EDITORIAL 1

LEGACY OF LIES

The same day, 10th of May, 2007, that Tony Blair announced his resignation at the end of June, the Channel 4 television station aired a docu-drama called Saddam's Tribe, which purported to tell the full, unalloyed story of the Iraqi regime from the viewpoint of the dictator's daughter.

It is a coincidence dripping in irony. Blair's regime will be forever remembered as inextricably tied to that of another leader - who also ran a system based on nepotism and corruption, using war as a method of distracting the people from any social agenda, in a country open to the tender mercies of big corporations.

Nor should we forget either of his other 'foreign adventures', in Kosovo and Afghanistan.

The first, which basically followed a World Bank / IMF agenda to break up the last vestiges of trans-ethnic socialism in Europe, featured his now familiar agenda of scare-mongering, references to 'Hitler' and 'ethnic-cleansing' and endless manipulation of international agencies to persuade us that there was no alternative to aggressive war.

This is followed by the usual war crimes (such as bombing of civilian targets like water purification plants and TV stations, the use of depleted uranium weaponry and cluster bombs) to reduce a functioning society to ruin.

Next we see the appointment of some failed politician / intelligence flunky (Paddy Ashdown, Paul Bremner) to supervise the privatisation of the state, hand-outs to Anglo-American corporations for 'reconstruction', and a blind eye being turned to the abuse and violence being perpetrated on the civilian population by the so-called 'peacekeepers'.

Meanwhile, a flawed but functioning state will be divided on ethnic and religious lines in a classically imperial 'divide and rule' method; with the resulting gangsterism and fundementalism infecting the world far away from the trashed nation.

It would be easy to say that in hindsight, everything becomes easier to see.

But all these wars were launched on lies, misdirection of the public and democratic institutions; and against the spirit, if not the letter of basic International Law.

If we look for some justice; for the Yugoslavs, for the Afghan wedding party killed by US cowboy pilots, for the 655,000 Iraqi civilians who have died needlessly since the invasion - and last, but not least for the child-soldiers of the UK who have died in the conflict, many in 'friendly-fire' incidents - maybe we should wish Blair a speedy journey, after June 30th, to the International War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague.

Once there he could be given Milosevic's cell, with visits from his wife Mirjana - sorry, Cherie - and some time to prepare his case.

Thankfully, Europe is enlightened enough to have officially abandoned the travesty of death-penalties, unlike the US who do not want to sign-up to the institution- in case their politicians and military become subject to the same laws to which everyone else has signed up.

But it would be good if Blair remembers - on his death-bed, maybe - the last words of his nemesis, Saddam Hussein, who showed an irony worthy of the greatest British comedians as he stood on the gallows.

Taunted throughout the whole pathetic travesty of justice; the masked executioner who was about to pull the lever and end Saddam's mortal life turned to him and said "Welcome to Hell !".

"The Hell that is Iraq ?" replied Saddam as the door fell away . . .