Posted 12:03 PM by Paul
War Crimes?

Papers are full of the appalling story that "our boys" may after all have been involved in torturing Iraquis. In a story which mixed horror, naivity and English cosiness a young British serviceman took his holiday / wartime snaps into the local chemist in the Midlands for developing. Problem was they featured an Iraqi bound and gagged being driven around suspended in netting from a fork lift truck by a laughing British soldier. Also some unspecified sex acts were taking place in some of the shots. It is not clear whether or not these were hetrosexual, homosexual or sexual humiliation of the unfortunate Iraqi. All in all appalling stuff, and demonstrative of a particular type of stupidity. I suppose the soldier didn't think he was doing anything wrong. I mean "...we dint kill 'im or anything and we won the war..so what's the problem". Various soldiers are now under arrest and thre is a full scale inquiry. As they should be. But what of the politicians?

Meanwhile across in Westminster Blair and Straw are squirming and complaining that everybody has an obsession with finding Weapons of Mass Destruction. This is an odd reaction as they talked of little else for 6 months. It appears that Saddam was not a threat at all and we invaded not because he was about to attack us and his neighbours but because he was unable to resist an invasion. Why didn't they just tell us? It is the sanctimonious piety that galls - not the Realpolitik. It is also a bit of a giveaway for future military conflicts.

Tips for Dictators

1. Do not dissarm. The US and their sidekicks the UK will invade anyway and not even bother to switch the electricity on after they have blown up your capital city

2. If you want to invade a neighbour, don't worry. Claim they are a threat and you are acting in self defence. When the UN complains just tell them you are acting like George Bush

The Hard Right in the US has acted in a totally predictable way. The war is won, the poll ratings are looking good and there is no point keeping up the pretext. Rumsfelt is now musing that maybe Saddam destroyed his weapons just as the allies invaded. In order to make life easier for them I suppose. Such a nice guy Saddam. . If this is the case Iraq fully complied with Resolution 1441. Paul Wolfevitiz admitted that they settled on WOMD as a rationale for the war for "bureaucratic reasons". So it was all a big con. The oil is controlled by the US and will be mortgaged for 50 years to pay for the reconstruction which will be carried out by US companies close to Bush. You really have to admire their gall. Better still they can leave Saudi and base masses of US troops in Iraq which is much handier for operations in Central Asia. Pure genius.

Meanwhile Blair is stuck in London looking very very hurt. He looks a bit like the obliging and naive young woman who really believed the cad when he said " I really love you and we will be together forever" ansd susequently hopped inot bed. A few weeks later the cad has moved on and is tryijng to woo the girls who were not so obliging the first time around. The Government is desperately trying to cover its tracks blaming it all on the security services. "Maybe we were given the wrong advice" is the new Line to Take. Sorry we are not mugs and the spies will leak to the internet about how an old student thesis was the basis of the UK Government's justifcation for going to war.

So..the spies will be blamed, the soldiers will be court martialled but - as if my magic - no middle aged man in a grey suit will stand trial for ordering the dropping of cluster bombs on built up areas full of small children.

It's the start of the end for Blair. The whole thing is unravelling in front of his eyes. He will get his place in history, but as a pompous charlaton. Not as the man who saved the Labour Party and re-launched Social Democracy.