Here is the main item on the Respect website tonight. ” Britain’s top soldier, General Sir Richard Dannatt, has become the latest recruit to the anti- war movement, arguing that we should bring the troops home from Iraq as soon as possible.” WHAT UTTER BOLLOCKS!! The first anti-war meeting he walks into I’ll walk out of.
I’ve never been reluctant to express my deep hatred of the British Army and everything it stands for. Anyone who has seen me after the fourth pint will confirm this. You tend to lose sympathy for members of an organisation that habitually spreadeagled you against a wall at rifle point and playfully trained their weapons on you when you were walking along the street and all the other stuff. As far as I’m concerned any Iraqi who wants to blow them up, shoot them or chop their heads off is perfectly entitled to do so.
But this stupid statement really is a liberal bridge too far. What it should say is something along the lines of “leader of highly professional murder machine disagrees with mad prime minister’s war because he’s losing.” If British and American imperialism had managed to subdue Iraq, impose a political settlement or defeat the resistance Dannatt would be all over the TV bragging about their world class professionalism and high ethical standards. Endorsing Dannatt’s comments in this way is a damned disgrace and associating an imperialist thoroughbred like him with the anti-war movement is worse than a lazy bit of writing. This is a row over strategy within the British ruling class. You can’t claim that one of them is “on our side”. It’s suggestive of a willingness to make common ground with these well mannered murderous thugs and utterly miseducates supporters about what attitude to take to these people. Relentless, unconditional, unambiguous hostility being my preferred option, in case I’d left it unclear.I’ll see if I can get someone to raise it at Respect conference tomorrow.
Liam redux 
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