Blair must be impeached (From Gazette Series)

Blair must be impeached

SIR - The news that 100,000 Iraqi civilians, half of them women and children, have now died in Iraq since the invasion, is shocking. The Lancet medical journal's study, the first reliable look at the death toll by Iraqi and US public health experts, says most deaths were the result of airstrikes by coalition forces.

Tony Blair took us to war based on a lie. There were no weapons ready for use in 45 minutes. There were no weapons of mass destruction. There was no serious or current threat to Britain.

Do you remember this war was supposed to be about making the world more secure? Yet the world is now infinitely less safe, as the events in Bali, Madrid, and the wider Middle East pay tragic testimony. This war was supposed to be about getting rid of tyrants - so why are we still propping them up in other countries, like Uzbekistan?

This war was supposed to be about human rights and democracy. So why are the occupation forces abusing prisoners and gagging the independent Iraqi media?

This war was supposed to be about getting rid of WMD - so why are we still selling them indiscriminately to countries like Syria at giant arms fairs hosted by this government?

Mr Blair has now agreed to a major escalation of Britain's involvement in the occupation. British troops should have no part in supporting what is likely to be yet another major and bloody offensive, with hundreds if not thousands more civilian deaths and injuries.

Mr Blair must be impeached.

Martin Whiteside, Green Party Parliamentary candidate and Stroud district councillor Claypits Lane, Lypiatt, Stroud