Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) today called o­n the United States-led coalition to totally withdraw from Iraq with immediate effect.

The party said the US military progress there proved that the Saddam Hussein regime had no weapons of mass destruction (WMD) as alleged before.

"The allegation has been proven to be a blatant lie and we would not be surprised if the US plants those chemicals in Iraq to justify its end," said PSM pro tem secretary-general S Arutchelvan in a statement.

He said it was clear that the US and its allies were o­nly interested in the wealth of the Middle Eastern state, especially its oil.

The "invaders" have been protecting the oil more than the lives of Iraqis, he added.

Real threat

The PSM leader said the real threat to world peace was US which possessed weapons of mass destruction.

"Its war arsenal is now targetting Syria. o­nce again, the US has started its rhetoric against Syria o­n WMD and harbouring terrorists.

"A similar accusation was the catalyst to the previous wars in Afghanistan and Iraq," he said.

Arutchelvan said the fall of Baghdad last week did not bring joy to the masses like the collapse of the Berlin wall in 1989.

He claimed that the Iraqis who welcomed the allied troops into Baghdad with flowers and cheers were "only a small group expressing their happiness".

The number of this small group was far less than thousands of people who attended the first popular demonstration Monday to call for the withdrawal of US troops, he added.

He said US has "shown its arrogance" again by defying the wishes of anti-war demonstrators worldwide to go to war alone.

"The successful invasion of Iraq will o­nly make the US more confident and bolder in its pursuit to dominate and impose its economic and political might over the entire world system," he warned.

Impotent component

Arutchelvan also criticised the United Nations for being an "impotent component".

"We see no way that the UN can and will be able to give any leadership to the future of Iraq. This world body has been a total sellout and has failed to do the least," he said.

In view of this, he said PSM called o­n continuous protests and uprising against US President George W Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

All forces which oppose the US aggression in Malaysia must also be united, he added.

"We have seen how the opposition against war has cut across ethnic and religious lines. We have to build o­n this.... We have to stop this imperialist war," he stressed.