I don't think that Matthew Parris was all that impressed either, judging by his comments in todays Thunderer....

CONFERENCE SKETCH BY MATTHEW PARRIS SNAKES alive. Talk about "mission-creep" - this was mission-lurch, mission-leap.

At his party's Brighton conference yesterday Tony Blair left the runway on a limited strike to remove one individual from a hillside in Afghanistan - and veered off on a neo-imperial mission to save the entire planet.

Such was the Prime Minister's resolve that even the grey had miraculously fled his hair. His ambitions left Kipling looking wimpish.

First a Government was to be removed.The Taleban must "surrender". Then all terrorism was to be wiped off the face of the Earth: "We will take action at every level."

Then all who give succour to terrorists would be zapped, being "every bit as guilty".

This "force for good" was something Britain was to "take pride in leading". And he had hardly started. To his audience's astonishment, after tipping his wings over the Balkans ("we won"), Blair threw the prime-ministerial VC10 into a steep starboard bank and headed for Africa.

Far below, Rwanda caught his eye. If the slaughter of millions that happened there eight years ago should be repeated, "we would have a moral duty to act there also". As the skies above Rwanda filled with British parachutes, Blair roared northwest to Sierra Leone. "We were there," he declared.

Actually, we still are. By page 5 of his speech, the greater part of Britain's Armed Forces was earmarked for battle across the globe. National conscription loomed.

Peering from the cockpit Blair shrugged off such details - for what was below? An immense, impenetrable jungle cut by a vast river stretching half way across Africa. Engines roar. He wheels south. We must "sort out", he said, the Congo. Crikey.

The cockpit radio crackles as Blair speaks. "Hello, Aldershot, are you receiving me? 50,000 more troops - with parachutes, submersibles, Zodiacs, malaria pills and jungle survival kits . . . ". . . Hello? Hello? There aren't any left? Damn. Get me Gordon Brown."

He flies on. Zambia slips beneath him, mercifully, in a moment of inattention. Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, Zanzibar, are hidden below the horizon behind, thank God. But what's this? Oops. Zimbabwe.

"No excuses!" Blair cries, "no tolerance of" . . . the activities of Mr Mugabe's henchmen. "Proper commercial, legal and financial systems!

The will . . . to broker agreements for peace and provide troops to police them!" Locked into the aircraft loo the Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon, was softly weeping. "Africa is a scar," Blair declared. "We could heal it."

Nor was there limit to the great healer's optimism. As cloudbanks roll beneath his rhetorical journey - now to create a Palestinian homeland, secure the state of Israel and - hey presto! - sort out the Middle East - Mr Blair's thoughts turn to meteorology. "We could defeat climate change if we chose to. Kyoto is right! "But it's only a start!" Cripes.

The Prime Minister then vowed to "create energy without destroying our planet; we could provide work and trade without deforestation".

Time to head home, via a gushing transatlantic tribute to American values.

Land rises in the east. Uh-oh. Ireland. "The Unionists must accept . . .the Republicans must show." Musts, shoulds and wills peppered his text like bulletholes in a Kabul ceiling.

As the PM brought his oratorical jetliner into land at Brighton yesterday, he looked exhausted. His audience looked exhausted. The Chancellor looked inscrutable.

Tony Blair had done superlatively what he does best. Talked. He had marched his troops to the top of the hill and must hope Fate does not finish the couplet.

And - what the hell - it was only a speech. C'était magnifique mais ce n'était pas la guerre

http://www.smartgroups.com/message/viewdiscussion.cfm?gid=275218&messageid=7911

-- Anonymous, October 03, 2001

Answers

Who is Matthew Parris and what is the Thunderer? Did he used to write for the Spectator?

-- Anonymous, October 03, 2001

Hi OG.. Don't know.. I did a search on the name.. and there's a former conservative gay MP listed as writing for the Times and Spectator..

Here's the other comment from the same thread at eurorealist

from Maurice. I felt so sick after reading this morning's Telegraph on the Phoney speech, I had to go out and buy the DailyMirror, the only front page with a sensible banner: "I WILL CURE THE WORLD".
At the DT the Editorial, the political editor and the defence editor were bowled over by the Churchillian speech. Likewise Heffer in the Mail. The only columnists who seemed to have kept their heads were Frank Johnson (DT), Quentin Letts (DM) and Paul Routledge in the Mirror.
Personally I thought Blair had over-dosed on something, probably Hubris.

He is going to make away with terrorism wherever he finds it. Not just the Taliban and bin Laden, but in Israel and in Palestine, in Sa'udi and in Iraq, perhaps even in the UK except that the Human Rights Act will probably prevent it; in Rwanda if necessary; I'm not sure if he included Iran, the Mujahidin or Pakistan, but best of all he will sort out Kashmir. That is the place where, thanks to the machinations of Mountbatten, the Moslems have a very strong moral case.

Oh, and he's going to fix the weather too, to slap down this pesky global warming.
The only gap in his terrorism campaign appears to be that he will continue his successful negotiations with our partners in Northern Ireland.
And I gather that in order for him to achieve all this we have to join the Euro community. I get a strong feeling that if we'd already been in the Euro last month the Twin Towers would still be standing.
What use is parody when self-parody gets there first? Don't you agree, Peter?

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2001

A new world order: Is it possible now?

http://newssearch.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/talking_point/newsid_1577000/1577009.stm

Seems that most of the folks commenting have a healthy scepticism of messianic crusades such as TB advocates..

Personally i've always had a visceral repugnance to the phrase New World Order, because i've always associated it, maybe incorrectly, with a Neuer Ordung(sp), and Hitler..

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2001

I haven't made any secret of the fact that I thoroughly dislike Blair and I've been surprised at the strength of his rhetoric. It's likely that he took careful note of the fact that Bush didn't follow SOP and invite him to the White House as the Special Friend of the US and is trying to get back in good graces--Blair is nothing if not pragmatic. (And his wife is even more so!) Also, this stance will give him a good foundation to take a stronger position with the IRA. I can see lots of advantages for Blair in this horrible mess. And, at the same time, it's obviously a big advantage for Bush to have a "mouthpiece" like that.

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2001

Blair Points Finger at bin Laden By BARRY RENFREW : Associated Press Writer Oct 4, 2001 : 8:46 am ET

LONDON (AP) -- Prime Minister Tony Blair revealed details Thursday of the case against Osama bin Laden, saying three hijackers have been "positively identified" as associates and that the terror suspect told other cohorts he was preparing a major operation in the United States.

Speaking to a special session of Parliament, Blair said there was evidence directly implicating bin Laden and his al-Qaida network in the Sept. 11 attacks and other incidents. A dossier with some of the evidence was given to lawmakers, but Blair said there was other evidence "of a more direct nature" that could not be disclosed for security reasons.

"We have absolutely no doubt that bin Laden and his network were responsible for the attacks on Sept. 11," he told the hushed session.

The prime minister indicated military action was likely, but gave no hint when it would happen.

"We are now approaching the difficult time when action is taken. It will be difficult, there are no easy options," he said.

Blair said three of the 19 hijackers involved in the attacks on New York and Washington had been "positively identified as known associates of bin Laden." One played a key role in the 1998 attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and last year's attack on the U.S. warship Cole.

The individuals were not identified in Blair's speech or in the documents given to Parliament. They documents said one of bin Laden's "closest and most senior associates," also not identified, was responsible for detailed planning of the Sept. 11 attacks.

"Most importantly, one of bin Laden's closest lieutenants has said clearly that he helped with the planning of the 11 September attacks and has admitted the involvement of the al-Qaida organization," Blair said.

He said intelligence reports show bin Laden told associates shortly before Sept. 11 that he had a major operation against America under preparation, warning cohorts to return to Afghanistan because of the action.

Blair also said bin Laden's involvement was clear in a series of attacks on U.S. targets in recent years.

He said every effort must be made to bring bin Laden to justice and vowed that would be achieved.

The dossier given to Parliament was also posted on the prime minister's Web site.

Blair repeated his earlier warnings to Afghanistan's Taliban regime that it must hand over bin Laden and dismantle his camps in that country or become the enemy of the coalition being formed against terrorism.

"The Taliban must yield them up or become our enemy also," he said.

Blair warned that all Western nations faced the threat of terrorist attack and must unite to form a common defense.

"We will not act for revenge. We will act because for the protection of our people and our way of life, including confidence in our economy, we need to eliminate the threat bin Laden and his terrorism represent," he said.

Blair confirmed that he would fly to Moscow later Thursday to meet President Vladimir Putin as part of the diplomatic effort to solidify a coalition against terrorism.

"What we have encountered is an unprecedented level of solidarity and commitment to work together against terrorism. This is a commitment that spans all continents, cultures and religions, reinforced by attacks like the one on the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly in Srinagar which killed over 30 innocent people," Blair said.

Militants detonated a car bomb Monday outside the legislature in Srinigar, India, and attacked the building. Jaish-e-Mohammed, a group based in Pakistan, claimed responsibility.

Blair said the international coalition was gaining strength daily.

"The coalition is strong. Military plans are robust. The humanitarian plans are falling into place," he said.

The British prime minister stressed the importance of matching any future military action with aid to rebuild Afghanistan, ravaged by more than 20 years of war. He expressed strong support for the people of Afghanistan.

Last month's attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon have lent a new intensity to the relationship between Britain and the United States, and Blair is its most fervent advocate. Public reaction was strongly behind Blair and the historic alliance with the United States that Britons call the "special relationship."

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2001

Matthew Parris can kiss my ass.

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2001

But in a setback for the administration, many of the key provisions of the bill would expire in little more than two years, on Dec. 31, 2003. House Republicans said they were happy with the expiration date.
"Most people are quite comforted by the two-year sunset and are aware these are difficult times," House Republican Leader Dick Armey of Texas said. "If we have that, we have a chance to review."
But Hatch said he wouldn't accept a date for the legislation to expire. Ashcroft refused to answer questions about the House bill.

http://pub16.ezboard.com/ftb2kfulltopicfrm1.showMessage?topicID=3337.topic

Ok folks... any votes...Should they make the measures temporary?? Or permanent as the administration clearly wants?? Or will they compromise.. say the measures are temporary now.. but with the option to make "evergreen" or permanent later"

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2001

I guess i should add, that despite my distaste for Blair, and the world reshaping he is advocating.. I still find something i cannot pin down, disquieting in his demeanor..maybe a sneaking suspicion that something is about to happen, which will be seen to "validate" the position he is (desperately?) trying to stake out beforehand.

Cannot remember.. didn't Churchill make noises even before Hitler attacked Russia that any enemy of the Nazi's would be aided?? Winston certainly came out strongly immediately when the attack occurred.. and his speech was well prepared

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2001

There are a few Churchill sites on the web; maybe you could find the speech you're looking for.

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2001