This entry was posted on
Friday, August 11th, 2006 at
10:50 am and is filed
under Tony ‘King Blair.
Iraq:
Gulf News – 35 killed by suicide bomber outside Shiite shrine: A suicide bomber detonated a belt of explosives on his body near a highly revered Shiite shrine in southern Iraq on Thursday, killing at least 35 people and injuring 122, the Iraqi army said.
ePolitix – Troops in Iraq ‘need kit now’, say MPs: Warning that the armed forces are overstretched, a committee of MPs has found “disturbing” problems with the equipment of British troops in Iraq.
Israel/Lebanon:
Guardian – “Israel, Hizbullah a disgrace,” says UN as aid is blocked: The United Nations emergency relief coordinator yesterday branded Israel and Hizbullah a disgrace for their refusal to stop fighting long enough to allow vital aid to enter southern Lebanon. Jan Egeland said there were 120,000 civilians stranded without necessary supplies in southern Lebanon.
Palestine:
Reuters – Gaza deaths in July highest since ’04: Last month was the deadliest in the Gaza Strip for nearly two years, with Israel’s offensive against Palestinian militants in the territory leading to a surge of killings, a Palestinian research group said on Thursday. The Palestinian Monitoring Group said 151 people were killed in the coastal strip in July, the highest total since October 2004, when 166 people died. The group, which describes itself as internationally funded as well as a “supportive institution” to the Palestine Liberation Organization, said most of the Gazans killed last month were civilians, but gave no precise number.
Britain:
Guardian – Demands for recall of parliament growing: More than 150 MPs, including a fifth of Labour’s parliamentary party, yesterday joined forces with 17 charities, including Oxfam and Amnesty International, to urge the recall of parliament to discuss the crisis in Lebanon. The move, revealed in the Guardian yesterday, came as Jim Sheridan, the parliamentary private secretary at the Ministry of Defence, resigned in protest at government policy on the Middle East.
Scotsman – MP quits government over Blair’s policy on Middle East: A Scottish MP last night quit the government in protest at Tony Blair’s handling of the Middle East crisis, amid warnings from ministers that the Prime Minister’s continuing support for American foreign policy could cost him his job. Jim Sheridan, Labour MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, became the first to resign from a government post over the war.
Those last two items deserves special attention, especially as the anti-terror operation that buried them highlighted Prescott’s role as a glorified seat-warmer. I’m not quite here yet, but I do recognise that this government has some serious operational/trust issues of its own making.
And if the situation is as serious as they make out, why are we continuing with a crippled leader who is compelled by career difficulties to appoint second-string yes-men to key positions?
