OPINION 09
MAY.11.2009 OPINION@gairrhydd.COM
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Lecturers strike While the threat of a strike by some lecturers at Cardiff University should not be overstated, the news that UCU are balloting their members to gauge their support of action is worrying. Such strikes would come at a bad time for students, potentially disrupting the examination and essay marking period. In 2006 a national lecturers' strike following a pay dispute caused considerable disruption and stress for students At the time, students were fairly sympathetic to their lecturers' demands. However, times have changed. Given the current economic climate and depending upon the extent of the pay rise lecturers are demanding, they may find that students are not quite so supportive. gair rhydd urges Cardiff University's staff to consider the repercussions that their actions may have on students before they decide on their course of action.
Media awards success gair rhydd would like to congratulate all of those involved in the 2009 Cardiff Student Media Awards. The event was a great success, demonstrating the strong competitive spirit and thirst for media possessed by members of Cardiff Student Media. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of the staff and volunteers for their input into making this ceremony so special for all involved.
Corrections and Clarifications In the story 'No Faith In Humanities' on page four of gair rhydd 895 (May 4 2009) the petition web address under ‘What can I do?’ should have read http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ savelifelonglearning/ In the comment piece 'Police Violence At Protests' on page 17 of gair rhydd 895 (May 4 2009) the article is inaccurately attributed to Jonny Jones. It was actually written by Dan Drummond. Editor Ben Bryant Deputy Editor Hazel Plush Co-ordinator Elaine Morgan Subeditor Jamie Thunder News Emma Barlow Emma Jones Sarah Powell Sian Symons Eleanor Joslin
Withdrawal symptoms
After six years in Iraq, Oliver Franklin asks whether the operation was worth the losses
L
ast week, the names of 179 British servicemen and women were read out to a piper’s lament in the city of Basra in Southern Iraq. These 179 were the British soldiers killed in an operation that ended last week, after over six years. The small service was held to hand over responsibility over the region to US forces. It was a low-key service, attended not by Gordon Brown but by Defence Secretary John Hutton, and paid tribute to the bravery of the soldiers who have died for the military operation in Iraq. Not read out were the names of the innocent Iraqi civilians killed during the occupation – estimated at over 3,300. And despite the relative calmness of the situation in Basra now, the 5,000-strong U.S. force now occupying the territory will remain in combat operations until President Obama calls for their withdrawal – something which could yet take some time. For many, particularly the families of those servicemen lost or injured in the fighting, the hand-over has been a long time coming, and for many the questions that dominated the Iraq war are still yet to be answered. Gordon Brown, in a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, claimed that "Britain can be proud of our legacy that we leave [in Basra]."
proving, but the cost of the war, and the questions surrounding its cause in the first place, cannot be ignored. David Cameron was not the first this week to call for an immediate investigation into the cause and conduct of the operations in Iraq: "After years of foot-dragging, I believe it is the time for the government to announce a proper inquiry."
The British public will be wary to trust the word of this government Gordon Brown’s absence at such an important event seems conspicuous given the controversy surrounding the war – it was hard not to pick up on John Hutton’s comments about the British forces achieving their aim of "enabling the Iraqis to establish democracy". The invisible spectre of Weapons
of Mass Destruction remained unmentioned by the government once again, but it is something that cannot be ignored when the necessary inquiry eventually gets under way. As Saddam Hussein fades into distant memory, it is easy for the government to make statements about the British public being proud of their armed forces. Make no mistake about it - we are. However, perhaps more attention should be paid to these fallen men and women, to ask what they truly died for – why they were really there. Until a comprehensive enquiry is held, going back all those years to Blair’s claims of WMDs, and Iraq’s threat to the outside world, the government must be held accountable and the truth ascertained once and for all. What is certain is that after a campaign longer than either World War, the British public will be wary in future. They will be wise and hesitant to trust in the word of a government who took us into a war under false pretences and stuck with it for six long
years. One thing is certain – as the combat operation ends, the rebuilding of Basra by the US and British forces will continue.
It is easy to make statements about the public's pride
As Nigel Haywood, the British consul-general, said: "We have made a lot of investment in this place and certainly intend to have an effective presence here. Iraq has a vibrant economic future and we are helping to put it together. "With Basra holding 70% of Iraq’s oil reserves, that economic future does indeed seem ‘vibrant’. And of course, it just wouldn’t be polite not to get involved. As the British combat troops fly home, all eyes now return to home and rest squarely on an already embattled Labour. The job is done, the war is over. Now it is time for the questions to begin.
It is estimated that 3,300 Iraqi civilians have been killed This is a statement that many will question – particularly the families of the over 3,000 civilian fatalities, and the rest of the inhabitants of Basra whose lives have been so decimated beyond recognition over the last six years. The UK Stop The War coalition said: "British soldiers will leave Basra in a much worse condition than they found it, its population depleted and demoralised, its infrastructure devastated." In recent months it cannot be contested that the situation in Iraq is im-
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