Posted 2:58 PM by Paul
Balloo Tops Another Stop the War Demo

I was going to go to the 3rd Stop the War demo even though the war is effectively over. I just felt pissed off that we had been all taken for a ride over the supposed "real and present danger" of an Iraq "ready to use Weapons of Mass Destruction". As it turned out the war was like a contest between on on form Mike Tyson and Pee Wee Herman which has strangely made even some of the pro-war lobby a little queasy. But I had to get my priorities right. Disney had a new film out in the cinemas and the kids were keen to see "Jungle Book 2" as soon as it hit the screens. I chose Balloo and the gang over making another gesture of defiance to Blair and his gang of souless automata. Inevitably the organisers claimed that there were 200,000 people there and the police said that there were 411. Looking at the pictures of the rally I would guess at no less than 60- 70,000. A good turn out but I am glad I didn't let the kids down.

Devotees of war on six figure salaries in favour of sending other people to die for poverty wages whilst they bark at us from TV screens and newspaper columns obviously felt that all us "peaceniks" [patronising dimwits) should feel chastened by the crowds of cheering Iraqis and victorious marines. I have to admit that I did feel a bit dizzy. Maybe they had been right all along. I had thought that this might be a very bloody mess and at first it looked like it was really just going to be a bloody mess. It is hard not to feel empathy with the Kurds who brought the Edware Road to a standstill with music and laughter chanting "Thank you Tony Blair, thak you Gerorge Bush". "Good luck to them, " I thought. "Maybe Blair knew something us mere mortals did not. But a few days it it looks like they had no plan beyond the destruction of a hated regime but a regime which provided some basic level of personal security, health and education.

In fact no one knew what was going to happen. One thing that all this Iraq thing proves is that we are all guessing, All making it up as we go along. Blair is an expert at this and claiming that it was all part of some plan. Everyone now has as much idea of what is going on as do the BBC pundits. My favourite was a Soviet expert (University of Essex admitted later that he did not speak fluent Russian) who was always pulled by the BBC to predict the Fall of Gorbachev. He did it once a month for two years until he was eventually proved right. Eventually Iraq will have peace and democracy some time betwenn 2004 and 2367

As for 24 hours news. Most of it is not news but when it is good it does give you another perspective. I doubt if I would have been so anti-Blair if I had not been reminded of the human consequences - children Alice's age blown to bits or crippled. Fathers weeping tears of bitter rage over shallow graves. Now we hear reports of children dieing from basic wounds because there is no water or electricty. They will never live to see even the limited freedom that their friends might enjoy post Saddam. What have we done?

The "sadly there are always regretable casualties in war" exscuse is startlingly similar to the logic used by apologists of the IRA and Sept 11th. The dynamic now is purely political and media led. Bush and Blair cannot take the political flak of big casualties of people whose grieving families have votes, so they spray the battlefield with smart and dumb bombs because they won't send the troops in hard without a fusilade of missiles fired from pefect safety 1,000 miles way. Then the other side staged a suicide attack conveniently next to where the journos stay in Baghdad. It is all for the cameras.

The attack on the greasy spoon cafe in Baghdad where Saddam was thought to be hanging out was spookily similar to the attack by the IRA on a fish shop by the IRA where they tried to wipe out the UDA leadership (the boneheads of the UDA had just left the room upstairs when the bomber struck) and succeeeded in killing 14 people (inclduing himself) queuing up for Saturday lunch. Gerry Adams expressed his regret. But war is war blah blah blah.

As for Rumsfeld if you had just got back from 4 years on a desert island and turned on the TV and you would he was the President. Maybe he is.

Last thought. Now that Iraq is in the throws of Brixton Riots x 10,000 how long before Iraqis call for a ruthless military leader who can control the criminal elements and bring a sense of self respect back to the nation. I would give it a month.

May the Peace of Allah be upon you all.