Tim Blair

LONELY TONY

Tony Parkinson, the last sane man at The Age, writes:

The greatest irony here is that many of the same people who were insisting that intervention against Saddam was a breach of Iraq's sovereignty are now saying the dictator must not be tried within Iraq's jurisdiction, and that justice can only be served by taking the process outside Iraq.

In a tone of some outrage -- imagine Parkinson’s life, surrounded by Saddam-pitying Age cottonheads -- he deals with some spectacular hypocrisy:

One of the more galling contributions along these lines came from leading Middle East commentator Fawaz Gerges, who told CNN: "Many Arabs would not take a trial in Iraq seriously."

Where was Gerges when Saddam's Baathists were hanging Jews in Liberation Square? Where were the cries of alarm as tens of thousands of Iraqis were summarily executed?

Why weren't Gerges and others hammering down the doors of Baghdad's Palace of Torture? More recently, where have been the international protests over the many violent attacks on senior judicial figures in Iraq by Saddam's loyalists?

In short, the critics were nowhere to be seen or heard. Suddenly, as if by magic, they have rediscovered a sense of indignation.

They’re more worried about Saddam’s video health exam than they ever were about Saddam’s victims.

Posted by Tim Blair at December 20, 2003 03:27 AM