Too Old to Weblog

Le ragioni del no alla guerra

Robin Cook si è dimesso ieri da “Leader of the Commons” (sorta di Ministro britannico per i rapporti con il Parlamento) in polemica con Blair sulla guerra. Cook era Ministro degli Esteri prima di essere accantonato in favore del super-falco Jack Straw.

Ha pronunciato un discorso perfetto, nobile e lucido che ha toccato tutti i punti del perché la guerra non è, in questo momento, giustificata. Ho avuto la fortuna di seguirlo in diretta su BBC World ed ero virtualmente parte della “standing ovation” donatagli da buona parte dei backbenchers laburisti.

Over the past decade that strategy [of containment] destroyed more weapons than in the Gulf war, dismantled Iraq’s nuclear weapons programme and halted Saddam’s medium and long-range missiles programmes.

Iraq’s military strength is now less than half its size than at the time of the last Gulf war.

Ironically, it is only because Iraq’s military forces are so weak that we can even contemplate its invasion. Some advocates of conflict claim that Saddam’s forces are so weak, so demoralised and so badly equipped that the war will be over in a few days.

We cannot base our military strategy on the assumption that Saddam is weak and at the same time justify pre-emptive action on the claim that he is a threat.

I have heard it said that Iraq has had not months but 12 years in which to complete disarmament, and that our patience is exhausted.

Yet it is more than 30 years since resolution 242 called on Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories.

We do not express the same impatience with the persistent refusal of Israel to comply.