[A-List] Brit Conservatives call for limits in Afghanistan

[Chris Burford]

During the very poorly attended debate in the British Parliament today on 
the rushed decision to send 1,700 British combat troops to Afghanistan, the 
Conservative Party defence spokesperson called for the operation to be of 
short duration.

This may have been a signal of irritation that they had so little prior 
consultation (usually under the British constitution major issues of use of 
state power are decided in secret by the major parties beneath the veil of 
bourgeois adversarial two party democracy). But although the British 
Conservatives usually like to appear more aggressively patriotic than the 
Labour Party, this stance signals unease about the wisdom of supporting the 
US in Afghanistan in this way.

Blair has little active support for this act of solidarity with the US, and 
if there are further losses, will have even less support for a military 
campaign against Iraq.

Such difference may appear invisible, but they may be important for 
promoting an agenda of world peace and justice.

Chris Burford