"It's not over. Afghanistan is just the beginning !"

Listen carefully to the words of George W Bush. He means them. Even before the last bombs were being dropped on Afghanistan, the next phase of the war had begun. Surveillance flights circling the skies above Somalia, US warships stationed off the horn of Africa and special forces operating on the ground inside Somalia. For Iraq the battle plan is already laid: the same relentless bombing campaign against military installations and communications lines that we saw in Afghanistan. For the largely defenceless Palestinians the nightmare has already begun, as Sharon declares total war with US-made tanks, rockets and helicopter gunships.

The Bush administration, it seems, is quite prepared to go it alone if necessary. "Haven't they shown that already? Not even a year in office, and already they have thumbed their noses at world opinion on Kyoto, Missile Defence and an International Criminal Court and shown contempt for the UN. The truth is that Bush and the Republican right are playing to the only audience that really matters to them -US public opinion. And now, in the wake of September 11th, that will support any action against any country. That's what makes this period so dangerous.

Despite all the triumphalism, it's hard to see any positive results from this war. Thousands of Afghan dead, a quarter of the population displaced by the war, a growing refugee and humanitarian crisis, and a country sliding back into warlordism and banditry. Not many plusses there ! Instead of ending terrorism, the war has transformed Bin Laden from a war criminal into an icon for the disaffected youth of the arab and muslim world, a symbol of resistance to US imperialism. And tragically, many of them will be drawn to suicide bombings and other terrorist acts as the only way they can see to strike back against an all-powerful enemy.

This conference will discuss these and other issues. It will provide analysis and understanding of the new imperialism, globalism, and the battle to control strategic materials such as oil. It will examine the extension of the arms race into outer space, nuclear proliferation and the projection of US and EU power in the world. Finally it will explore the attack on civil liberties in Britain and the US and the catastrophic effect of the war on the Palestinian people.

As the war is widened, the campaign will face new challenges and opportunities. How can we build a broader and more effective campaign that includes many more trade unionists, nationalists and Liberal Democrats? How can we win the majority of Labour MPs, MSPs and constituency parties and thus isolate Blair in his own party? How best can we mobilise the people of Scotland and link with other parts of Britain to ensure that the Blair Government is forced to change tack.and break its links with a rightwing Republican agenda?