There are no burning national issues, so turn-out will be low and what are questions of conscience here, such as abortion, sex and the death penalty, have become front-line policy differences. But it is also time to concede that Iraq has a point on sanctions. We are destroying Saddam’s people while ennobling him as a martyr. Give him open trade – it will do far more to undermine him than isolation will ever do But keep the inspectorate and back it with force.
In the intensifying mood of fear and hatred of Israel under Benjamin Netanyahu, even Iran and Syria see advantages in closer relations with Baghdad.It is time we were honest about what we can, and cannot do, in Iraq Yes, we can get the inspectors back. Given Saddam Hussein’s record, it has to be said that it is a perfectly reasonable assumption.The Iraqis, on their side, sense that the West is growing tired of the game. France, Germany, China and Russia want butter not guns and sense the profit in Iraq. At the same time, the politics of the Middle East has moved away from isolation of Iraq as a pariah state.
And it will keep on repeating itself every few months for the simple reason that, for the West, sanctions are a substitute for doing nothing, not a means of achieving an agreed and defined aim.
Despite the UN inspectorate and eight years of search and destroy, there simply isn’t the trust between the two sides to bring about a resolution. The UN inspectorate always believes, and will always believe, that however much they find there will still be more to discover. It is a dreary repetition which has gone on, in Iraq’s case, for eight years now. A shoddy compromise will then be worked out until Saddam Hussein or Milosovic see an opportunity to turn up the heat or take advantage of distractions in America to push the line forward again.
The best we can hope for in the escalating crisis over Iraq’s decision to throw out the weapons inspectors is the same as in Kosovo: that somehow the threat of force can impel a return to the bargaining table. The lawyers can surely be relied upon to find a form of words protecting the Queen from indictment for the Falklands.Professor G V R BORNLondon N6. WE’LL HUFF and we’ll puff but we won’t blow Saddam Hussein down – any more than we’re going to topple Slobodan Milosovic in Serbia. So, if Hitler were alive today and in the London Clinic for treatment of voice strain, this law would protect him. The ruling is so far beyond credibility as to make the law not just an ass but an accessory to crime – the torturing and murdering of defenceless citizens by brutal, corrupt regimes.
If the law does indeed still permit such immunity claims, it must be done away with immediately and replaced by a law in keeping with actual and natural justice. It is a pity that he chooses not to do so.DAVID BISHOPBrussels. Sir: Most people, probably even most lawyers, could not possibly have imagined that, some half-century after the Nuremberg trails, there was a law which, according to the Lord Chief Justice, “entitled Pinochet to sovereign immunity as a former head of state, from the civil and criminal process of the English Courts in relation to any act done in the exercise of his sovereign power” (Law Report, 30 October).
Mr Mandelson, however, is uniquely placed to win an advance towards acceptance simply by being openly who he is while carrying out his work. Until being gay causes no more of a stir than being left-handed we will hesitate to be open, but acceptance can only be won through refusing to hide Most of us can only make an impact in our own little circle. Mercifully, thanks to the trail-blazing work done by many prominent gays, the simple act of stating that one is not heterosexual is increasingly not regarded as provocative – witness Chris Smith or Angela Eagle.But tolerance is not acceptance. This “flaunting” attracts no attention simply because so many people do it.All the mundane acts listed above will usually be regarded as provocative if a gay person does them. The attitude is, “I don’t care, so please don’t tell me,” which may seem reasonable enough but is in fact unfair. Straight people flaunt their sexuality all the time, but the fact is not noticed.
Every time heterosexuals refer to their wife, boyfriend or whoever; every time they speak admiringly of a nice-looking TV star, or check into a hotel together, or open a joint bank account, or choose to be called Mrs, or hold hands in public, they are announcing their heterosexuality to the world. Sir: Suzanne Moore’s thoughtful essay on Peter Mandelson (Comment, 30 October) hits the nail on the head.
