Tim Dunlop commented yesterday on the growing unrest in Pommieland about the phantom WMD. As I observed last month, Thomas Friedman is more than happy to lend his support to the ‘so-what-Saddam-was-a-bad-guy-anyway’ camp. Somehow, I don’t think the British media will acquiesce quite so readily. This shouldn’t worry Blair though because, according to today’s Observer, he has secret proof of weapons. Watch this space.
The so-called Baghdad Blogger, Salam Pax, has been tracked down by journo, Rory McCarthy. Salam (his real name) is, according to McCarthy, ‘a quietly spoken, 29-year-old architect’ who wishes to retain his anonymity. From next week, though, he will write fortnightly in The Guardian. Click here to read Salam’s story.
Tim Dunlop drew my attention today to the new ‘get tough’ policy on looters in Iraq.
President Bush described the Australian PM as ‘a man of courage’ to the assembled media last week, as he publicly thanked John Howard for his support during the Iraq War.
A thoroughly good read is to be had in The Guardian today. Simon Tisdall in his article, What Europe has to do to avoid becoming a US vassal, ponders the future for the EU (and the UN) in the wake of the reassertion of US hegemony.
It was only a matter of time, I suppose. As the number of days accumulate since the liberation, and WMD remain conspicuous by their absence, people are starting to shift uncomfortably in their seats.
John Quiggin posted on the opportunity cost of the Iraq war recently which stimulated a fair bit of discussion.
According to a report in The Observer yesterday (US army was told to protect looted museum), Iraq’s national museum was identified last month by the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) (the institution set up to supervise the reconstruction of postwar Iraq) as a ‘prime target for looters’.
There has been a lot of rhetoric from the leaders of the Coalition of the Willing regarding the purpose of the invasion of Iraq, but there has been a discernible change of emphasis over the course of the last four weeks.
As the sight of Saddam statues toppling dominate our TV screens, and Iraqis celebrate in the streets, the visible sense of relief is evident on the faces of those leading the Coalition of the Willing. Indeed, one could be forgiven for thinking that this conflict wasn’t quite so bad after all. OK, so no weapons of mass destruction have been discovered, but the Iraqi people have been liberated haven’t they? Suzanne Goldenberg’s story in the Guardian yesterday provides a disturbingly graphic description of what this ‘liberation’ means for some Iraqis.
