- The Observer,
- Sunday April 13, 2003
Oxford biologist
A nauseating sequel to the Anglo-American victory (I won't use the mendacious 'coalition') is the usurping, by hawks, of the phrase 'I told you so'. The war was sold to Parliament, Congress and the UN as removing weapons of mass destruction. Until such weapons have been found, if anybody is entitled to the smug phrase 'I told you so', it is we who opposed the war. We neither expected nor hoped that Saddam would win, so nothing has changed.
MAX CLIFFORD
Public relations expert
I was doubtful about this war, but it does now seem as though it has been worth it. Based on the reaction from Iraqi people, who are no longer in fear, the answer has to be yes. We are now in the time of transition but what has already emerged is how horrendous Saddam Hussein has been and the way people have suffered. Justification for the war is becoming increasingly possible.
Dr ROSEMARY HOLLIS
Head of Middle East Programme, Royal Institute of International Affairs
The drama of bringing down Saddam's statue in Baghdad said it all. The Iraqis wanted him toppled but needed US heavy lifting to do the job. The Marines obliged, but by trying to capture the moment for America and bringing out the Stars and Stripes they showed they do not understand what is at stake. Triumph is fast giving way to such a mess that Iraqi relief will turn to anger. For the would-be liberators it's a lose-lose situation.
J. G. BALLARD
Writer
Before the war, my feeling was one of great anxiety. Now, I think we still have yet to discover if the war was justified, given the huge damage done to the UN, to Britain's relations with Europe and to the West's relations with the Arab world. If the near-mythical weapons of mass destruction are found, then the war will have been justified. I fear however that Britain and America will pay a fearsome price when the Arab world takes its revenge.
BERYL BAINBRIDGE
Author
I don't think the war has been worth it, and I never have. There will follow a lengthy period during which businessmen, Iraqis among them, will make huge profits out of reconstruction programmes. The poor, as always, will find little difference in their lives, except for the peculiar notion that freedom is essential to happiness. You can't be free if you are burnt or have nowhere to live. We should all be ashamed of ourselves.
SUSIE ORBACH
Psychoanalyst
It is hard to assess from the TV news whether people are really greeting liberation in their droves. It is hard not to focus on the humanitarian crisis which is affecting the water supply and the hospitals. The cost of the war does seem very steep. The political arrangements proposed are worryingly un-Iraqi. The uncounted costs include the potential damage to Britain's relationship in Europe, to the status of the UN and the long-term impact on the Middle East.
ANDREW MURRAY
Chair, Stop the War Coalition
This aggressive war has left thousands dead, including an increasing number of civilians, international law in tatters and has re-established a neo-colonial military occupation at the heart of the Middle East. This, together with the obvious bellicosity of the Bush administration, threatens still further wars. These negatives far outweigh the obvious benefit of the downfall of Saddam.
Sir TIMOTHY GARDEN
Air Chief Marshal, former Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff, now at King's College London
I opposed the rush to war on grounds that there was no threat from a contained Iraq and that war was likely to cause more long-term problems. The difficulties of a transition to democracy and the rule of law are becoming apparent. Any chemical or biological weapons are now more likely to find their way to terrorists through the black market. I still fear therefore that our impressive military victory will lead to a less safe world in the long term.
ALAN BLEASDALE
Screenwriter
I still feel strongly that it is the wrong war at the wrong time with the wrong ally. I don't think I have ever been more angry or more afraid at the situation. The price will be paid by generations to come. Having been brought up in the Catholic faith, I have always had a severe question about fundamentalism. In the West, we now have a cowboy fundamentalist in the White House and a Christian fundamentalist in Downing Street.
BEN PIMLOTT
Warden of Goldsmiths College, London
Wars are never worth it. Sometimes they are unavoidable, but this was not such a case. We should be grateful to the troops and thankful for the victory, but the arguments against the invasion have not changed. As for the outcome, the casualties are not just the thousands of dead, maimed, bereaved or displaced. The war has sacrificed the authority of international institutions. Worse, it has caused intense resentment throughout the Muslim world and almost certainly made the threat of terrorism much worse.
MARIELLA FROSTRUP
Writer and broadcaster
There was never any question about the awfulness of Saddam's vicious regime or that the majority of Iraqi people were opposed to it. The question was always what business of ours it was and with what justification were we acting? So far chemical weapons have been conspicuous by their absence. The Americans are now calling on the old bureaucracy to keep essential services running. To be inviting Ba'ath party members, who have kept their fellow citizens in subjugation and terror, to return to their jobs is a strange way to celebrate the defeat of Saddam's regime.
Rev WENDY SAUNDERS
Vicar of St Saviour's Eltham, London
I was concerned that Iraqis would not welcome the British and Americans so I was heartened by the fact that so far they seem friendly. But I am concerned that we do not yet know the true motives of the Americans. An awful regime could be replaced by one not so overtly cruel but which is repressive in a more subtle way. It would be easy to be euphoric but there is the heavy note of caution that it might be premature.
SUSAN SALEHI
Iraqi Kurd living in London
Before the war I was convinced Saddam would never leave and that it would prove disastrous for Iraqis. I am happy to have been proved wrong, though I am still not sure war was necessary. I am sure things will get worse before they get better. However grateful we are to Britain and America, the tempers flaring within different communities in Iraq show that simply getting rid of Saddam is not enough.
INTERVIEWS: Kara Bradley, Sachin Nakrani and Sunder Katwala
