Sunday, January 16, 2005

The Sham Confirmed

The announcement the other day that the US has formally wrapped up the search for WMD in Iraq with nothing found, is predictable and galling.

It's galling because we all knew that no such weapons would be found. The UN team found no evidence last year, and no other credible existence existed. This was a manufactured war, and I believe that the men who so earnestly mouthed the words abouth the peril of WMD knew exactly what they were doing.

Meanwhile, around 1500 "coalition" troops have been killed, and probably around 30 000 Iraqi civilians. That they have died for such a lie is sickening. New Zealanders can be proud that our government refused to engage in this brutish folly.

2 comments:

Michael Wood said...

Thanks tonz - only wish you were here to vote for me! Labour voters are needed more in Pak than Welly Central!!!

Michael Wood said...

A utilitarian would look at the situation, and add up the misery caused by either option. Frankly, it's difficult to imagine it being worse under Saddam, as brutal as his rule may have been.

Additionally, the prospect of a transfer to pluralistic democratic rule seems so slim under current conditions that it is difficult to claim that things are going to improve in the medium, or even long term.

Diplomatic measures would at least have a chance of achieving that over a period, minus the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians and the shredding of international law (roll on Iran...)