"All war is based on deception”. -- Sun Tzu, The Art of War.

This is my first news post on Deviant Art. The photographer in me wishes my first news post would be exposure settings, how to get the best from your models, finding the perfect location and a million other "nice" things which may lend some artistic merit to someone. But the activist in me, even the human being in me knows that right now, the most important thing I can do is put my money where my mouth is and highlight, along with many other wonderful creative souls here, the problems our world is facing and questions we should be asking as we mark one of the bleakest days and possibly the biggest political lie in history. Sometimes, a photograph or piece of art is so striking it cannot be ignored. Throughout this article I’ve included some interesting political based art and photography from members of the Deviant Art Community which will hopefully inspire you to research/take action/discuss the numerous political situations our world is facing right now. I welcome your thoughts.



By the end of the 20th Century man made war atrocity death tolls topped 180 million human souls. The First World War claimed more than 15 million, the second – 55 million. Before, during and after we’ve witnessed political violence, civil wars, dictatorships, terrorism and a whole host of minor atrocities which have added to the body count. Currently – the eyes of the world watch on helplessly through the power of the media as we notch up five years of occupation in Iraq, a situation which is wildly out of control.

Today marks the 5th anniversary of the first bombings in the current Iraq war. A war which has since has cost the USA nearly three trillion dollars, the UK more than 10 billion pounds, wounded tens of thousands and killed nearly 4,000 American and 200 UK soldiers. Furthermore the war has killed up to one million Iraqi's, displaced 2.5 million Iraqi's, and forced more than two million to flee into neighbouring countries. Another very profound effect of the Iraq war has been the shooting up of petroleum prices, which have a cascading effect on the global economy. As the conflict shows no signs of slowing down both the American and UK economies are in crisis.



From the beginning of the "war on terror”, George Bush has lied to the world about the goals, motivation and identity of the enemy, in short he’s pulled off the biggest propaganda exercise since Nazi Germany and the majority of people bought the message, at least initially. The mission was never about saving the World from destruction by Saddam's weapons of mass destruction, it was never about bringing democracy to the Middle East, and it was never about winning "the war against terrorists" - it was about oil, it was about maintaining the US dollar as the dominant currency on the world market and it was about empire.

Since September the 11th, 2001 George W. Bush and Tony Blair expanded the conflict exponentially adding in unrelated enemies such as Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, Shiite-led Iran, Syria and Islamic militants opposed to Israel, like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.



Whilst other leaders in history have lied to start wars, for the first time in history, the lie stands exposed while the war still rages on, to the death and detriment of our troops. We cannot in good moral conscience ignore this lie, unless we encourage future leaders to continue to lie to us to send our children off to pointless wars. Lying to start a war is more than an impeachable offence; it the highest possible crime a government can commit against their own people. Lying to start a war is not only misappropriation of the nation's military and the nation's money under false pretenses, but it is outright murder committed on a massive scale.




Here are some things you might be curious about, questions we should be asking our leaders and politicians.

- Who controls the oil money and where is it going? How is this different from 2003, pre-invasion?
- What are the main impediments to the development of infrastructure in Iraq?
- What is the current relationship between foreign Islamist paramilitary groups and local forces of various hues?
- What are the parallels between this war and the Balkans before WW1? Is there cause to fear that this will be the fulcrum for WW3?
- Can we have a comprehensive account of which corporations and individuals have made money on the war and how?


Looking back at the 5 year occupation we can debate the morality and chaotic aftermath of the Iraq War, and still miss the bigger picture, which is far wider than the post 9/11 war against terror, or the current crisis among Palestinians and Israelis, or the situation in Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Iran or the convulsions in the UN and the EU, or US global dominance and accusations of aggressive imperialism…..we are watching the world suffer…..

In a future world where small numbers of activists will wield unimaginable power with dirty bombs, nuclear devices, chemical weapons and strange viruses, our very survival will depend on finding a way to live together in harmony, with freedom and justice for all.



Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, and the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron. ~Dwight D. Eisenhower, speech, American Society of Newspaper Editors, 16 April 1953


Whilst these are my own views and opinions, I accept that not all will agree with my statements in my article. Whatever your viewpoints and opinions we surely must all agree that we cannot continue to watch the suffering, wars and death going on around us. As an artistic community it is within us to highlight the suffering in our areas, as these featured artists in this article have done. Please check out their works and think about how you could make a difference in this world, through your art.


"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”.
--Edmund Burke





This is always going to be a seriously depressing topic - but there are two men who can bring you the news in an honest, satirical and eye opening way....America's Anchors, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert - I highly recommend The Daily Show and The Colbert Report for the truth about what is happening in the world (in a satirical way)!