The former opinion editor of The Australian (and no doubt author of numerous editorials in The Oz at the time) has made his position on the Iraq war, George W Bush and neo-Conservative foreign policy very clear. In The Oz today, Tom Switzer reminds his readers that he is “someone who strongly opposed the war from the outset … long believed the Iraq invasion was unnecessary”. Switzer disputes any link between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda, refers to the “incompetence” of former Prez Dubya and has a go at “the neo-conservative architects of this misbegotten venture”. He reminds us also that “democracy was not an export commodity”.
I needed Tom’s reminder. Like many who kept a vomit bag handy whilst reading The Australian at the time, I remember The Oz editorial and op-ed sections doing little more than accusing war critics of lacking patriotism. Switzer edited a page and wrote editorials singing lyrics written by Bush, Blair and our own Dubya, John W Howard.
I know many conservatives disagreed on Bush’s foreign policy adventures. From Pat Buchanan to Owen Harries, prominent non-neo-Con conservatives objected not only to war in Iraq but indeed the entire fiasco of torture, murder, mayhem and lawlessness packaged as the “War on Terror”.
But can the man who brought Janet Albrechtsen to the national stage now honestly claim he was never a neo-Con after all? Is Switzer changing his tone in line with a new American administration, to shore up his position at the United States Study Centre at Sydney Uni? Can Switzer really legitimately claim to be a critic of the Iraq debacle?
Yes, he can.
As far back as May 2003, Switzer opposed the Iraquagmire in a book review for Quadrant. Switzer lamented the almost near-absence of anti-war sentiment among Australian conservatives when compared to their UK and US counterparts. In a Quadrant article in December ’05, Switzer and Neil Clark argued that conservatives down under “have practically wanted the Australian Army to serve as the American Foreign Legion”. They argued the Iraq war was a profoundly unconservative war.
Now Switzer and other conservatives must acknowledge the Iraq war was part of a wider war on common sense, world peace, the rule of law and democratic values. Yes, two jets did hit the Twin Towers. Yes, bombs went off in Madrid, Bali, London etc. But did that make some “War on Terror” necessary?
There’s no point opposing the Iraq war if you still support all the nonsense associated with it. Nonsense like Guantanamo, like extraordinary rendition, like some crazed theory of the world being divided along neat cultural lines.
Conservatives like Switzer need to acknowledge that the so-called war on terror, not just its Iraqi component, may have had some good consequences and may have been well-intentioned. But by and large, it has been an unmitigated disaster.
The first honest thing would be, for people to admit, that invading both Afghanistan and Iraq had little to do with ryhme or reason, but more to do with oil and having a ‘presence’ in the Middle East. They should also admit, that the over 1,300,000 deaths in Iraq, the 4 million who are displaced, and the billions of dollars of damage are war crimes, and those responsible should be called to account. Discussing both Iraq and Afghanistan in cold terms, only exaccerbates the degree of the crimes committed.
The Bush Administration intended to invade both these countries, and all they needed was another Pearl Harbour to give them a ‘credible’ excuse – 9/11 gave them the impetus for that. They lied their way into invading a sovereign nation (Iraq) that they knew was not even a threat to its neighbour, let alone the rest of the world. When you embark on such actions of horror – you need more ‘horror programs’ to ensure its enabled, hence Guatanamo, renditions, invading american homes without reason or judicial permission, and embark on hideous legislation like the PATRIOT Act, and give permission for the torture of ‘suspects’?
There is enough evidence available now, that puts the blame, the lies, the illegal activities at the feet of the Bush/Blair and Howard administrations. Failure to speak the truth publicly, only allows the precedent for it to be done again – and again! The ultra right must be shown, that the World does not want this type of behaviour to go unpunished; it also achieves the opposite to what we were told – it only causes more hatred and ‘terrorist attacks’, and is a breeding ground for so-called terrorist groups to engage more young people into its web.
We hear much of the ‘innocent lives’ lost in the west from terrorists, but refuse to acknowledge state sponsored terrorism causing deaths, horrific injuries, and destruction to innocent residents of Afghanistan & Iraq. What hypocrisy? Throwing shoes is a serious offence, but cluster bombs???