UK mothers say war was 'based on lies'

British Prime Minister Tony Blair faces an unprecedented revolt from the wives and mothers of serving soldiers, who want British troops to be withdrawn from Iraq. Dozens of women whose sons, husbands and daughters are now in the Gulf or have served there, have joined a national campaign to be launched this week calling for Britain to pull out of Iraq. In a strongly worded statement, they claim the war in Iraq "was based on lies," and call for British withdrawal "as a matter of urgency." The organizers of Military Families Against the War, set up by the parents of dead armed forces personnel last year, say their movement is supported by hundreds of service families and that more than 100 families and veterans are actively involved. Lynda Holmes, 55, a nurse, whose son is a Guardsman in Iraq, said: "Our forces are risking their lives for an illegal war. So many have been killed. I'm not anti-army. I'm not anti what my son does. I'm just anti this war." The new campaign will culminate in a protest march by the families at the British Labor party's annual conference in Manchester in September. British military families have traditionally refused to complain in public about ongoing wars because of loyalty and the risks to relatives' careers and morale. Several mothers have said their sons are increasingly unhappy about doing further tours in Iraq, because of the increasing hostility from ordinary Iraqis and the growing strength of the insurgency. Others who back the campaign said they would not speak publicly because it could make trouble for their husbands, daughters and sons. The women going public said they have a moral and personal duty to protest because, they claim, the occupation has clearly failed to bring peace and stability to Iraq. Their sons and husbands signed up to defend "Queen and country," not to fight "cowboy actions." Dani Hamilton-Withall, from St. Austell in Cornwall, said: "If anything happened to my son and I had done nothing I couldn't live with myself."