Free Radical

Tony Benn, since his retirement from the House of Commons, has metamorphosised from the tabloid's Marxist bogeyman into the avuncular role of the Grand Old Man of British Politics. To have achieved this remarkable (unsought?) change in the public's perception without changing his politics one whit is to his credit, as the Grand Old Man continues to make excellent sense in his deep and trenchant analysis of current events.

His succinct demolition of the US casus belli in last Wednesday's Guardian contrasts with John Kerry's weak half-criticisms of George Bush and the war in Iraq. Tony takes the high road, Bush has taken the low road, and Kerry insists on the bumpy dirt track between the two.

Kerry should be saying this:

The new president took the decision to invade Iraq when he entered the White House - almost a year before the attack on the twin towers - and that no one in Washington or London really ever believed that Saddam Hussein was responsible for the atrocity.

And this:

The real reason for the invasion was to topple Saddam, seize the oil and establish permanent US bases to dominate the region.

And this:

We also know, from the recent report of the Iraq Survey Group, that Baghdad did not possess weapons of mass destruction. Neither the president nor the prime minister has been concerned to discover that they misled their own people and the world on this question.

There's lots more, and all of it good. Check out his op-ed piece in The Guardian at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1309706,00.html

Kerry risks loss at the polls by pulling his punches -in effect he's colluding with his supposed opponent. That's not to say you shouldn't vote against George Bush -everyone who can should.