Airstrip One

The Torture Fall Out

Although not a fan of torture as a rule, I was not really shocked that the Americans had to resort to some form of unorthodox interrogation methods when trying to run Iraq. This is only fair as when I've been confronted by the Saddam Is Evil justification for going into the war I've often thought so would my accuser be if he had to run that psychotic collection of grudges that is Iraq. Indeed that turns out to be the case.

However if Paul Bremner did not know, and approve, of this then I'm a Chinaman. And to take photographs! That's stupid, stupid, stupid. All par for the course for that neoconservative moron (I repeat myself) Bremner.

The British of course will be put at risk from this, and so the British government must react to distance themselves from this. Of course they won't - after all what is the live of a few British troops, or Londoners, when compared with Tony Blair sitting at some international top table or being called America's best friend. However this blog specialises in lamenting from the wilderness so this is what the British government should do.

First call for Bremner's resignation and arrest. We are not talking justice here, we are talking about colonial rule and that means that some people have to suffer for the metropolitan power's good. It may strike Americans as unfair, but they signed up for it, so tough. Bremner must be humiliated and shamed for the safety of Allied troops.

This call must not be in private, but in public. The aim is not to convince the Arabs that we don't resort to torture - but that the British are willing to break with America when America gets stupid. This is empty spin (apart from for Bremner - but then who care's about his career?) but our government is good at that.

Bremner will not get arrested of course but he will go home in disgrace and possibly symbolically early, then the Americans and the British can say that the whole torture thing was the fault of a few rogue operators - and that these things won't happen again. And get rid of those bloody cameras.

On another related note, what is one to make of the pictures of "torture" in the Daily Mirror. It is starting to appear as if these are indeed fakes (of course more compelling evidence of the authenticity may appear later), but who put them up to it?

The smart money should still be on some money hungry TA types who thought that a tabloid would pay big money. But my conspiracy minded brain finds the incredibly convenient timing to be suspicious. These photos came out almost immediately after the Americans were caught. Remember that the Yanks knew about their photos a fortnight in advance.

The motive is obvious, an intense jealousy of the way the "Brits are better" at this Empire lark (personally I think that's more luck than judgement, although the War Nerd disagrees). The means are the contacts that the American army has up and down our military hierachy - they could easily find some squaddies to put up to this sick stunt. And the oportunity, well the photos were mighty timely for a fake don't you think?