This is nothing new, just me doing what I can.
"Good morning. Look we believe Saddam has weapons of mass destruction. Now if we don’t attack him, then he might not use them, and in that case we’ll never know whether he’s got them or not. And you know, that’s not a risk I’m prepared to take. Besides if we do conquer Iraq, and remove Saddam Hussein, there’s a chance we could win the Nobel Peace Prize, and you know, frankly, isn’t that something worth going to war for?"
Rory Bremner as Tony Blair, 'Between Iraq and a Hard Palce'
It was estimated that between 750,000 to 1 million people attended yesterday's Anti-War March in London, including this activist (but please don't tell his sponsors). Due to obligations, I wasn't among the multitude of whites, blacks, browns, Christians, Muslims, Jews and the Notts County football supporters, but my heart certainly was there. Oh, the sheer joy of being able to stand up and be counted. The problem is of course, that Tony Blair seems to think that his electorate is too stupid to think and needs a leader with, well, leadership qualities, who has the strength of moral convictions behind his ludicruous actions.
"Yes, there are consequences of war. If we remove Saddam by force, people will die, and some will be innocent. And we must live with the consequences of our actions, even the unintended ones.
But there are also consequences of 'stop the war'. There will be no march for the victims of Saddam, no protests about the thousands of children that die needlessly every year under his rule, no righteous anger over the torture chambers which if he is left in power, will remain in being."
Pardon me, Mr. Blair, but have you conveniently forgotten the 'righteous anger' against the sanctions on Iraq which have possibly been as, if not more, responsible for the deaths of thousands of Iraqi children through starvation and lack of medical care? And what about the protests against the ravages of depleted uranium left behind after the Gulf War? Are you going to use insidious cluster bombs, like you did in Afghanistan? If you did, could you not make them less colorful and attractive to unsuspecting children than the ones you used in that now-forgotten 'hot bed of terrorism'?
Regardless of the opinions regarding the effectiveness of Anti-War protest movements (Vietnam, anyone?)however I honestly believe that if Tony Blair chooses to demonstrate his leadership qualities (why now, Tone?) and ignore the wishes of a significant percentage of his population (about 80% of Britons do not support an attack on Iraq without the cooperation of Nato and her European allies), it would mean the death of democracy in Britain.
"I rejoice that we live in a country where peaceful protest is a natural part of our democratic process. But I ask the marchers to understand this.
I do not seek unpopularity as a badge of honour. But sometimes it is the price of leadership and the cost of conviction".
I suppose the democratic process precludes a leader who listens to the demands of the people who elected him into office in the first place.
Britain is beginning to feel more and more like home everyday.
nads went at 21:03