Don't Deal With Evil

In an effort to fund his failed, ill-conceived invasion of Iraq, Bush says he is now willing to "negotiate" with the UN. But his language is far from conciliatory. In fact, it remains downright hostile. Dismissing anti-war objections as "past bickering", Bush warns:

"We expect and hope that our friends contribute to the reconstruction of Iraq. It is in your interest that you do so."

It's a widespread axiom that you should not negotiate with blackmailers, terrorists and other agents of evil. The UN should publicly announce a plan for Iraq - US troops out within a month and UN assuming full control, with significant funds paid by the US - and they should stick to it. Let Bush stew in his own bloodied political pot.

Of course, it is worth asking how UN forces would be recieved in Iraq, particularly in the wake of the bombing of the UN's Baghdad office. The UN supervised years of harsh sanctions that, according to the United Nations Children's Fund, were directly responsible for the deaths of half a million Iraqi children and an explosion in the mortality rate. Denis Halliday and Hans von Sponeck, two senior UN officials, resigned in disgust - for them, the UN betrayed the people of Iraq. On the other hand, it was long-term US pressure which maintained the sanctions for so many years, just as US vetoes have blunted UN efforts to oppose Israeli aggression for so many years.

Back in the USUK, Two-faced Tony Blair is preparing to sacrifice his Defence Minister in an effort to save his own political bacon. While Blair praises Geoff Hoon's "magnificent victory" in Iraq, his office leaks a memo which accuses Hoon of misleading the Hutton inquiry.