Consequences

Ludicrous though I think all this post-Hutton manoeuvring by the Hate-America crowd is, Blair can't say he hasn't brought much of it on himself. In the run-up to '97 Blair couldn't cross the road without talking about Tory sleaze, fat cat conspiracies and Big Business plotting to do down the little guy. Right up until about 2:30 AM on May 2 Blair was the best thing that ever happened to the British tinfoil industry. But, amusing though it is to see him get beaten with his own stick, there are serious consequences to descending further into X-Files territory. Mark Steyn sums… well, it's Mark Steyn - it's hardly going to not be good is it ?

If he wants, Mr Howard can have some sport with Mr Blair. But, if he aids the perception that Blair took Britain to war under false pretences, the Tories will do the country a grave disservice. One day Mr Howard might be prime minister and, chances are, in the murky world that lies ahead, he'll have to commit British forces on far less hard evidence than existed vis à vis Saddam. Conservatives shouldn't assist the Western world's self-loathing fringe in imposing a burden of proof that can never be met. The alternative to pre-emption is defeat. If you want a real "underlying issue", that's it.