notice anything?
As Tony Blair obstinately continues to stand behind his decision to follow the US into a premature attack on Iraq, and citing, gallingly, those of us who walked in the anti-war protest as a vocal minority, it is interesting to note that the Labour Party has lost one of its most dependable constituencies to the Liberal Democrats. Though the party has other reasons for its loss of support, they have done little to gain the confidence of a significant proportion of the voting public. As a Labour supporter, I find this sad, but not at all surprising. For much of this year, I have deliberated voting elsewhere in order to demonstrate my dissatisfaction; perhaps I shall.
If there's one really stupid thing that the US has done in recent news, I'd have to choose the government's decision to veto the UN resolution denouncing Israel's decision to remove Arafat. Whether or not he is popular with the negotiating parties, this license to kill a Muslim leader will only serve to legitimise attacks on US and other Western interests abroad by those who have already chosen to commit them. I don't like that humanitarian aid workers and troops alike should continue to be ambushed and killed, as is now reported daily, but this is really stabbing the peace efforts in the back, and putting our people at even greater risk. Bravo.
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And how many years is the US government going to illegally keep those people in conditions of torture at Guatanamo Bay, to name just another example? And why is Blair so fearful of saying: this just is not acceptable?
I can accept Blair initially thinking it was better to go along with Bush on some issues, rather than fighting against him, from early on after 9-11. However, I think the tie should have been cut a long, long time ago, especially once he realised that he would never be able to influence American policy 'from the inside', anyway.
And it still isn't too late to make the break. Do it, Blair, do it - have the guts to tell Bush he's a wanker and that you, the leader of a so-called 'socialist' party, disagree with his ultra-right-wing big-business-backed aggressive policies and actions.
For a man of 'Christian virtue' (ahem), Blair's done a good job of selling his soul to the devil.
Agreed (pauses to cut and paste) ...oh well, that comment became a post... :)
Sorry, I should have trackbacked!
Actually, I meant mine; I wrote a response and then decided to shunt it into a main entry. You can write as much as you like - it won't bother me!
Yeah, I realise that now, but for some bizarre reason your new entry didn't show up at first. Must admit, I thought it was a bit odd and out of character! Still, trackbacking would have been a good idea, considering the sheer bulk of my comment!
A similar position exists over here in Spain (where I spend about three-quarters of my time.)
Aznar's position regarding war with Iraq was so far distant from the views of the Spanish people (at least from what I could see) as to be mystifying.
One wonders what went on behind the scenes. Exactly what deals must have been struck to entice these leaders to risk their parties being voted out at the next elections by a disgruntled public?
I've always entertained that perhaps it was done in order to temper the US were they to go overboard with their choice of actions either then, or later on; by showing solidarity with the country at a crucial point, they'd be the ones the US would pay attention to when it really mattered. Perhaps that has already been the case; the war may have been fought differently, for all we know, had there been no European alliances at all.