What's wrong with the new consensus
12:12pm
When I supported the Iraq war, it was certainly for the aims James mentioned. And yes, I’m feasting on humble pie now. And Stuart’s right to say that even the Republicans are deserting Bush – the House has just voted to pull out troops by Spring. So I suspect Wee Dougie’s speech will be at the softer end of what’s to come. Britain’s political class are getting in synch with the would-be 2008 presidential candidates. Here’s the bit in Dougie’s speech that jumped out at me: “Given the interconnected nature of the challenges we face, I would argue that we have to simultaneously be fighting to end poverty, to secure trade justice and to tackle conflict and climate change, as well as working to defeat terrorism and ensure the preservation of our security."
Huh? Since when was terrorism connected to global poverty? We now have biographies of enough jet-set suicide bombers to disprove this theory. There’s lots of reasons to help Africa, but let’s not confuse it with a counter-terrorism mission. Trade (or lack thereof) causes conflict – I’ll give him that. But where does climate change fit into all this? Conflating all these issues blunts our ability to deal with them. I hope Dougie won’t make this mistake.
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James Hannam
July 13th, 2007 3:57pm Report this commentI’ve been thinking about this poverty/terrorism thing, and I think there is a link that we may not have noticed. Lots of people, rightly, get very worked up about poverty. If you feel a spiritual link with poor and oppressed people, you will be even more worked up about it than if they are just images on a TV screen. I’d guess that Muslim poverty is something that gets western Muslims very upset and they want to do something about it. It is equally likely that many of them blame the West for their fellow Muslim’s problems. After all, vast numbers of westerners have made careers out of preaching that the rich world is screwing the poor. If you are a radicalised fanatic, then the perception that the West caused your brothers’ suffering will encourage you to go out and kill a few westerners. So here’s a concrete suggestion. Why don’t the left stop telling everyone that the rich world is the cause of the third world’s poverty. That way, they would not only be telling the truth but they also would not be adding to the fetid pool of resentments that bubble inside the breasts of would-be suicide bombers. http://bedejournal.blogspot.com
I read Alexander's speech and thought that he must have slept through the last 6 years. The link with poverty has been disproven. It is a militant form of ISLAM. (Yes, you can say it). James, "I’d guess that Muslim poverty is something that gets western Muslims very upset and they want to do something about it." There is enough oil money in Saudi Arabia to make sure no Muslim was poor. I agree that the Islamists are using the Wests rhetoric against them, but it is only to deflect from their own failings.
CPT M. Fernandez
July 13th, 2007 8:20pm Report this commentI read Alexander's speech and thought that he must have slept through the last 6 years. The link with poverty has been disproven. It is a militant form of ISLAM. (Yes, you can say it). James, "I’d guess that Muslim poverty is something that gets western Muslims very upset and they want to do something about it." There is enough oil money in Saudi Arabia to make sure no Muslim was poor. I agree that the Islamists are using the Wests rhetoric against them, but it is only to deflect from their own failings.
Richard Havers
July 14th, 2007 10:24am Report this commentIncreasingly politicians feel they need to tick EVERY box EVERY time they speak. It's something Gordon Brown has always been guilty of which is, in part, what makes him so difficult to understand.
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