Iraq: teachers told to rewrite history

It's the ultimate in spin. As we approach the fifth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war, British teachers are complaining that the Ministry of Defence have drawn lessons regarding how pupils should be taught about the Iraq war in a way which breaks the 1996 Education Act, which aims to ensure all political issues are treated in a balanced way.

Teachers are referring to it as "propaganda" for failing to mention civilian casualties and have said that the instructions on how the subject should be discussed in schools "are arguably an attempt to rewrite the history of the Iraq invasion just as the world prepares to mark its fifth anniversary."

At the heart of the union's concern is a lesson plan commissioned by an organisation called Kids Connections for the Ministry of Defence aimed at stimulating classroom debate about the Iraq war.

In a "Students' Worksheet" which accompanies the lesson plan, it stresses the "reconstruction" of Iraq, noting that 5,000 schools and 20 hospitals have been rebuilt. But there is no mention of civilian casualties.

In the "Teacher Notes" section, it talks about how the "invasion was necessary to allow the opportunity to remove Saddam Hussein" but it fails to mention the lack of United Nations backing for the war. The notes also use the American spelling of "program".

First, I am astonished that we are allowing the Ministry of Defence to prepare any lessons for pupils to be taught in school. I know that some will say the MOD are the best people to tell us the story of wars but I would have thought that the History Department might be a better place to start such a discussion.

And that the Hell do they mean when they state, "the "invasion was necessary to allow the opportunity to remove Saddam Hussein". Where have the WMD vanished to in this "lesson"? Where are the dubious links between Saddam and al Qaeda? And why aren't the pupils being made aware of the fact that regime change - which is what "the opportunity to remove Saddam Hussein" boils down to - is actually illegal under international law?

And it's a small point but the word "programme" is spelt "program" in the notes? Are we now cutting and pasting US Army talking points and simply feeding them to British youngsters? After all, Bush never seemed to understand that regime change was illegal, which is why he kept openly calling for it, whilst Blair (a lawyer) made sure the phrase never crossed his lips.

The union has protested to the Schools Secretary, Ed Balls, who has referred the complaint to the MoD. In a letter to Mr Balls, Mr Sinnott said: "I have to say that were the MoD pack to be distributed and followed without the legally required 'balanced presentation of opposing views' there would, in my view, be very serious risk of a finding of non-compliance with section 406 (of the 1996 Education Act) at least.

"I do not doubt that there would be many members of this union who would not accept as 'fact' the assertions made particularly in the Teacher Notes, nor, I think, could some of the assertions made in the Student Worksheet be regarded as non-controversial."

Mr Sinnott reminded Mr Balls that a High Court judge had ruled that the film An Inconvenient Truth, by the Oscar-winning former American vice-president Al Gore, could not be used in schools without teachers counteracting some of the assertions made in it.

Mr Balls sought to distance himself from supporting the material.

I bet he sought to distance himself from it. Here's a couple of quotes from this "educational" course:

"Iraq was invaded early 2003 by a United States coalition. Twenty-nine other countries, including the UK, also provided troops... Iraq had not abandoned its nuclear and chemical weapons development program".

How could you possibly regurgitate this trash in a school and call it teaching? I mean they are stating things which are quite clearly false. There were no nuclear or chemical weapons programmes, and there's no way to "teach" pupils about the war without making that clear.

"From hospitals to schools to wastewater treatment plants, the presence of coalition troops is aiding the reconstruction of post-Saddam Iraq."

I'm sure it is. However, it seems odd to discuss the reconstruction of Iraq without bringing up the lack of water and electricity, and the fact that ethnic cleansing has split central and southern Iraq into Sunni and Shia enclaves surrounded by concrete. Or, indeed, how many Iraqis have died during this operation or how many have fled to other country's to escape this "liberation".

George Orwell would be wryly smiling reading this story. The Ministry of Truth has now entered our schools.

I dread to think how the MOD would sell the Empire. Are we still "civilising the natives?"

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