[Marxism] Afghanistan debate heats up in U.K.

[Louis Proyect]

Afghanistan war debate heats up in the UK

LONDON – The war in Afghanistan is the top story here, following a 
sudden spike in UK soldiers killed. With 15 dead in just over a week, 
more British troops have now died in Afghanistan than in Iraq. The 
British anti-war movement marked the grim milestone with a demonstration 
outside 10 Downing Street, the residence of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, 
on Monday, July 13.

While protesters hit the streets, the government in the UK is using the 
recent rash of casualties to ramp up its campaign for a prolonged, 
expanded war in Afghanistan.

The major UK newspapers are, unsurprisingly, solidly pro-war in their 
editorial lines, but some of the public’s anti-war sentiment is allowed 
to seep into their pages. Monday’s Guardian newspaper, for instance, was 
a study in contrasts. The front page featured a ham-fisted war boosting 
headline, 'Public support for the war in Afghanistan is firm, despite 
deaths.'

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http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/derrick/2009/07/afghanistan-war-debate-heats-uk