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War. Not a matter of conscience?

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

08:32 / 26.10.01

Old news, I know, but I haven't seen it mentioned here and haven't had a chance to bring it up.
MP Paul Marsden speaks out against the war. Is taken to task by chief whip Hilary Armstrong for ruining New Labour's "united front".
THEN publishes transcript of conversation between them. In which she refers to him as "comrade" (like, does that mean New Labour actually REMEMBER socialism?) and tells him "war is not a matter of conscience".
So what the fuck is, then, Hilary?

Our Lady of The Two Towers

12:50 / 26.10.01

Well I assume she means it's a matter of duty, but that's bollocks.

Regrettable Juvenilia

12:59 / 26.10.01

That's not all she means, though... It ties in I think with Clare Short's dismissal of anti-war protestors as "emotional". Letting your conscience tell you what to do makes you a blubbing namby-pamby bleeding-heart softy, not a pragmatic realist blah blah blah.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

07:49 / 28.10.01

Sign me up for the namby-pambies, then!

In a similar vein, Peter "string-em-up, it's the only language they understand" Hitchens had a wonderfully shit piece in the Mail on Sunday today (sorry... I get paid to read it) saying that HIS conscience had problems dealing with the idea of a woman dropping bombs that could kill children.
Apparently it's okay if you've got a dick, though.
Peter Hitchens... Clare Short... they are evil. They must be stopped. (sorry... getting a bit emotional there... I think we should all have our consciences shot at dawn).

Mr. Thwaites

07:49 / 28.10.01

I don't know about Claire Short, but Peter "Monobrow" Hitchens certainly is an evil fucker masquerading as a bastion of morality. What was his problem with women being in the airforce? Plain old sexism, or was there anything appproaching reason behind his wittering?

sleazenation

10:35 / 28.10.01

I thought the whole point of this much publicised exchange (which if the published transcript is to be believed makes the government whip look like an incompetant, ineffectual bully) was to point out that war is not a matter of conscience but a matter of government policy.

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