Get some guts
After the formal speeches on the Iraq deployment John Key set off on an extraordinary spittle-flecked rant against Labour. His “get some guts line” is going to haunt him for the next 3 years.
war
iraq
Petition – Not In My Name
A petition to oppose sending troops to Iraq has gained over 9,000 signatures in its first 24 hours. You can sign the petition here.
Three speeches on going to war
The first three speeches from yesterdays session in Parliament on sending troops to Iraq – John Key, Andrew Little, Russel Norman. Little’s speech is cogent, Norman’s is brilliant.
Key’s Plazatoro guts
John Key’s frothing exhortation to Andrew Little in Parliament to “get some guts” reminds one of opera’s famous Duke of Plazatoro “who led his regiment from behind, he found it less exciting.” Key’s not going to Iraq – our soldiers are the ones in danger.
The price of the club?
Back in 2003, John Key had an interesting take on whether it was appropriate to send troops to Iraq.
ISIS. Crowdsourcing a solution.
So, we’re off to Iraq. If the answer to ISIS isn’t sending Kiwi troops, what do Standardistas think practical alternatives might be?
EDIT: Key announces 143 troops to go to Iraq and support staff.
NZ sending troops to Iraq
New Zealand will be sending troops to Iraq, and you read it first on The Standard. Or in other words, why are we still pretending that the decision hasn’t been made?
Mission Accomplished
“You gotta hand it to John Key: the timing is perfect. On a slow-news Friday at a time when the media is falling over itself to hype the cricket world cup, the last veil drops to reveal al Jaafari and his request for assistance.”
War HUH!
NZ is again being asked to go to war in Iraq. The Clark Labour Government said no a decade ago, but in 2015 there may be a compelling reason to join the fight; this time it’s the right thing to do. New Standard author te reo putake puts the case for NZ entering the battle against ISIS.
The War Club Family
There’s a fascinating article in the latest New Statesman titled “An Empire that speaks English: the right’s dream of a new world order.” Suddenly UK Foreign Minister Philip Hammond’s recent visit here makes sense. So does John Key’s references to sending troops to Iraq on behalf of the “club” or the “family” – he’s at the heart of the Empire.
Better to Jaw Jaw than War War
Perhaps John Key should consider a Churchillian thought before he rushes to send our young to die in Iraq.
So now it’s a family not a club
John Key wanted to be in the Five Eyes “club”, but I guess that didn’t focus group well, so now we’re being fed a new line – “family”.
But which club?
I think when justifying sending troops to Iraq the club John Key is really talking about is the group of right-wing political parties known as the International Democratic Union. Today Key chairs its Executive in Sarajevo, his first meeting as President. This move by Key to the IDU is calculated; he sees himself as leader of the world right-wing club and this is the first step to his international political career post New Zealand politics.
The price of the club
Yesterday Key justified our likely military intervention in Iraq as “the price” of being in “the club” with other Five Eyes countries.
So what is happening with the price of oil?
The price of crude oil has nearly halved in the past six months and is causing massive repercussions throughout the world with both the Russian economy and the American Shale Oil industry under threat. The geopolitical implications are complex.
NRT: Least preferred option
Back in September, John Key said that sending the SAS to Iraq was his “least preferred option”, “at the very outer edge of what we’d be wanting to do”. Today, he’s changed his tune in his predictable way. Such a poodle wanting to have his belly scratched by his masters.
Turei for peace & freedom: rejects politics of fear
Metiria Turei delivered a very strong speech in response to Key’s ministerial statement on national security. I give her a standing ovation! Update #1: link to video of Turei’s speech. #2 -YT video Turei’s speech. Link to Kennedy Garham’s speech
Key on ISIS
Key’s much heralded speech on terrorism / ISIS is a mixed bag. As expected it will be used to justify unnecessarily increased surveillance powers. But at least we aren’t sending combat troops.
Let them go to war
Back when I was a teenager, a mate of mine decided that he was going to give up on school and would get in some combat. So he worked his way into the Rhodesian Light Infantry. A few years later I heard that he’d been killed in action. Other young men going overseas with similar excitement issues have came back a lot less interested in excitement. Sounds safer to me than letting them have a car.
To arms!
We are about go to war partnered with multiple armies, none of whom is a champion of any of our democratic values of fairness, equality, human rights, or impartial justice. Meanwhile one in ten of us is about to be evicted from our state house home and put into the streets. Labour’s leadership candidates are silent in the media..
Off to war
Broken promise. Lies. War. The Herald willing to believe anything to defend Brand Key. Just another day in NZ politics.
NZ troops to Iraq?
Key’s public position on sending troops to Iraq has (surprise!) changed since the election. His private position on the topic probably hasn’t changed since 2003.
Iraq and Syria
The situation in Syria and Iraq is becoming dire as two separate civil wars rage on. This raises as an issue National’s and John Key’s attitude to the war in Iraq which has clearly destabilised any hope of civilised rule. He is now claiming to be an internationalist and to only be interested in multilateral action. But has this always been the case?
Syria et al.
Sometimes the most complicated and complex situation becomes clear when viewed from a simple and obvious perspective.
Hager: Uncomfortable truths
Phil Twyford on Nicky Hager’s Capt Jack Lyon Memorial Lecture Uncomfortable truths, NZ foreign policy in the ‘war on terror’. As Phil notes: “I think it is a cautionary tale for any future Labour-led government with a progressive, independent foreign policy”.
War talk
Key has put his foot in it again with talk of war against North Korea. Life was so much simpler when he was in opposition…
The CV of a Spy Boss
Key & Rennie say Ian Fletcher was the most suitable candidate to head the GCSB? His CV includes working on intellectual property, globalisation and free trade, & was private secretary to the Blair minister who fudged the legal advice on attacking Iraq.
Iraq and Big Oil
Author Greg Muttitt writes on Iraq and Big Oil. A very useful contribution to our understanding of the forces shaping the geopolitical landscape and the likely shape of the coming energy conflicts.
Iraq war a “success”
So the war in Iraq is “officially” over. The end of a shameful chapter.
Amnesty International: Arrest Bush for war crimes
Perhaps Mr Key’s staff might like to explain to him what the implications of this development, in conjunction with the recent UN Report […]
Key’s ‘Honour’
John Key says we must stay in Afghanistan to honour the dead, leaving us to wonder who’ll be the last to die for […]
War Nerd on Al Qaeda
The best US blog is eXiledonline. They’ve done huge work to expose the Tea Party and its shady backers. Their insight into the class issues underlying economic crisis both raw and diamond-sharp. And one of their writers, Gary Brecher aka the War Nerd, covers conflicts with eyes wide open. Here’s his take on Al Qaeda, coincidentally written last week:
Blood for milk? Pull the other one
It’s surreal to see people who cried that not going into Iraq has cost us a trade deal with the US, now saying that the Reconstruction Team Labour sent was to get access for our milk exports. The claim’s based on a US Embassy cable but that doesn’t make it gospel. In reality, the Right wanted us to fight in Iraq to get an FTA with the US.
Who has “blood on their hands”?
Amongst other angry and aggressive rhetoric, American politicians have accused the leakers of the diplomatic cables of having “blood on their hands”. Will the leaked cables put lives at risk? Perhaps, but I believe that many more lives would be made safe if the actions and attitudes of our governments, and the “intelligence” that they work with, were more open to the people.
A time of trouble, a time for action
The release of 400,000 classified documents on the Iraq war today highlights a much broader issue for New Zealand. As the world moves into uncertainty, some commentators call it a ‘new new world order’, New Zealand must establish itself definitively, cementing the values we wish to hold true for the coming century.
No victory in Iraq
Barack Obama declared the U.S. combat mission in Iraq officially over on Tuesday but said he would not take a “victory lap”. No victory? That’s quite an understatement…