ours is not the only government having a bit of bother
Last week, the Head of the British Army said that Britain has to pull out of Iraq:
General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the army, dropped a political bombshell last night by saying that Britain must withdraw from Iraq "soon" or risk serious consequences for Iraqi and British society.
In a blistering attack on Tony Blair's foreign policy, Gen Dannatt said the continuing military presence in Iraq was jeopardising British security and interests around the world.
This does not bode well for Blair, whose political fortunes are already in decline as he recently was forced to say he'd be stepping down. This headline made me giggle: Blair devastated as Army chief savages his approach to Iraq. But though he has tried to do damage control, General Dannatt had already gained a loyal following:
Within hours of his comments being made public, the Army's unofficial website was packed with hundreds of blogs from troops voicing their support. ...
One senior officer said: "It has been decades since someone senior actually stood up for us, the soldiers and their families." ...
As General Dannatt insisted that there was no rift with the Government, his soldiers were in no mood to back down. Senior officers said he should be "saluted" for his honesty, and frontline soldiers praised him for "telling it how it is".
Whatever he says now, this genie cannot be put back in the bottle. And hawks on both side of the Atlantic can't keep saying they support the troops while refusing to listen to them or treat them with respect.
**
Meanwhile, the President of Israel may be charged with rape. (When I saw this on an unfamiliar news service, I went and looked it up on BBC to make sure it was a real story.) Of course, even if he is, he's immune from prosecution. (Do not get me started.) But just the fact that Israeli police recommended it to their AG is pretty damning.
General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the army, dropped a political bombshell last night by saying that Britain must withdraw from Iraq "soon" or risk serious consequences for Iraqi and British society.
In a blistering attack on Tony Blair's foreign policy, Gen Dannatt said the continuing military presence in Iraq was jeopardising British security and interests around the world.
This does not bode well for Blair, whose political fortunes are already in decline as he recently was forced to say he'd be stepping down. This headline made me giggle: Blair devastated as Army chief savages his approach to Iraq. But though he has tried to do damage control, General Dannatt had already gained a loyal following:
Within hours of his comments being made public, the Army's unofficial website was packed with hundreds of blogs from troops voicing their support. ...
One senior officer said: "It has been decades since someone senior actually stood up for us, the soldiers and their families." ...
As General Dannatt insisted that there was no rift with the Government, his soldiers were in no mood to back down. Senior officers said he should be "saluted" for his honesty, and frontline soldiers praised him for "telling it how it is".
Whatever he says now, this genie cannot be put back in the bottle. And hawks on both side of the Atlantic can't keep saying they support the troops while refusing to listen to them or treat them with respect.
**
Meanwhile, the President of Israel may be charged with rape. (When I saw this on an unfamiliar news service, I went and looked it up on BBC to make sure it was a real story.) Of course, even if he is, he's immune from prosecution. (Do not get me started.) But just the fact that Israeli police recommended it to their AG is pretty damning.