Where are the WMD etc.?
I have never been a Tony Blair supporter; when I first saw him on CNN, at the funeral of King Hussein of Jordan, some months before he won his first election, grinning and waving like a circus monkey, I thought he was the most insincere, bland politician I had ever seen, and his performance since as Prime Minister has merely confirmed that impression: master of spin, smarmy, driven by focus groups, infinitely adaptable.
And yet, on the issue of the war in Iraq, I had to admire his principled stance, his passionateoratory and hs willingness to go out on a limb and alienate his support base to support the Bush/Rumsfeld approach - totally out of character, and yet compellingly sincere.
How ironic then that he is now so exposed, accused of lying about WMD and the reasons for war, when it is perfectly plain that the war was a stunning success, low casualties, the forecast holocaust never happened, an evil dictator and his regime dispersed, the opportunities for peace in the Middle East enhanced. Far from getting the credit, his is now under fire from Right and Left, accused of telling lies and being unprincipled. Go figure.
Or read the opinion of Mark Steyn, one of my favourite commentators, forthright and pithy, trying to make sense of the British mood, compaarisons with Churchill and Attlee etc.
I had a weird experience a few days ago. I flew from the Middle East to North America. In Iraq, 95 per cent of the people I met told me they were happy to be liberated and regretted only that various disappeared loved ones weren't around to see it. In the US, the great victory has been digested and folks have moved on to newer distractions, like the travails of the indicted style guru Martha Stewart. In their different ways, these are both rational reactions.
...... If I understand correctly, the British, having won the war, are now demanding a recount. Across the length and breadth of the realm, the people are as one: now that the war's out of the way we can go back to bitching and whining that Blair hasn't made the case for it.
Go ahead and read it all.
1:22:26 AM 
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