Sunday, November 19, 2006
History Lesson
For An Intellectually Challenged President
Deep in his heart, Tony Blair might have doubts about his decision to commit himsel to the American president's war in Iraq. President Bush continues to bluster about the rightness of his action. He can do nothing else. At this point neither Blair nor Bush can admit that it was a mistake. Historians,however, are not likely to be kind to them.
Excerpts from "Time for your Vietnam History Lesson, George" by Mary Riddell in The Observer.
Iraq's tomorrow looks bleak, but its conflict will have an end some day. All Bush and Blair can do now is to hasten peace in any way they can. That means talking to Iran and Syria, without ruinous preconditions, and recognising that diplomacy is usually less lethal than aggression. Vietnam and Iraq have an identical message, for all their differences. One country offers a story of hope, the other - for now - of hopelessness. But the moguls of Hanoi and the morgues of Baghdad tell the same narrative of misbegotten war. So much blood running down the gutters of history, all shed for nothing.The President's insistence on a 'victory' in Iraq blinds him to the outcome of another ill-fated war |
