The Bush/Blair era has cast a long shadow and just as Tony Blair was hoping to rehabilitate himself back into British politics, along comes Desmond Tutu to remind us just what Blair did as the junior partner to George W Bush.
Tutu pulled out of a South African conference on leadership last week because Blair, who was paid 2m rand (£150,000) for his time, was attending. Tutu had agreed to speak without a fee and he backed up that glorious snub with a magnificent broadside against the former UK Prime Minister and US President.
Tutu said: 'The then leaders of the United States and Great Britain fabricated the grounds to behave like playground bullies and drive us further apart. They have driven us to the edge of a precipice where we now stand – with the spectre of Syria and Iran before us.
On these grounds, alone, in a consistent world, those responsible for this suffering and loss of life should be treading the same path as some of their African and Asian peers who have been made to answer for their actions in The Hague. Even greater costs have been exacted beyond the killing fields, in the hardened hearts and minds of members of the human family across the world.
Has the potential for terrorist attacks decreased? To what extent have we succeeded in bringing the so-called Muslim and Judeo-Christian worlds closer together, in sowing the seeds of understanding and hope? Blair and Bush set an appalling example. If it is acceptable for leaders to take drastic action on the basis of a lie, without an acknowledgement or an apology when they are found out, what should we teach our children?'
Desmond Tutu, well said sir!
7 comments:
Women in the noted nations were/are being suppressed by religious based tyrants and are little more than third class citizens. The same tyrants suppressed majorities with military might. There was/is no justice system except what the king/general says. Girls were/are forbidden to receive education. Women had/have no vote. Though in the progressive state of Saudi Arabia some women are allowed to drive.
Tutu is treading on thin ice by only pointing out the aspects that serve his purpose. Someone could say he is supporting the tyrants by doing nothing but talking and taking a course of action that would likely take many generations to change - if ever considering those societies are the same today as they were in circa 100 AD.
Whatever bush and blair knew/know hasn't changed with new leaders - even the awesome obama who has expanded military action.
Tutu is playing politics for his own benefit. You gulp it up and act like he is some kind of hero. he is a zero.
q
Ah, Lucy, you do your best to expose evil but the evil ones, bibles and guns in hand, crawl and slither out from under their stones and try to bite or shoot you.
Tutu is a great man who soars above the world's lowlife whose only interest is in killing and destroying for profit.
Keep up your good work!
Far from being all about talking, Tutu’s life is basically one long list of achievements. His bravery during the apartheid era, and then his dignified conduct during the truth & reconciliation hearings, both stand out in my mind. He’s one of the only churchmen worth listening to, in my opinion.
And I’d never condemn anyone for telling the truth about Blair. Or not being able to share a stage with him. I couldn't manage it myself, so I'd never blame another for it. We should never forget how this duplicitous prick lied us into a war.
"Though in the progressive state of Saudi Arabia some women are allowed to drive."
I guess that this word 'progressive' doesn't really have an absolute meaning; rather, it's all relative...
Do you mean compared to Texas? ;)
no cheezy i mean to wales and england...
tutu's many and honorable merits do not exempt him from human flaws and biases. in this case, the way it is presented, one might think the middle east was a great place to live until bush and blair came along. oh, it was if you were a general/king... and the spectre of syria and iran has been a spectre since mohammad and jesus.
q
"one might think the middle east was a great place to live until bush and blair came along"
Where did he say that?
How 'great' a place 'the middle east' is now, compared to how it was a few years ago (a question that could be debated until the cows come home), is not the issue, and from what I've read of Tutu's words, he doesn't make the mistake of thinking that it is the issue.
I totally agree with you about Wales though...
Calling Tutu a zero is a bit strong, as Cheezy said his list of achievements are admirable. The whole Blair-is-still-a-tosser thing came about because he they were due to share a platform together and Tutu pulled out and so someone said to him, 'hey Des, why do you think of that there Blair fella then?' which he then went on to say what he thought of him. If someone had asked him what he thought of Assad then i imagine he would have said something else but they never, they asked about Blair.
Post a Comment