Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today, 16 February, is known as the day the world said no to war—to the Iraq War. It is still considered the largest protest action in history. Over 10 million people in 600 cities across 60 countries took part in a coordinated action to march against the criminal US led invasion of Iraq. In Australia, nearly half a million people also marched. I joined them in Sydney, where I took part in my first-ever protest action. I was very angry about this illegal, immoral war, and I still bloody well am, for many reasons. Ten million people around the world knew this war wasn't right, but it still happened, because a few powerful people and interests wanted it to. A handful of dreadful, deceitful diehards in various corners of the Bush administration at the time created a momentum towards war that couldn't be stopped, even by many good, honest people. No-one is disputing the justification for this war was a lie, a manufactured deceit. Remember US General Colin Powell fronting the UN, making the case for war? Iraq needed to be invaded because they were a threat; they had weapons of mass destruction.

Recently, US journalist Robert Draper wrote in The New York Times Magazine an article called 'Colin Powell still wants answers'. It states:

In 2003, he made the case for invading Iraq to halt its weapons programs. The analysts who provided the intelligence now say it was doubted inside the C.I.A. at the time.

Discussing the process that led to Colin Powell's speech, Draper's article goes on to say:

At 10:30 the following morning, Powell addressed the international body. For the next 76 minutes, he laid out the U.S. government's case against Hussein. "My colleagues, every statement I make today is backed up by sources, solid sources," Powell said in his calm, sonorous baritone. "These are not assertions. What we're giving you are facts and conclusions based on solid intelligence."

The story Powell told marked a departure from the Bush administration's evocations of madness, evil and mushroom clouds. It was an investigator's meticulous brief of institutionalized deception and murderous intent.

I advise all senators to read this article, with the investigative journalism that went behind it. The article finishes by saying:

The speech remains one of the most indelible public moments of the Bush presidency. By the time Powell resigned from his post, his performance that morning before the U.N. Security Council had come to symbolize the tragic recklessness of Bush's decision to go to war. Iraq, it was by then widely understood, had played no role in the Sept. 11 attacks, nor did it possess weapons of mass destruction. Nearly all the intelligence Powell presented to the world in his speech turned out to be false.

What a disaster it turned out to be—hundreds of thousands of people killed, instability across the Middle East.

Those 10 million people who marched and are still with us today, on this dark anniversary, should turn their minds to the ongoing persecution of Julian Assange. Assange and WikiLeaks are a threat to the powerful people who lied to us and took us to war. They expose lies and deception and war crimes. That's why Assange is facing a virtual death sentence in a UK prison. Have no doubt: Assange's extradition trial and his persecution are purely political, and this is going to require a political solution. The US administration, and, unfortunately, recently the Biden administration, is making a political gamble that we have all forgotten this illegal and immoral war and the lies and the unnecessary deaths. If those going after Assange for truth telling are betting on us forgetting, let's use today's anniversary to remember, to not forget the frustration of not being listened to and the righteous anger of those who are quickly proven right by history. It is also a timely reminder we must fight for Assange's freedom and for press freedom. The only thing we have— (Time expired)