Oh Man! "Killing Blair 'morally justifiable', says Galloway"

[LalaMimi]

Killing Blair 'morally justifiable', says Galloway

Press Association
Friday May 26, 2006


George Galloway has said the assassination of Tony Blair would be "morally justified" given his support for the war in Iraq.
The anti-war Respect MP said a suicide bomb attack on the prime minister would be "morally equivalent to ordering the deaths of thousands of innocent people in Iraq as Blair did".

The controversial leftwinger added that he was not calling for such an attack and that he would tip off the authorities if he knew of one.

But his remarks provoked a furious response, with one Labour MP calling him "disgraceful" and "twisted".

In an interview with GQ magazine, Mr Galloway was asked whether the assassination of Mr Blair by a suicide bomber would be justified, if there were no other casualties.

He replied: "Yes, it would be morally justified. I am not calling for it, but if it happened I believe it would be of a wholly different moral order to the events of 7/7.

"It would be entirely logical and explicable. And morally equivalent to ordering the deaths of thousands of innocent people in Iraq as Blair did."

Asked by interviewer Piers Morgan, a former editor of the Daily Mirror, whether he would alert the authorities to an attempt on the prime minister's life, Mr Galloway said he would.

He added: "Such an operation would be counter-productive because it would just generate a new wave of anti-Arab sentiment whipped up by the press. "It would lead to new draconian anti-terror laws, and would probably strengthen the resolve of the British and American services in Iraq rather than weaken it.

"So, yes, I would inform the authorities."

Mr Galloway, MP for Bethnal Green and Bow in east London since he ousted sitting Labour MP Oona King in last year's general election on a strongly anti-war ticket, said he would rather see the PM brought to trial for war crimes.

He said: "The people who prosecuted an illegal, murderous war on Iraq could hardly complain if someone sought to strike them back.

"My problem would be that it's very likely that innocent civilians would die if such an attack was mounted.

"I would much prefer to see those who prosecuted the war brought to trial at the Hague and charged with war crimes."

While opposing attacks on civilians, Mr Galloway said that suicide bombing was the same as second world war missions in which soldiers faced certain death.

"A brave soldier landing on the beach at Normandy, as depicted in Saving Private Ryan, was on a suicide mission. They leapt out of their landing crafts knowing their own death was certain.

"The only moral question with suicide bombing is who the target is. And in that sense, the suicide bomber is not different from the stealth bomber or the cruise missile.

"If it is targeted at civilian people then it is morally wrong whether done by Bush, Blair or a suicide bomber.

"If it is aimed at military targets in a just war then it is morally justifiable."

Mr Galloway was expelled from the Labour party for urging British soldiers not to fight in Iraq. He then won a new seat in the House of Commons last year as founder of the Respect party.

Mr Galloway is in Cuba and was not immediately available to confirm that he made the comments. A Respect spokesman says he hopes to speak to Mr Galloway shortly and expects to issue a statement.

[voltaires_priest]

This really defies logic. So he thinks it would be "morally justified", and "equivalent to" the war on Iraq?

Ergo... he now thinks the war on Iraq was morally justified?

What a load of illogical, morally repugnant nonsense.



V

[PipeRomeo]

Originally Posted by voltaires_priest

This really defies logic. So he thinks it would be "morally justified", and "equivalent to" the war on Iraq?

Ergo... he now thinks the war on Iraq was morally justified?

What a load of illogical, morally repugnant nonsense.



V

No, but Blair does....

[voltaires_priest]

Very true.



V