Another vagina chronicle!

I can't say that I am following the Chilcott enquiry with either diligence, enthusiasm or even that much interest.  The chances of it producing anything that is both new and/or important is minimal.  I have been depressed, but not surprised, at the supine attitude of the likes of Sir Jeremy Greenstock toward that rabble of thieves, murderers and tyrants a.k.a the United Nations. The fuss and furore over Blair's remarks to an interviewer over the weekend says much more about the febrile atmosphere in the MSM and amongst those desperate for a smoking gun with which to prove Blair a war criminal and then to use it to execute him!  This is neatly and wittily summed up by David Aaranovich in The Times:

But up until now the Chilcot inquiry has more or less progressed as I thought it would, with much interesting testimony overlooked as time-poor scribblers scan the transcripts for anything that will incriminate Mr Blair, in much the same way as teenagers used to speed-read library books looking for “vagina”.

Today, Sir Jeremy is bemoaning the fact that when he was sent to Iraq after the war he had virtually no influence over the Americans.  Given that he did just about everything he could to stymie the whole operation prior to invasion by constant bowing and scraping to the UN, is it any wonder the Yanks thought him a total 'wuss'?  There is no doubt that the Yanks made a complete cock-up of the occupation - to begin with - but from what I have heard and read, we didn't have much of a clue, either.  At least the Yanks learned from their mistakes but judging by the British humiliation - it can be called nothing else - at Basra, our leadership, military and civilian, learned nothing.  So no change there, then!

Comments

[Dom]

I know nothing of Blair's domestic policies, but I understand he left many in Britain upset. Considering how long he stayed in office, I have to assume there was another side to the story.

As an American, I can certainly comment on Blair's foreign policy. And like most Americans I was very happy and proud to have Blair as an ally on 9/11. He was always more eloquent than Bush (no surprise there) when it came to voicing a coherent foreign policy about toppling the "monster regimes" that threaten the West. I think that's what others dislike about Blair. He believed that a nation's sovereignty should be respected until tyranny reached a tipping point, and then you only respect the people's right to a democratic government, or soomething close to it.

[David Duff]

I do not think Blair lied about WMD. I think he believed they were there just as every intelligence agency in the world believed they were there, even those, like the French and Germans who didn't join in. However, he lacked the definitive proof and that led him and his principal henchmen to exaggerate (polite version) or lie (impolite version).

What I did object to was the subversion of the intelligence community to his political will. Hitherto, the various intelligence bosses might get things wrong but they told it the way they saw it. They failed to do that over Iraq and became the glove puppets of government. Blair, for all his charm, has been an utterly repugnant influence on British public life. Not the least of his wickedness was his cowardice in the face of his brutish and stupid Chancellor of the Exchequer, now our prime minister.

[JK]

I think something's fishy.

[JK]

I have been reminded, "OUCH that's me ear!"

Fish is good for a fellow's heart and hearth.