Opposing Imperialism
As the UK population recognises the horrendous plight of the Ukrainian people – while Truss spends time with her Instagram account and Patel confers with the devil – Starmer has used the cloak of war to continue his own purge of the left.
The irony of the claims from the two main parties that they are supporting Ukraine as part of defence of democracy is clear – as the Tories attempt to ram through their anti-democracy legislation and Labour continues to purge anyone who disagrees with Keith.
Eleven Labour MPs spent a few days clinging to their principles – having signed a statement supporting Stop the War – only to ditch them when confronted with losing the Labour whip and joining Jeremy Corbyn on the naughty step.
Their crime was to criticise NATO and call it out for its role in fomenting the current war in Ukraine setting out its aggressive role in previous conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Yugoslavia to name but a few.
When it comes to war, there is only black and white when the powers that constitute ‘the West’ are confronted by an alternative, and in this case, tyrannical view of the world.
The first rule of propaganda is that all dissent ‘at home’ must be squashed – something Tony Blair tried to achieve with his disastrous dossier-led descent into the Iraq war which is now recognised for the catastrophe it was.
At that time, Corbyn was one of the few siren voices warning against the foolhardy actions of the West in seeking warfare as a solution.
On this occasion, with the Ukraine invasion, the boot is on the other foot with Putin as the aggressor, but the “moral high ground” is now overflowing with ‘leaders’ such as Johnson trying to distract from their ignominious role in creating the Moscow tyrant.
So Starmer, full of moral righteousness and indignation – and with both eyes firmly on Sun reading Tory voters - is playing the tyrant in the Labour Party using any dissent as an excuse to suspend and expel members.
As we all read of Putin’s despotic regime’s grip from the Kremlin, it is difficult not to see signs of a similar pattern emerging in the UK. We are not at the stage of people being arrested in the middle of the night yet, but both Johnson and Starmer are showing signs that in certain circumstances this might be justified.
If eleven so-called left-wing MPs can be so easily slapped down, then the principle of solidarity with the working classes in both Russia and Ukraine has already been sacrificed.
The reality – as it has been in numerous conflicts involving the West since the second world war – is if war is the answer, then what was the question? Don’t hold your breath in expecting anyone in NATO to consider their role in creating the monster that sits in the Kremlin.
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