Freedom Rider: British Terror
by BAR editor and senior columnist Margaret Kimberley
"What's more, British troops are risking
their lives trying to prevent the killing. Why should anyone feel angry about
us? Why aren't they angry about the people doing the killing?" - former British Prime Minister Tony
Blair.
Why is anyone angry at Britain? Perhaps it is because the
British are some of the people doing
the killing. Maybe they are angry because Tony Blair left office proclaiming
the rightness of occupying Iraq and killing 600,000 people. Those crazy Arabs
and Muslims, they get mad at the strangest things.
It is an understatement to say that Tony Blair left office
as Prime Minister of Great Britain under a cloud. He followed George W. Bush
like a poodle, or perhaps more like a toad. Former president Jimmy Carter assigned
blamed to Blair along with Bush for causing America's increasing
unpopularity throughout the world. "It's a shameful and pitiful state of
affairs and I hold your British Prime Minister to be substantially responsible
for being so compliant and subservient."
"Blair followed George W. Bush like a poodle, or perhaps
more like a toad."
Blair is shameless in his belief that killing human beings
is acceptable as long as it is done by a government run by white people. Not
content to have spent the last six years following Bush like a little shadow,
Blair didn't even have the decency to disappear into the sunset and shut up.
After giving Britons a collective sigh of relief upon leaving number 10 Downing
Street, Blair again began running for new offices.
After rumors of a Carlyle Group corner office and a European
union presidency, Blair assumed the role of Middle East peace envoy. He will
represent Europe, the United States, Russia and the United Nations while
simultaneously keeping the rest of the world from laughing or loosing their
lunch at the prospect of a true believer in occupation and empire being an
honest broker for peace.
The Arab world was unimpressed with Blair's desperate desire
to remain employed and a center of world attention. The Syrian newspaper
Tishrin asked, "How could a liar, who is directly connected with
Washington and who is a staunch proponent of the extremist rightist ideology,
be a peace envoy?" (*link Tishrin) Good question.
"'How could a liar, who is directly connected with
Washington and who is a staunch proponent of the extremist rightist ideology,
be a peace envoy?'"
The damage done by Tony Blair's actions will not disappear
over night. The failed attacks in London and suicide car bombing in Glasgow
were reminders that the British have a long way to go in disentangling
themselves from Uncle Sam. The bombings that took place on July 7, 2005
and the recent attempts remind the world that "fighting them over there" does
little good in preventing attacks "over here." When leaders "over here" show
contempt for humanity and their right to live, they can't expect peaceful
outcomes on their own soil.
Reaction to the terror plots was typically racist and
asinine. Arabs and Muslims
were depicted as the only crazed fanatics on earth,
when in fact white Christians and Jews are causing more death and destruction
than anyone else. Not only did Blair have the unmitigated gall to claim that he
can now be a peace maker, but he disgracefully thumped the bible on his way out
the door. As he left office in a whirl of last minute attention seeking he also
announced that he had converted to Catholicism.
While Blair was allowed to profess piety with a straight
face, many British Muslims again felt compelled to express their opposition to
terror and disassociate their religion from it. Will British Christians and
Jews ever be asked to make similar denunciations? Will Catholics be asked to
denounce Blair and his terrorist acts? The Archbishop of Canterbury ought to
tell the world that he too denounces war and that it is supremely unchristian.
War waged by governments is as much a terrorist act as a suicide bombing. The
victims of soldiers' bullets and bombs dropped from planes suffer as much as
anyone caught in a suicide bombing.
"White Christians and Jews are causing more death and
destruction than anyone else."
Every terror act or even failed act in Britain is an omen
for America. Eight years elapsed between attacks on the World Trade Center. It
would be the height of arrogance and denial to think that September 11, 2001
would be the last time that Americans would lose their lives because of anger
and hatred directed at their government.
Unfortunately the object of Blair's affection still resides
in the White House. He has adamantly declared that withdrawing from Iraq will
be his successor's problem. Unless he or Dick Cheney are impeached they will
find a rationale for bombing Iran. Americans will have to live with the threat
of terror unless their leaders forsake empire building. The prospect is
terrifying, but no more so than for Iraqis or Afghans. There is some justice
involved after all. However, it is unlikely that any lessons will be learned.
Blair's clueless
question, "Why should anyone feel angry about us?" is sadly shared by
millions of people in his country and in the United States.
Margaret Kimberley's
Freedom Rider column appears weekly in BAR. Ms. Kimberley lives in New York
City, and can be reached via e-Mail at
Margaret.Kimberley(at)BlackAgandaReport.Com. Ms. Kimberley' maintains an
edifying and frequently updated blog at freedomrider.blogspot.com.
More of her work is also available at her Black Agenda Report archive page.
Kenyan President William Ruto, despite his posturing as a strong leader for the people, has betrayed the masses time and time again. His neoliberal policies and allegiance to the imerperialist west…
Francia Marquez's rise to Colombia's vice presidency has put a target on her back, but she also brings with her hope for a real change in Colombian politics. As in the U.S., Black political…
The ruling elite uses black misleaders to shore up support for imperialist objectives. Currently, these misleaders are freely and happily offering their services in support of the invasion and…
Juneteenth was a people's holiday with deep meaning for the descendants of enslaved people. But the declaration of an official federal holiday has turned it into an opportunity for corporate…
With its recent historic loss of the Parliament majority, the African National Congress has formed a coalition with the Democratic Alliance, heir to the old apartheid regime, demonstrating its…
