Never forget the lies
goatchurch | 03.04.2003 10:29
Anyone heard the phrase "Weapons of Mass Destruction" this past week?
Thought not.
We've just entered the "we've started, so we must finish" phase of the Iraqi colonization.
We must not lose the context. Sure, we should now continue with the slaughter to bring it to an end, if you accept that argument. But it does not have to be by the same gang of liars who brought us into this situation.
The case should immediately disqualify them from government.
You won't hear the phrase "Weapons of Mass Destruction" from our leaders again, particularly as the actuality of the killing plays out, and their tedious, woolly-minded horror stories about tiny vials of anthrax fail to frighten us beyond the visible reality any more.
The pretext for this war was to prevent the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons in the hands of terrorists, or whatever the words were. Everybody, except the pliant mass media and our useless MPs, knew this was a fat lie.
And so this bloody invasion started.
There is no evidence for a WMD "problem" with Iraq. There has never been any credible evidence. Plenty of forged evidence, for sure.
All counter-evidence has been systematically suppressed for at least a year, from the dismissal of Jose Bustani, the head of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, to the mad dash to get the invasion started before Hans Blix could declare that he was "satisfied".
Do not be put off by the change of context that has happened in one week. We are all weak and pliant in the face of the barrage of the story of the day. We too easily forget.
The very minimum we must demand is that everyone who expounded this lie, played along with this lie, or was easily fooled by this lie, must be disqualified from their position of authority. They are unfit to command our trust and confidence.
Painful though it is, because it was always a lie we were trying to fight, it is now time to start raising questions about Iraq's nuclear and chemical capabilities. The media will have gone silent on them, much to our relief. But that means it's now time for us to kick up a fuss.
Even though the game has moved on to arguments about UN involvement in post-war Iraq, and so on, the fools who perpetrated this lie are still in office with impunity. We have their names and their statements written down in newspapers and parliamentary reports.
Lies must not be rewarded as though they were a way of life. Politics is not a sport, in spite of what the politicians think. In sport it is fair to feint (lie), to open the way for an attack. In politics, people die.
In politics, we should never tolerate open deceit on this scale. This has to be a matter of reputation for all officers of government. It's sad and frightening that it is not being the case.
So, sure, whatever your support for the war is, and what happens now, is a matter for policy discussion. But those who forced us into this situation can leave now and place more honest people in charge.
Their careers have to be finished on this matter. There must be no mercy. We need to make our politicians frightened to lie on matters as crucial as this. Otherwise we are doomed.
---------------------
US attempting the gut the weapons inspection team so that their informed scepticism about any American claims can be ignored.
--31/3/2003
--It is crucial for the Bush administration to find the weapons it argued were the key justification for going to war in Iraq.
--[T]he head of the UN team responsible for chemical and biological weapons and missiles, Hans Blix, says the United States has approached several of his inspectors and asked them to end their contracts and join its own operation.
--Well-informed sources have told me the same recruitment effort is being made with nuclear experts employed by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/2904647.stm
---------------------
Pathetic results so far
--27/3/2003
--UK troops have found evidence "categorically" proving Iraq is ready to use chemical and biological weapons, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon says.
--Mr Hoon conceded the discovery of the suits was "obviously not conclusive" proof Iraqi forces were set to use chemical or biological weapons.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2892077.stm
---------------------
It's really hard to account for this shite anyway. Because it is so toxic, governments prefer to throw it in a hole as far away from home and forget about it.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/2731023.stm
---------------------
----Positive news----
Former head of Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Jose Bustani is Brazil's new ambassador to London
--Critics at the time said Washington had become unhappy with Mr Bustani's attempts to examine weapons facilities in the US with the same rigour as those in other signatory nations.
--They said Mr Bustani's attempts to persuade Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to join the convention threatened to derail US plans to deal with Iraq.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2797911.stm
background on the OPCW
http://www.monbiot.com/dsp_article.cfm?article_id=504
http://www.monbiot.com/dsp_article.cfm?article_id=505
Thought not.
We've just entered the "we've started, so we must finish" phase of the Iraqi colonization.
We must not lose the context. Sure, we should now continue with the slaughter to bring it to an end, if you accept that argument. But it does not have to be by the same gang of liars who brought us into this situation.
The case should immediately disqualify them from government.
You won't hear the phrase "Weapons of Mass Destruction" from our leaders again, particularly as the actuality of the killing plays out, and their tedious, woolly-minded horror stories about tiny vials of anthrax fail to frighten us beyond the visible reality any more.
The pretext for this war was to prevent the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons in the hands of terrorists, or whatever the words were. Everybody, except the pliant mass media and our useless MPs, knew this was a fat lie.
And so this bloody invasion started.
There is no evidence for a WMD "problem" with Iraq. There has never been any credible evidence. Plenty of forged evidence, for sure.
All counter-evidence has been systematically suppressed for at least a year, from the dismissal of Jose Bustani, the head of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, to the mad dash to get the invasion started before Hans Blix could declare that he was "satisfied".
Do not be put off by the change of context that has happened in one week. We are all weak and pliant in the face of the barrage of the story of the day. We too easily forget.
The very minimum we must demand is that everyone who expounded this lie, played along with this lie, or was easily fooled by this lie, must be disqualified from their position of authority. They are unfit to command our trust and confidence.
Painful though it is, because it was always a lie we were trying to fight, it is now time to start raising questions about Iraq's nuclear and chemical capabilities. The media will have gone silent on them, much to our relief. But that means it's now time for us to kick up a fuss.
Even though the game has moved on to arguments about UN involvement in post-war Iraq, and so on, the fools who perpetrated this lie are still in office with impunity. We have their names and their statements written down in newspapers and parliamentary reports.
Lies must not be rewarded as though they were a way of life. Politics is not a sport, in spite of what the politicians think. In sport it is fair to feint (lie), to open the way for an attack. In politics, people die.
In politics, we should never tolerate open deceit on this scale. This has to be a matter of reputation for all officers of government. It's sad and frightening that it is not being the case.
So, sure, whatever your support for the war is, and what happens now, is a matter for policy discussion. But those who forced us into this situation can leave now and place more honest people in charge.
Their careers have to be finished on this matter. There must be no mercy. We need to make our politicians frightened to lie on matters as crucial as this. Otherwise we are doomed.
---------------------
US attempting the gut the weapons inspection team so that their informed scepticism about any American claims can be ignored.
--31/3/2003
--It is crucial for the Bush administration to find the weapons it argued were the key justification for going to war in Iraq.
--[T]he head of the UN team responsible for chemical and biological weapons and missiles, Hans Blix, says the United States has approached several of his inspectors and asked them to end their contracts and join its own operation.
--Well-informed sources have told me the same recruitment effort is being made with nuclear experts employed by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/2904647.stm ---------------------
Pathetic results so far
--27/3/2003
--UK troops have found evidence "categorically" proving Iraq is ready to use chemical and biological weapons, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon says.
--Mr Hoon conceded the discovery of the suits was "obviously not conclusive" proof Iraqi forces were set to use chemical or biological weapons.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2892077.stm ---------------------
It's really hard to account for this shite anyway. Because it is so toxic, governments prefer to throw it in a hole as far away from home and forget about it.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/2731023.stm ---------------------
----Positive news----
Former head of Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Jose Bustani is Brazil's new ambassador to London
--Critics at the time said Washington had become unhappy with Mr Bustani's attempts to examine weapons facilities in the US with the same rigour as those in other signatory nations.
--They said Mr Bustani's attempts to persuade Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to join the convention threatened to derail US plans to deal with Iraq.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2797911.stm background on the OPCW
http://www.monbiot.com/dsp_article.cfm?article_id=504 http://www.monbiot.com/dsp_article.cfm?article_id=505
goatchurch