If the coalition of the willing is really intent on removing Iraqi propoganda TV channels from the air then the BBC Television Centre in London should be next in line for a cruise missile following this evenings Channel 4 BBC World News report at 8/9 o'clock. They even went to TF1 in France for an item, presumably to fine tune their total anti-Americanism.
The BBC is a nest of vipers whom the poor British License Fee payer should no longer be called upon to support.
The London newspaper that calls itself The Independent but is anything but, had for once a half sensible comment in its leader on 22nd March 2003. the introduction to which, I quote below-
"European unity cannot be dictated by a bureaucrat's pen
It is a statement of the blindingly obvious that the idea of a common European foreign policy lacks a certain credibility at the moment.
Of the 15 members of the European Union, five support the American-led war in Iraq, while the rest belong to a coalition of the unwilling. Of the 10 nations that will join the EU next year, what is more, seven support the war. That means the enlarged union would be split down the middle, 13 countries to 12, on this issue.
Not the best time, then, for Valery Giscard d'Estaing to push the idea of foreign and security policy as a "competence" of the Union rather than a matter for the member states in his draft of the EU's simplified constitution."
A look at the cover of this week's Spectator, with its brilliant representation of recent French foreign policy, gives a much saner view of present EU realities!
After a couple of weeks of travel, with limited internet access, I return to this page. Among the talk of weaponry and invasions I found this article particularly curious.
http://Berlusconi wants EU to include Israel and Russia
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who takes over the EU helm from July, said the EU should enlarge to encompass even Russia and Israel so as to counterbalance the power currently enjoyed solely by the US.
I received this by e-mail from a British friend, it is worthy of repeating:-
Quote
You probably missed it in the rush of news last week, but there was
actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper
an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American.
So an Australian dentist wrote the following to let everyone know what
an American is, so they would know when they found one:
An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish,
Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be Canadian, Mexican,
African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian,
or Arab, or Pakistani, or Afghan. An American may also be a Cherokee,
Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, Seminole or one of the many other
tribes known as native Americans.
An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or
Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan.
The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each
of them chooses. An American is also free to believe in no religion. For
that he will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed
thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God.
An American is from the most prosperous land in the history of the
world. The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of
Independence, which recognizes the God given right of each person the
pursuit of happiness.
An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every
other nation in the world in their time of need. When Afghanistan was
overrun by the Soviet army 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and
supplies to enable the people to win back their country. As of the
morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation
to the poor in Afghanistan.
Americans welcome the best, the best products, the best books, the best
music, the best food, the best athletes. But they also welcome the
least.
The national symbol of America, The Statue of Liberty, welcomes your
tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the
homeless, tempest tossed. These in fact are the people who built
America. Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the morning of
September 11, 2001 earning a better life for their families. I've been
told that the World Trade Center victims were from at least 30 other
countries, cultures, and first languages, including those that aided
and abetted the terrorists.
So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did
General Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung, and every bloodthirsty
tyrant in the history of the world. But, in doing so you would just be
killing yourself. Because Americans are not a particular people from a
particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of
freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American.
Pass this around the World.
Unquote
Although my passport carries the offensive notation "European Union" and is no longer dark blue as it should be, I am nevertheless proud to consider myself American in spirit. Proud too of Blair and Straw, which is even more novel!
I guess the world has been passing beyond Irony over the past few days. I have watched in horrified fascination as the idiotic arguments and justifications of the "Leave Saddam Alone" faction seem to gather the upperhand across the media.
I remain convinced, however, that the majority of the world's rational and thoughtful citizens still appreciate what needs to be done.
The aftermath of what I feel sure will be a speedy disarmament of Saddam's regime, looks increasingly likely to become the major problem. The breech within the EU seems the least of these. For Britain it will be a question of how to disentangle itself from the unwise commitments Blair made to the European Rapid Reaction Force.
These will be as nothing compared to the problems likely to be faced by France and Germany as their economies seem likely to face collapse in face of the presently strong Euro and weak growth which will be compounded by export strangulation as a result of US backlash which is sure to follow the returning bodybags from Iraq.
Those responsible for the need for military action after Saddam himself and his filthy forty, are Chirac, Schroeder, Blix and down through the long list to the last ill-informed peace protester on one of the recent marches. If the UN had maintained a solid front behind 1441, Saddam would now have been far closer to disarming than he is today.
France has chosen an extraordinary issue on which to confront America, at the present it looks more likely to be remembered in history as the destroyer of the UN, which strangely enough will cheer a lot more George W Bush supporters than Jaques Chirac had genuinely committed supporters in the last election.
Which of our post-WWII institutions look likeliest to survive the aftermath of this french inspired fiasco, my view in descending order of certainty is Oxfam, WTO, World Bank, IMF, Nato, EU, UN.
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