John O'Farrell (Guardian Unltd): Hey, let's call in the UN

[Jack Rabbit]

From the Guardian Unlimited
Dated Friday September 5

Hey, let's call in the UN
The Hutton inquiry is a complete sideshow to the real issue: did America and Britain have a legal right to go to war without the backing of the UN?
By John O'Farrell

The reason that the deliberations at courtroom 73 are even less thrilling than ITV's Rosemary and Thyme, The Gardener Detectives, is because it's all a complete sideshow. The real issue is: did America and Britain have a legal right to go to war without the backing of the United Nations? An inquiry into that would be a short one: it doesn't take long to say "nope".
Yet strangely this week has seen a u-turn in George Bush's attitude to the United Nations. At last he has seen the error of his ways and is now keen to see UN troops deployed in Iraq as soon as possible. How wonderful it is to have an American president committed to international law and global democracy. French fries are back on the menu! Thank God, says Mrs Bush, no more Californian champagne!
Of course, some sceptics out there will probably say that Bush only wants an international force involved now because he's realised that lots of American soldiers are still being killed and this is damaging his popularity rating in the run-up to next year's presidential election. Honestly, the cynicism of some people never ceases to amaze me! As it happens, he was prepared to put American soldiers in the most dangerous parts of Iraq, but this plan was abandoned when he was told that there was no way of ensuring that these troops would be Democrat voters from Florida . . . .
Having not been involved in the decision that created the lethal chaos in Iraq, it's hardly surprising that the UN is unenthusiastic about being brought in to clear up the mess. It's the same argument as before, with the positions completely reversed. George Bush is saying: "We cannot simply bypass the United Nations on Iraq," and Kofi Annan is insisting: "No, please, the UN has failed to fulfill its historic purpose, so I really feel this job must fall to America."

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[T_i_B]

1. It is not an either/or proposition...

...to be concerned about whether or not Blair lied in order to take us into Iraq and to be concerned about the deteriorating situation in Iraq. Indeed most people I have come across following one inevitably follow the other.

This and the boredom argument are put about by Blair supporters (O'Farrell is one of those BTW, he was a "new" labour candidate in the last election) as some sort of desperate attempt to divert attention away from the lies of their political paymasters. If O'Farrell was genuine in his views he would be taking Blair to task for poodling along and getting British troops invoilved in this needless quagmire.