Op-Ed: Stop the wars and name the dead

London - The Stop the War Coalition is organising two events in London for Sunday and Tuesday of next week with the focus on both Afghanistan and the Middle East.

The Stop the War Coalition has sent out a press release about these imminent events. At the end of last month, the total number of American military losses in Afghanistan alone rose to 2,000. This is a milestone that is tragic, sad and unnecessary in equal measure. On Sunday, in London's Trafalgar Square at 1pm there will be a naming of the dead, while on Tuesday there will be a public meeting addressed by Tariq Ali and others on Syria and Iran. This latter is being held at the University of London Union, Malet St, London WC1 at 7pm, the same venue as the Mind Sports Olympiad last August. Alas, this is not a game. Tariq Ali appeared in Monday night's documentary about crank economist Karl Marx, and is obviously an admirer, but not even communists are wrong about everything all the time, even if they do sometimes oppose wars for the wrong reasons. Also attending will be James Thring, author of the book Peace With Iran.