'We Have Learnt Nothing'

This is a true honour. Wilfred Owen was a great poet. He articulated thetragedy, the horror and indeed the pity – of war – in a way no other poethas. Yet we have learnt nothing. Nearly 100 years after his death the world hasbecome more savage, more brutal, more pitiless.

But the "free world" we are told (as embodied in the United States and GreatBritain) is different to the rest of the world since our actions are dictatedand sanctioned by a moral authority and a moral passion condoned by someonecalled God. Some people may find this difficult to comprehend but Osama BinLaden finds it easy.

What would Wilfred Owen make of the invasion of Iraq? A bandit act, an act ofblatant state terrorism, demonstrating absolute contempt for the concept ofInternational Law. An arbitrary military action inspired by a series of liesupon lies and gross manipulation of the media and therefore of the public. Anact intended to consolidate American military and economic control of the MiddleEast masquerading – as a last resort (all other justifications having failedto justify themselves) – as liberation. A formidable assertion of militaryforce responsible for the death and mutilation of thousands upon thousands ofinnocent people.

An independent and totally objective account of the Iraqi civilian dead in themedical magazine The Lancet estimates that the figure approaches 100,000. Butneither the US or the UK bother to count the Iraqi dead. As General Tommy Franks(US Central Command) memorably said: "We don't do body counts".

We have brought torture, cluster bombs, depleted uranium, innumerable acts ofrandom murder, misery and degradation to the Iraqi people and call it"bringing freedom and democracy to the Middle East". But, as we all know, wehave not been welcomed with the predicted flowers. What we have unleashed is aferocious and unremitting resistance, mayhem and chaos.

You may say at this point: what about the Iraqi elections? Well President Bushhimself answered this question only the other day when he said "We cannotaccept that there can be free democratic elections in a country under foreignmilitary occupation".

I had to read that statement twice before I realised that he was talking aboutLebanon and Syria.

What do Bush and Blair actually see when they look at themselves in the mirror?