He said 'Those who abuse force to wage war must be confronted by those who use force to maintain peace'. Remember, Britain is the country that brought you double-speak.
British commentators are less impressed. Historian Eric Hobsbawm said 'Saddam is a nasty dictator but that does not mean that his people should be bombed', veteran radical cartoonist Ralph Steadman agreed: 'I know the guy's a bastard but it's not up to us. Let someone in his own country deal with him'. Novelist Fay Weldon said 'It's death turned into a peep show. It makes me ill. It's watching violence for the excitement'. Artist Tracy Emin said 'they are saying is is only strategic targets, but loads of civilians will die. Tony Blair has let me down.' Iraqi political exile Laith Hayall said 'the more Iraqis are subjected to aerial assault and the grinding effect of sanctions, the more they tend to see the main threat to them as coming from the actions of foreign powers, and look for safe haven with the regime, rather than seeking to overthrow it.'
The Guardian newspaper, after initially supporting the bombing was by Saturday asking whether such a divided international community could be still cited as the justification for war, By today, the Guardian's sister paper leader was headlined 'This Colossal Misjudgement'. -- Jim heartfield