Still cannot say that the link between 9/11 and Iraq was nonexistent, still cannot say that the Bush Administration decided on war with Iraq in 2001 then made up the case for it, and still cannot say that we are not defeating radical Islam, two pointless wars, trillions of dollars, and hundreds of thousand of lives later.
Gorilla says: “A clever amoral pygmy remains a clever amoral pygmy!”
“I shed tears for the dead, but I wouldn’t have lied any differently”.
Tony Blair, a man whose credibility is, to put it charitably, non-existent in the Middle East now says he hopes a new package of unannounced steps will get peace talks back into indirect nothingness.
Yes, that is a mealy mouthful.
What would a genuine package look like?
It would have the US tell the Israelis that future aid will be tied to Israeli behavior. Settlements going up mean aid’s going down.
It would tell the Palestinians that they must decide once and for all, perhaps via referendum, on whether they want peace and are ready to recognize Israel’s right to exist.
There’s zero chance of this happening at present, or perhaps ever, but until the US is an honest broker, and the two sides are genuinely serious about peace, there’s little point in dispatching clowns like Tony Blair and George Mitchell to tell us what we already know.
Gorilla says: “It’s 1948 all over again, wait til next year!”
French President Sarkozy has had a busy day:
1) He’s told the Czech President to get a move on and ratify the EU Treaty. The Czech Republic’s the only remaining EU state not to ratify.
2) He’s told the American President there will be no more French forces for Afghanistan.
3) He’s told the EU at large that, while he likes Tony Blair, it’s unlikely he’ll be the new EU President so long as Britain stays out of the Euro.
Gorilla concludes: “One bad Czech, one bad strategy, and one bad Blair: Sarko’s going for the Triple Crown of good choices today!”
Ireland to ratify the EU Treaty or Tony Blair to become President of the EU?
The Irish, large beneficiaries of EU largess but currently languishing in a housing and banking bust, have voted no before. If they vote no this time, then the EU is probably dead in the water as an international policymaking body for Europe.
On the other hand, getting Tony Blair to be President of Europe is almost as bad as an incoherent European power structure. A man who condoned torture, bribery, and deception throughout his premiership is not a figure of unification.
Gorilla thinks: “In the peals of EU laughter, we’ll see if the Irish sing!”
