A POLL last week in Britain's Independent showed that 69 per cent thought that Tony Blair would be remembered for the war in Iraq.Another 9 per cent thought he would be remembered for his relationship with George Bush. Only 1 per cent, in contrast, believed he would be remembered for his three election wins.

Why has Iraq remained the defining issue in British politics? Partly there is unfinished business about how we were taken to war.

None of the whitewash inquiries into the war have been able to achieve closure.

It is commonly accepted that Blair lied over the threat of weapons of mass destruction and how much a danger Saddam Hussein was. He continues to lie about Iraq today, claiming recently against all evidence that the main people responsible for violence there were Al Qaida.

There is widespread frustration that he has not been held to account and that indeed no one in government has been forced to resign over the whole disaster.

There is further frustration that while even the US Congress debates the war and has passed resolutions calling for the withdrawal of troops to begin, the British parliament has remained virtually silent. It is in a state of fearful paralysis at what it has created.

However, none of this would probably have been decisive without the disastrous consequences of the war itself. The death toll of Iraqis almost certainly stands between half a million and one million.

An estimated two million Iraqis are refugees. Death and chaos are the daily companions of many Iraqis.

Britain and the US have lost in Iraq, but refuse to admit it. Instead, they continue an occupation which is turning more and more Iraqis against them.

The wider war is going equally badly. Afghanistan is once more involved in a full-scale war, with the Taliban growing in influence. Increasing numbers of Afghans are turning against the Western powers and their government in Kabul.

Lebanon was targeted by Israel in a proxy war for the imperialist powers last summer.

Currently war rages in Somalia, launched by Ethiopia with the backing of the US, which has bombed the country. And there is a huge question mark over Iran, the growing power in the region�thanks largely to Bush and Blair's policies�which is repeatedly threatened with attack.

There is growing resistance to these wars in the countries themselves, and in the heart of the imperialist powers.

Respect, Britain's leftwing anti-war party, made further breakthroughs at the recent British Council elections. Three new councillors were elected in Lancashire, Derbyshire, and Birmingham. It also secured eight second places and 13 third places.

John Rees, Respect national secretary, said, "Where we stand, we pose a clear challenge. Many millions of people are desperate for an alternative to the diet of war and privatisation served up by the all the mainstream parties."

The result brings to the number of Respect councillors to 20 across Britain.

By Lindsey German
Socialist Worker UK