Re: Fwd: Letter to Bill Weinberg

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

Bill Weinberg wrote:
> This is very interesting, Louis, thank you for bringing it to my
> attention. I note that in the article from OpenDemocracy, Ann Clwyd does
> not come across by any means as having a postion of "all-out support" for
> the war. On the contrary, she expresses grave misgivings. Perhaps her
> position has changed.

Yeah, Bill, her position did change.

The Guardian (London)
June 23, 2003

How a Labour rebel found kindred spirit in US hawk: The last stand: Jackie
Ashley meets Ann Clwyd an unlikely defender of Donald Rumsfeld and the war
in Iraq Jackie Ashley meets Ann Clwyd an unlikely defender of Donald
Rumsfeld and the war in Iraq

BYLINE: Jackie Ashley

Look for Ann Clwyd in the Commons chamber and you will invariably find her
on the "awkward" bench, sitting alongside such confirmed lefties as Alice
Mahon, Alan Simpson and Jeremy Corbyn. Yet her natural friends think she
has been keeping strange company recently. The Cynon Valley Labour MP's
support for the war put her shoulder to shoulder with Tony Blair, Jack
Straw and the Tories. She is also, it turns out, on matey terms with Paul
Wolfowitz, the US deputy defence secretary and his boss, Donald Rumsfeld -
the two most hawkish members of the Bush administration.

(clip)

Ms Clwyd was clearly impressed: "What came out during that discussion is
that Mr Wolfowitz himself had been a campaigner on Iraq since the end of
the 1970s and that human rights in Iraq was a major concern of his - which
I'd never realised before, obviously. I had a very interesting hour and a
quarter of conversation with him, on Afghanistan, and also on
Israel-Palestine."

The idea that he is a superhawk "is a misconception", she says. "He's a
very engaging personality, and prepared to discuss any issue. I found it
very easy to talk to him and we had a good exchange. I hope that he will
come here at some point and come and speak in the House of Commons, and let
people put their concerns to him, because I think people will be very
interested to meet him in the flesh."

Mentally rubbing my eyes at the thought of Mr Wolfowitz popping in to
address the parliamentary Labour party, I asked Ms Clwyd whether, perhaps,
she thought the whole Bush administration had been misrepresented? "I think
there is, among some people, a dislike of the US, also there's a view about
what US policy might eventually mean. I can only say that Rumsfeld, while I
was there, came into the room and I was introduced to him and he had a
great line in self-deprecation, which is a welcome thing in a politician.

"I don't know what my colleagues would make of me sitting here, listening
to neoconservatives. It's why I haven't talked about it here, people might
misunderstand it."



Louis Proyect, Marxism mailing list: http://www.marxmail.org


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