Meanwhile, the British defence secretary argues anti-war people are 'pro terrorist':

Thousands rally over Iraq … Reid says they back terrorists
Sunday Herald

Anti-war campaignerswho argue that Iraq is on the brink of civil war are siding with ”terrorists”, according to defence secretary John Reid.Speaking as hundreds of thousands took to the streets across the world to mark the third anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, Reid questioned the motivation of the protesters.

“When people go on the streets of London today, I do wish just occasionally they would go out in support of the United Nations, the Iraqi people and the Iraqi democrats, and condemn terrorists,” he said.

“You have a very simple choice in what’s going on in Iraq today. You can support the Iraqi democrats and the overwhelming majority of ordinary Iraqis who want peace, stability, a government of national unity and acting together to make sure there are more hospitals, there is a better life, there are fewer deaths. Or you can support, in effect, the terrorists, by arguing that there is a civil war and that there is no democratic way of solving it.”

Reid acknowledged the country had seen increasing sectarian bloodshed. But he said civil war was neither imminent nor inevitable.

His position was contradicted by Iraq’s former prime minister Iyad Allawi, who argued the violence was reaching the point of no return and Europe and the USA would not be spared the consequences.

Allawi said: “It is unfortunate that we are in civil war. We are losing each day, as an average, 50 to 60 people throughout the country, if not more. If this is not civil war, then God knows what civil war is.”

In an interview to be broadcast on the BBC’s Sunday AM programme this morning, he said: “Iraq is in the middle of a crisis. Maybe we have not reached the point of no return yet. But we are moving towards this point. We are in a terrible civil conflict now.”

Allawi said Iraq would fall apart if the bloodshed reached the point of no return. “It will not only fall apart, but sectarianism will spread throughout the region, and even Europe and the United States would not be spared all the violence that may occur as a result of sectarian problems in this region.”

Andrew Burgin of the Stop The War campaign called Reid’s comments “incredible”. He said: “The march today was aimed at supporting the people of Iraq – the illegal war and illegal occupation supported by Tony Blair and John Reid have caused the deaths of tens of thousands of ordinary Iraqi people, and to what end?

“It is an absolute disgrace that Reid sees fit to call to his aid the United Nations, when the government so blatantly ignored the democratic process of the international body in the first place.”

Burgin added that the coalition action in toppling Saddam Hussein from power and then fighting a lengthy battle with insurgents in the country has led to “Iraq becoming a centre for international terrorism. It is incredible that John Reid can get away with spouting this rubbish.”

The government also came under fire from Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell, who demanded Tony Blair apologise to the nation for the “tragic” war.

Speaking after talks with Iraq’s leaders, Reid said the highest priority was to form a government of national unity. He said: “Although there has been an attempt by the terrorists for several years now to provoke a civil war, it is to the credit of the Iraqi people, including their democratic leaders and the legislators, that they have resisted that.

“There is no doubt that there has been an increase in sectarian tensions and indeed in sectarian killings. But the attempts to provoke a civil war have not been successful.”