mass destruction in 45 minutes.
Blair’s political epitaph might have come from Kipling: “If any question why we died, Tell them, because our fathers lied.”