Irish-British conflict kills Blair's political credibility
Michael Cummings
Member, National Board
The performances in Parliament and Blackpool of Prime Minister Blair and Foreign Secretary Straw about the use of force against Iraq gave a new luster to those time-honored English values of hypocrisy and arrogance. No doubt some were convinced of the need for force, but is Britain, with its track record of deceit and violence in Ireland, in any position to convince others?
Prime Minister Blair asked the Speaker to call a special session of Parliament to present the case for using force against Saddam. As the debate began, British Information Services released a 50-page report which, according to Blair, chronicled "the 11-year history of the United Nations will flouted, lies told by Saddam."
I have been waiting for 30 years for the British to tell the truth over their murderous rampage which cost 14 innocent Catholics their lives. A British Tribunal has gathered tons of evidence that fills rooms about Bloody Sunday, and yet, with a 50-page report, Mr. Blair would rain death and destruction on the Iraqi people.
The reasons Blair gave for a "regime change" in Iraq invite a comparison between Sadaam and Britain's treachery in Ireland.
1. Execution of Dr. Najat Haydar — The Prime Minister spoke of the execution of an Iraqi obstetrician who was critical of the corruption in health services in Iraq. In Northern Ireland, Patrick Finucane and Rosemary Nelson were solicitors who were critical of and exposed the corruption and lawlessness of British forces. British security services gave weapons, money, data and a free-pass to loyalist gunmen who executed them both in front of their families and neighbors.
2. Saddam Hussein's stonewalling — The Iraqi dictator is depicted as "constantly obstructing [inspections]" and with a long record of "intransigence" and "duplicity." Nearly 30 years ago, four no-warning bombs detonated in Dublin and Monaghan shopping centers, killing 33 and injuring hundreds. The British government was implicated from the start and to this day has refused to cooperate in the Irish investigation or arrest suspects in the North sought by Irish police. Dr. Reid, the Northern Ireland Secretary, stated that the latest requests for data by the Irish government would be "treated seriously."
3. United Nations Charter — Considerable discourse is given to the obligations of members of the United Nations with respect to the Charter and the Declaration of Human Rights. The Foreign Secretary stated, "there will always be some who will reject or despise the values upon which international law is based." No nation in Western Europe comes close to England for charges and convictions of violations of human, civil and legal rights as provided under the Universal and European Declaration's of Human Rights. U.N. Rapporteur Param Cumarswamy's reports on killings in the North of Ireland are ignored. The United Kingdom still excuses itself from a treaty provision regarding the detention of suspects. Such is the British regard for U.N. obligations, that the unlawful killing of unarmed suspects, politicians and children is steeped in deceit, cover-ups and even protected by government-issued Public Immunity Certificates.
4. The British Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) — Prime Minister Blair notes that the report was prepared by the Joint Intelligence Committee which has served British prime ministers for over 20 years. This is the same crowd that in 1972 turned a peaceful civil right protest in Ireland into an armed uprising. The JIC has probably given more data to loyalist assassins than to any Prime Minister. There are currently three British panels trying to sort out the corruption and failed intelligence of the security services in Northern Ireland. This does not inspire confidence in the quality of the JIC's conclusions. Perhaps that explains why after a five-year IRA ceasefire there are still more British troops deployed in Ireland than in any other place in the world.
A case may be made for the preemptive use of force in Iraq, but some other nation should make it. Britain's history of treachery and deceit in Ireland discredits the very cause of truth, justice and freedom which is essential when defining a course of action to end the rule of Saddam.
Michael Cummings
Member, National Board
Irish-American Unity Conference
Washington, D. C.
Oct. 11
All Viewpoint Stories for Monday, October 14, 2002
