The current Russian war made me think back to this.
I was never really a fan of Anthony Wedgwood-Benn; he wasn't known as 'The Most Dangerous Man in Britain' for nothing. However, I've always admired this speech of his, warning against his party leader Tony Blair's proposed attack on Iraq, in conjunction with the USA. A classic parliamentary speech, which others on his benches should study closely.
In 1998, a four day bombing campaign against military targets in Iraq called 'Operation Desert Fox' took place, and was to become the start of a protracted war against Iraq and Afghanistan that has so far killed anywhere up to half a million people.
This below is how Wedgwood-Benn advised voting against the war. Note wee Jeremy Corbyn in the background. Wedgie would have been horrified to know that his lap-dog would later become leader of his beloved party.
I'm still amazed that Blair hasn't faced charges of war crimes over his actions (as I trust will Putin). His constant claims that Iraq had WMD's (Weapons of Mass Destruction) were pure fabrication, and it was on these lies that his hostility was based.
People get a life sentence (and rightly so) for one murder; we might have thought that starting an 'illegal war' that ended with the deaths of around 500,000 might have at least got him a £100 fine. But no!
I think Putin should take note of Wedgie's speech. The KGB might have referred to him as an 'unnecessary simpleton', but his wise words prove otherwise. What a wonderful speech!
I applaud your open-mindedness in showcasing Tony Benn's oratorical expertise - which was underpinned of course by authentic consideration and gut feeling. The other Tony was driven by his fervent desire to lubricate the transatlantic alliance with Bush the Younger. It appals me that Blair continues to bleat on about "doing the right thing" instead of hanging his head in shame. He was warned.
ReplyDeleteAnd wasn't he made some 'special envoy' to the middle east afterwards? Dreadful man.
DeleteAHH, the Blair creature - a perfect example of the adage that there is nothing in this world so bad that a politician cannot make it worse. We have seen over time how almost all that he touched has turned out disastrously - just think of devolution, botched House of Lords reforms, tens of billions wasted on NHS IT fiascos.....
ReplyDeleteAnd, of course, he left the coffers EMPTY.
DeleteYour January post again. Yes a great speech and I will say the same as I said last time, as was his son's speech on war in Syria some years later.
ReplyDeleteThere was me wondering why I hadn't posted this wonderful speech before. Old age!
DeleteHa ha. I've just had a look, and see that I started my earlier piece with almost exactly the same words!
DeleteI thought something had gone wrong with my blog feed!
DeleteYou also once published his anti EU one.
DeleteGood speech. I would always vote against war too.
ReplyDeleteThere haven't been many notable speeches in parliament in my time, but this was certainly one of the highlights. I also love Michael Gove's speech about Corbyn, but that's another matter.
DeleteMaybe you have shown this before. I have certainly seen it before. I agree with you about Blair but more strongly the US President, and our own Prime Minister of the time. We were fed absolute lies, soon proved and no one is answerable.
ReplyDeleteI'd completely forgotten that I'd posted this before, but this present war brought it back.
DeleteI wasn't a Benn fan particularly but his speech was one of the most powerful I can recall and it is to our eternal shame that we went to war. One day we will regret it. One day we will be accused of having weapons of mass destruction. Of course we were one of the first and we are guardians of the world. So we are allowed.
ReplyDeleteSadly such things can never be un-invented. We're stuck with them now, and the posturing will continue until some loony presses the button.
DeleteCorbyn looks on.
ReplyDeleteWedgie was his idol.
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