Airstrip One

The Argument Changes Again. 24th January 2003.

As war looms closer, the search for a casus belli becomes more & more desperate. Blair, in front of some House of Commons committee or other, has changed the argument yet again. He has abandoned the ridiculous claim that there are "links" between the Iraqi government and al-Qa'eda, 2 organisations with opposing ideologies who detest one another, to claim instead that there are "people in Iraq" who are "linked" to al-Qa'eda. As a justification for war, this has the unfortunate consequence of justifying war on just about every country in the world, including, of course, Britain & the United States; indeed, Britain, with her pathological unwillingness to infringe the "human rights" of illegal immigrants, is probably a more legitimate target than Iraq, which at least can be trusted to deal with subversives robustly.

The real reason for the war is not the national interest, nor is it oil, nor even insanity. It is ideology. Blair & Bush fervently believe that if only every country in the world would import the U.S. Constitution, the world would be a wonderful place. For them, liberal democracy is the blueprint for ideal governance everywhere. For us, it is the outcome of particular historical conditions in Europe, & there is no reason to suppose it should flourish elsewhere. The encouraging thing is that, perhaps in implicit recognition of the its vacuity, Blair has long given up on the ideological case, & has for some time been trying to make his case on the national interest, hampered only by the fact that no national interest is involved. I wonder what the odious little twerp will try next.