Backing for Sir Menzies Campbell over Iraq from Dundee Liberal Democrats
News that the death toll among Iraqis as a result of the US-led invasion has reached an estimated 655 000 has been greeted with great concern by Liberal Democrats across the UK and here in Dundee.
Reacting to a study in the Lancet medical journal, Dundee Liberal Democrat local party secretary Michael Charlton said today (Friday 13th October), "This utterly appalling figure - which amounts to around 2.5% of the Iraqi population - is at odds with figures cited by the US and UK governments. The Lancet's figures have been independently verified. It is a truly devastating indictment of a failed policy by the Bush-Blair alliance."
Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Menzies Campbell said,"It is a disgrace that we have no clear idea of the numbers of Iraqi civilians killed since the war began.
"There is no doubt however that there is a slide towards civil war.
"Time is running out. There is a desperate need for a new strategy led not by the US, but by the UN, providing for a peace process with a reinvigorated reconstruction programme and concerted international and regional engagement."