Holding Them To Account

Bravo. BBC NEWS calls Bullshit on Blair:

"Suddenly, without warning, Hezbollah who have been continuing to operate in Southern Lebanon for two years in defiance of UN Resolution 1559, cross the UN blue line, kill eight Israeli soldiers and kidnap two more. They then fire rockets indiscriminately at the civilian population in Northern Israel," he said.

(In fact, four of the Israeli soldiers were killed in south Lebanon after crossing over in pursuit of their missing comrades).

He did not however address in detail the contradiction that some might see in this speech. How do you extend the values of moderation by pursuing war, as in Iraq, which might in itself increase the level of extremism in response?

...

"Hezbollah gets their weapons from Iran. Iran are now also financing militant elements in Hamas. Iran's president has called for Israel to be 'wiped off the map'. And he's trying to acquire a nuclear weapon."

The phrase "wiped off the map" has been challenged as to whether it should be taken entirely literally, though it does express President Ahmedinejad's hostility to Israel as a state. And Mr Blair's claim that Iran is "trying to acquire a nuclear weapon" goes beyond what the International Atomic Energy Agency has reported and what Iran has said.