“They (american military) have their ways, but if you had your way, Saddam would still be in power!”. That petulant tone, defiant in the face of such human atrocities is almost too pathetic. Why even start to defend it? I realised today while listening to Alexander Downers latest blunder that he was very much like Squealer from Animal farm. He comes out whenever there is some sort of ‘foreign’ issue and tries to instill calm, and confidence while completely overlooking the issue at hand. He tries to strip anyone who speaks out of any dignity so their message is lost. Another example is the Australian woman who was taken hostage for 20 hours in Iraq. I read her statement and there was serious concerns raised about US military shooting at the medics trying to get aid to Iraqi civilians, and stories of first hand seeing civilians gunned down systematically by the ‘coalition of the willing’, the wonderful ‘liberators’ as they call themselves. Downer said ‘well I’m not saying she’s lying, however anyone under those circumstances would normally go to the consulate’. Talk about neutralising the issue! Make her out to be a liar and get onto the next inconvenience. Like an adept magician he distracts your attention just long enough for the concern at hand to disappear into the hat.
“Squealer was soon able to convince them that their memories had been at fault” – Animal Farm. We don’t want Farmer Jones back now do we? Rock on to Brian Deegan, the father of a Bali victim who isrunning against Downer in the Mayo electorate!