I had feared that The Times was wobbling violently from the past few issues, however the Sunday Edition has swept any fears of that away. An intelligent editorial and what was the biggest kick-up-the-arse opinion column in recent memory gave even Matthew Parris's Blair-stomping outing a belting.
In addition, in the letters to the editor section there was this absolute gem:
From Mr Michael Ross
Sir, Is Britain at war or is it not? It’s about time our Government decided one way or the other and acted accordingly.
If we are at war a coalition government should be formed, perceived enemies of the country should be at least kept under observation and the media should be allowed to report the war only under strict guidelines.
There is no such thing as a humane war. We cannot continue to ask our Forces to fight under this unrealistic perception. We in the West have to decide whether we want to sit back when aeroplanes are purposely flown into buildings, when bombs are exploded in restaurants, when trains and buses along with the occupants are blown to bits.
If we want to pretend all this has nothing to do with us then we must exit from the conflict in Iraq now, but if we believe there is some merit in fighting for a safer world for our children and grandchildren to live in, then we must do it with conviction. There are no half-measures.
Yours faithfully, MICHAEL ROSS,
The Stables,
Weeton Lane, Dunkeswick,
North Yorkshire LS17 9LP.
May 21.
Problem is of course that people don't want to believe there's a war and that goes for several pundits - Simon Jenkins for instance. It seems unprecedented for an alliance to have had war declared on it on many separate occasions; September 11th, the Madrid bombings etc and yet still for so many to not get the message. Times were that it only took one attack - Pearl Harbour, and its ilk,
Lord knows the Terrorism Act alone is enough to spark gasps from the intelligentsia at how far we've gone.
The only thing which will give the Blair government the sufficient political capital to wage war proper - which it should have had to spend from the start - is a Terrorist attack on London. God forbid that it should ever happen. Until then, enjoy 'War Lite' - all the uncertainty, half the security.
Later
John
Posted by John Swaine at May 22, 2004 07:55 PM