tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7099099432720184584.post7208414896847051251..comments2023-10-28T19:42:01.039+01:00Comments on Going fast, getting nowhere: At lastRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743685798068014455noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7099099432720184584.post-12326320873737693682010-01-04T17:11:13.921+00:002010-01-04T17:11:13.921+00:00Endo, I think our 'opposition' politicians...Endo, I think our 'opposition' politicians did themselves and us a great disservice by their supine compliance over Iraq. I can only assume that, like John Major, no-one actually believed that the Prime Minister could be quite as blatantly dishonest as he was, and voted for the war on the assumption that, despite all the reservations, something you heard from the PM's own lips in the House of Commons would be broadly true.<br /><br />Tin hat time, perhaps, but I really feel that Blair and Bush should be standing trial for war crimes.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15743685798068014455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7099099432720184584.post-20037986552759943772010-01-04T17:05:08.252+00:002010-01-04T17:05:08.252+00:00I realised that I had missed a lot out when I wrot...I realised that I had missed a lot out when I wrote it, but there are several books in this issue, and lots of issues that can't be tackled in one brief blogpost. I agree entirely - our European friends had much the more realistic take on what was happening, and their reluctance should have been a warning to us. Although I am not a supporter of the EU, I feel very much part of Europe rather than America, and I think we did a lot of damage over this.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15743685798068014455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7099099432720184584.post-23656338249379790372010-01-03T23:41:20.758+00:002010-01-03T23:41:20.758+00:00Have to say, I flat-out didn't believe the WMD...Have to say, I flat-out didn't believe the WMD claim at all. Not that Saddam didn't, or couldn't, still have biological or chemical stockpiles. But deploying them on a meaningful level, in a way that could threaten any UK interests, requires some considerable launch platform technology for which there was no evidence whatsoever of in-house development or outside purchase.<br /><br />Likewise, extending the "war on terror" (perhaps the stupidest political catchphrase of all time) to include Iraq made no sense and was without evidential foundation.<br /><br />I'd always seen Blair as a facile, dishonest opportunist with no credible belief in anything other than Tony Blair. So it was actually quite easy to believe the conspiracy theorists of the time, who pointed out it was a done deal and The Will Of Bush before the invasion even got going.<br /><br />What the vote did do was dent my faith in other politicians, of all parties, who I assumed must have been equally aware of both Blair's mendacity and the appallingly tenuous presentation of "facts" on which to base a war, legal or otherwise. I could only assume that those who voted for that war were unbelievably stupid, dangerously naive or equally unconcerned by the truth.<br /><br />To be honest, I'm not sure if that opinion is changing as a result of Chilcot. There are a lot of people willing, now, to stand up and say they thought it was a crock - where were they all when it mattered?<br /><br />Is it inconceivable to someone within the Westminster campus that one of their number would stand up in Parliament and tell lies? That appears to be what Major is saying. Yet, routinely, obliquely and semi-politely, isn't accusing "the other side" of everything from misrepresentation to downright dishonesty what much of political debate is about? Or did they believe that war was too significant an item to be subject to manipulation and spin?<br /><br />My faith in politics cannot be restored by inquests, although criminal prosecutions might help. I would need to see proof of integrity, openness, and a system that prevented small, vocal cabals of self-serving individuals from bending Parliament and hence the entire country to their will. Something other than modern party politics, in fact. Wish I knew how in hell to implement it...endemoniada_88noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7099099432720184584.post-41107249947794220122010-01-03T15:20:16.192+00:002010-01-03T15:20:16.192+00:00Not to dispute what you have written or be awkard,...Not to dispute what you have written or be awkard, but what is missing from this is what our European partners believed at the time... and this saga has further reduced our credibility in Europe.<br />You may say so what, the inability to act over Yugoslavia was not a shining example of EU policy..but it would have been better not to have acted militarily in Iraq wouldn't it?Nikoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03119901226987582553noreply@blogger.com