Way to go, Hanoi Jane

Well, according to the blog Harry's Place, Jane Fonda has backed out of her public appearance with George Galloway. I hate to give Galloway any blog-space, but this is great news. There are many people in the anti-war movement who are in it because they are really against war - period. There are a number of people in the anti-war movement who are in it because they are against this particular war. And there are a number of people who are in the anti-war movement because they have their own particular axes to grind. George Galloway isn't in the anti-war movement because he loves peace, George Galloway is all too happy to support violent action against the Israelis and American and British troops on the ground in Iraq and all too quick to excuse it against civilians in New York or London. People who are against the war in Iraq, for peaceful, moral reasons should steer well clear of people like him and others who have come together over the past few years in a broad anti-war coalition.

I was pretty equivocal about the war in Iraq at the beginning, but now I'm agin' it. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of public forums for people like me with my rather complicated views on the matter. That is, I now believe that we were misled about the reasons, that the war has been badly run from the beginning and while Iraq wasn't a good training ground for al Qaeda before, it bloody well is now. So leaving might just be the most dangerous thing to do. Unfortunately, you don't go to war with the leaders you want, you go to war with the leaders you have, watch them screw things up and hope to goodness that there's somebody capable of getting us out of this mess with the least bad consequences for American and British soldiers, American and British security and for the people of Iraq.

Next weekend there will be an anti-war protest in London, but I won't be there. I don't want to be associated with George Galloway and his ilk. I'm glad Jane Fonda has come to her senses and has made a similar decision. (I'm sure my earlier plea tipped the balance in her decision making process.) I hope others do the same. You are judged by the company you keep. I stick to my liberal (not leftist) values. Of course it would be better if Galloway were uninvited and the others were left to get their points across.

Read Greg Palast's views ( one of the speakers at the Operation Ceasefire event in Washington on Sept 24) on ol' Gorgeous George. Of course, unlike him, I was never an apologist for Galloway.