The chorus of attacks on the Stop the War Coalition in recent weeks is a reflection of the weakness of the government’s case for war. British Prime Minister David Cameron failed to get cross-party consensus in the vote for war in parliament. A large majority of Labour MPs, as well as the Scottish National Party, Plaid, and the Greens voted against airstrikes, as did a majority of the shadow cabinet. They did so following the lead of Jeremy Corbyn. Polls show opinion moving rapidly against support for the war.

While most of our critics have supported all the wars of this century in the face of growing evidence that they have failed, the Stop the War Coalition has a proud record of campaigning against wars since the start of what was originally called “the war on terror.” We opposed the war in Afghanistan, begun in 2001, arguing that it would neither bring peace to that country nor decrease the threat of terrorism. That war continues, with the Taliban resurgent and now the rise of Islamic State.

We opposed the war in Iraq. We, along with Jeremy Corbyn, argued that the dossier which contained supposed evidence of weapons of mass destruction was not convincing, and that it provided no case for going to war. We have been proved right and our critics wrong. There were no weapons of mass destruction, but our invasion and occupation helped lay waste to Iraq and to increase its sectarian divisions. ISIS originated in Iraq during that failed occupation. It was the child of war.