Blair urged to change US tactics

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3624617.stm

American plans to use "decisive force" to keep order in Iraq risk undermining efforts to rebuild the country, say the Liberal Democrats.

President George Bush says he will try to prevent civilian casualties but will tell US commanders to do what it takes to stop the current violence spreading.

But Sir Menzies, foreign affairs spokesman for the Lib Dems, UK's third largest party, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme it defied the evidence to suggest there was a direct connection between things like the Bali bombing and Iraq. "I think the risk of lumping all of these things together is that you believe that there is one solution which will deal with all of these difficulties," he said.

He warned that flying helicopter gunships above residential areas of Iraq would not help win the "battle for hearts and minds". "The use of decisive force may well have the consequence of undermining the long-term political objective," he said.

It has always looked pretty clear that the long term objective is to maintain a military presence in the ME. "Decisive force" was what lead to this mess in the first place.

I expect thousands of dead Iraqi's once the US begins the Najaf offensive. Many US casualties as well. All for a demented vision of a small group of morally bankrupt oil whores.

Sir Crispin Tickell, former British ambassador to the United Nations, said the prime minister should tell the president that the current policies could not continue.

"All the way through, we have had this kind of American bull in a china shop and every day that passes we get more china being broken," he said.

And that's from a diplomat sent to the United Nations by Maggie Thatcher.

That's delusion of the highest order. Chimpy says jump and Poodle Blair asks "how high?".. that's the extent of their relationship.