The Rush to War, a View from Iceland

It has been clear to me and I suspect many others that the Bush administration has been set on war in Iraq, at least since Rumsfeld’s let’s make everyone we don’t like responsible and wipe them out speech in the wake of the trade centre misfortune.

Since then Bush has allowed himself (albeit reluctantly) to be persuaded to go to the UN to get international sanction for a patently illegal act, the invasion of a nation that poses no threat to the invaders. Bush and his coterie of chicken hawks have since roundly abused and belittled the UN, member nations, and heads of state by threatening irrelevancy in the ‘New World’. Similarly NATO and Europe (or at least certain countries within Europe) have also been labeled as irrelevant or about to make the leap to irrelevancy by listening to what 80% of their populations have to say.

Tony Blair has in recent days been warning that those countries and people, seeking to drive a wedge between America and Europe are “playing the most dangerous game in international politics that I know”. He also went on to say “If you set up these rival poles of power between Europe and America where people are being pulled one way or other, I sincerely believe it is so dangerous for the security of our world”.

Given the tenor of these threats and warnings by the two powers most rabidly seeking a war it seems that irrelevancy as defined by them is a principled and thoughtful stance against mass murder. It would seem that there is no way to deflect America from pursuing her unilateral course of war and expansionism and it is likely that Blair will follow only to pay the ultimate political price and lose his job. To paraphrase the Guardian, ‘This will not alarm many in the Bush administration many of whom are all too happy for a centre-left British government to be hung out to dry’. However the distinction must be made between separating Europe from America and separating Europe from Bush & Co. When Bush was appointed President many and perhaps most world leaders were appalled at having such a vacuous fool to deal with as the leader of the worlds remaining super power. Now many of those same leaders are prepared to let this same, vacuous fool lead them into a war. This war will provide more than enough reason (excuses) for terrorists to carry out their odious trade in their countries. This is the cost of Bush’s relevance.

It is time for Europe the UN and the rest of the world to consign Bush to the irrelevancy he so easily ascribes to others. America will have her war, however there is no reason for the rest of the world to indulge in the blood letting, especially Tony Blair. Isolate Bush on the world stage show him for lying, power mad, fundamentalist he is. Make him stand alone!

As Richard Dawkins, an Oxford science don, said “Mr Bush was just as much of a danger to world peace as Saddam Hussein,” adding: “It would be a tragedy if Tony Blair were to be brought down through playing poodle to this unelected and deeply stupid little oil-spiv.”

IAN JONES is an Australian who recently moved to Iceland. He can be reached at: africa@simnet.is