Sunk Into Irrelevance
John Rentoul - writing in The Independent the other day - had a blast at the TUC over its crazy stance on Libya.
Now anyone in their right mind knows that Colonel Gaddafi would be murdering his own people - on a massive scale - were it not for the 'rebel' military uprising and support from NATO.
The TUC's weasel words about 'holding no brief for the Gaddafi regime' - make this once proud movement look ridiculous and completely out of touch.
'TUC takes leave of the planet'
The TUC today carried a motion on the Middle East, which included this paragraph:
"Congress believes the attack against Libya has been misjudged and, while holding no brief for the Gadaffi regime, believes military action should be halted immediately and that international efforts should be focused on securing a peaceful political settlement to the conflict."
A brilliant illustration of Conquest’s Second Law, which states that every organisation appears to be run by agents of its opponents. That is quite a misjudged paragraph: out of date, misspelt* and wrong. And to vote for it at the very time that the intervention has been proved – whatever the difficulties – to have been well-judged.
Then the motion goes on to call for a boycott of Israel.
The only bit that is sensible is paradoxically the part that the Start the War Again Campaign is most excited about, namely where it “urges the rapid withdrawal of British forces from Afghanistan”. That is the editorial line of The Independent on Sunday, although not for the ridiculous self-styled-leftist reasons given in the TUC motion.
And trade unionists wonder why that great movement of theirs is sunk into irrelevance."
Spot on - I have to say - and of course the fact is that the vast majority of ordinary union members will agree.
Now anyone in their right mind knows that Colonel Gaddafi would be murdering his own people - on a massive scale - were it not for the 'rebel' military uprising and support from NATO.
The TUC's weasel words about 'holding no brief for the Gaddafi regime' - make this once proud movement look ridiculous and completely out of touch.
'TUC takes leave of the planet'
The TUC today carried a motion on the Middle East, which included this paragraph:
"Congress believes the attack against Libya has been misjudged and, while holding no brief for the Gadaffi regime, believes military action should be halted immediately and that international efforts should be focused on securing a peaceful political settlement to the conflict."
A brilliant illustration of Conquest’s Second Law, which states that every organisation appears to be run by agents of its opponents. That is quite a misjudged paragraph: out of date, misspelt* and wrong. And to vote for it at the very time that the intervention has been proved – whatever the difficulties – to have been well-judged.
Then the motion goes on to call for a boycott of Israel.
The only bit that is sensible is paradoxically the part that the Start the War Again Campaign is most excited about, namely where it “urges the rapid withdrawal of British forces from Afghanistan”. That is the editorial line of The Independent on Sunday, although not for the ridiculous self-styled-leftist reasons given in the TUC motion.
And trade unionists wonder why that great movement of theirs is sunk into irrelevance."
Spot on - I have to say - and of course the fact is that the vast majority of ordinary union members will agree.
