No Honour In The War Camp

Thank goodness that prompt action has been taken over those dreadful abuses related to our troops in Iraq. A swift investigation has uncovered the truth, the organisation responsible has apologised, the man responsible has lost his job, and arrests have been made. Isn't it wonderful that we got our priorities right, and concentrated on hoax photographs, rather than getting side-tracked by allegations of torture and murder?

I have little sympathy for a tabloid editor caught printing stories that turn out to be untrue. Even if Piers Morgan originally believed the story to be genuine - and I feel charitable enough to accept that he did - he stuck by it long after the hoax had been exposed. Having said that, was his crime any worse than the many pro-war papers that peddled tales of weapons of mass destruction, and continue to produce shock headlines with no real basis? The latest, of course, being the claim that Western troops had been attacked by WMD, based on a traditional explosive that happened to reuse a shell casing that last held nerve agents back in 1988. You know, back when Saddam Hussein was still regarded as America's best friend in the Middle East, and we were happily supplying him with his WMD.

If Morgan deserves to go, he should surely be joined by the editors of the Sun, Times, Telegraph, and all the other pro-war liars. Are we really to believe that the Mirror is so avidly read in Iraq that a few photos in its pages are responsible for the current upsurge in violence? Especially when we remember that levels of violence had already risen before these pictures were published? Perhaps the average Iraqi is clairvoyant, therefore knew the pictures would be published, and, in best Bush fashion, got their retaliation in first. If the Mirror pictures are to be condemned for putting our troops at risk, how responsible should we hold those whose lies and manipulations put them in Iraq in the first place?

It appears that, at least amongst the media, Morgan will suffer alone. He will have to console himself with his million pound pay off, and head for his new, well paid job in television - itself an indication of how seriously the Mirror is taking the issue. This is a repeat of Gilligan. Apparently only those who try to prevent wars need to apologise for their mistakes.

The fallout from the rest of the scandal seems strangely lacking. Our self-absorbed media has focused on a few hoax pictures, and ignored the evidence of torture and even murder. In America, one soldier has already admitted guilt, and the papers are keeping up the pressure on both Rumsfield and Bush, feeling that this scandal has the potential to topple a president. While over here, ministers are getting away with denying knowledge of the allegations. One civil servant has even given the excuse that Amnesty International's allegations arrived in the form of a letter rather than a report, so he didn't pass it to ministers. Such wilful ignorance is completely unacceptable. It is, quite simply, Hoon's job to know what our troops are doing in Iraq, and the Prime Minister made Iraq such a personal issue that he too should have been in the loop. The only explanation for this pair being unaware of the allegations is a deliberate policy of burying their heads in the sand.

Instead of celebrating the scapegoating of one tabloid editor, however dishonest, we should be concentrating on those with greater responsibility for the disasters in Iraq. Perhaps before gloating over Morgan's demise, the pro-war papers could admit their culpability for misleading the public over weapons of mass destruction. A lie which led to the deaths of thousands of Iraqis and hundreds of westerners. Certainly, ministers must accept responsibility for having misled the nation, and for their wilful ignorance over the actions of some of our troops - albeit a small minority.

The only reasonable course of action is for the British government to order a full, criminal investigation into all the allegations collected by the Red Cross, Amnesty, and others. The results of the investigation must be made public, and the guilty must be punished. Hoon's ignorance of the allegations is inexcusable, and he should resign immediately. If he genuinely was not aware, his final act should be to launch an investigation into how he was kept in the dark, and the civil servants responsible should join him in the wilderness. Blair is already so compromised by Iraq that one more disgrace won't effect him. His resignation now appears to hinge on electoral defeat, which is one of the reasons I will probably be voting Green next month. It is a great shame that honour will not play any part in his departure from Number Ten.

And finally to Iraq itself. The current violence has made both Britain and America finally start to contemplate an exit strategy. Unfortunately, at the moment the strategy appears to be to send more troops in the vain hope of quelling the violence, then hand the entire mess to some appointed Iraqi council. Not nearly good enough. What is needed is for peace keeping duties to be handed over to the UN, while a federal government with free elections is set up. The current plan of "look its been quiet for a week, now we run away" is a disgrace.

Iraq is a disaster. Thousands of Iraqis have been killed, thousands more injured, unknown numbers tortured. The scope of religious and ethnic violence has not been documented - all we know is that it is happening. Hundreds of western troops are dead, many more have been injured physically or mentally. Every indication is that the situation in Iraq is currently getting worse, not better. Yet after over a year in control of the country, there is no sign of the infamous weapons of mass destruction. And Tony Blair has not apologised, let alone resigned. Strange that only those who opposed the war have shown enough honour to take responsibility for their mistakes.

Graham Robinson. 19th May 2004.

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