DeeKnow’s Grotto

after another exciting day at the office I'm off early to give a few hundred dollars, or maybe even a thousand or two, to my local friendly Dentist, who is always ready with a smiling face and extended open wallet.

3:59:10 PM  

After months of debate over UN resolutions, talk about threats posed by Saddam and speculaton over when or if the US/UK will actually invad Iraq, the clearest signal yet about imminent action is todays withdrawl of UN observers form posts near Iraqi borders.

Other significant events today include Robin Cook's resignation from his post as leader of the House of commons in the UK over that countrys support for the war, and warnings from governments around the world, including NZ about avoiding travel to the mid-east at the moment.

Despite all the rhetoric from the US over the last few months about potential peaceful resolution to the conflict, its been clear that war, however brief, was innevitable. You don't go training a quarter of a million troops for desert warfare then move them and countless thousands of war machines halfway round the world just for the fun of it.

Despite the intense interest in my opinion from our prime minister Helen Clark, I've refrained from comment on this Iraq situation coz its seemed such a "fait-a-compli" (or whatever that flash French phrase is for something as-good-as-done)

We've all been breathing this bloody topic courtesy of local and international media for some time now. The Kuwait squabble in 90/91 put the US up 1-0 against Iraq and its looking like being a 2-0 result in pretty short order.

During this whole buildup I think the most dissapointing thing has been the neutered impact the UN has had on the process, other than delaying the innvevitable. Kofi Annan has made a few limp statements along the lines of 'the validity of the US action is questionable', sorry Kofi but you've gone nowhere fast with soft-cock talk like that to a Texan like Bush, he doesnt give a shit.

It all goes to show just how ineffectual the UN really is. As Cook mentioned in his resignation speech ... "It is over 30 years since (UN) resolution 242 called on Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories"  ... yet still the Israelis are expanding into and stomping over the occupied territories without any firm response on the part of the UN.

Another let-down is the lack of unity from the European Union. I know its still early days for the EU but up until this Iraqi issue came to the fore (again), it really seemed that a united europe could become a thing of influence, a kind of counter-balance to the American juggernaut. But Blair and his party/nation have seen an end to that prospect with their US alignment.

8:52:04 AM