Three's a crowd

As if the Weapons of Mass Destruction saga wasn't enough, the old mantra has come back to haunt us...twice. Remember what happened the first time the American government dolled up their claim of WMDs, leading the consensual US (and other allied nations) to war, only to realise that, in fact, they were wrong, leaving us with a moral detritus. Oh, and remember when Bush centered his Iranian foreign policy on the latent danger of nuclear fission techniques? What happened? That's right, the intelligence services deemed that claim no longer relevant too, and we're caught between a rock and a wall of scepticism, suspicion, derision, and frustration, not least on part of the American people. Let me make a clear distinction; as these events have unfolded there are certain dangers and scenarios that have required the military interruption of our allied forces that I fully support, but that is for another post. However, the way these claims have been hyped, and then rubbished, has led to the effects noted above. Anyway, only recently we have been fooled yet again. Remember when American ships were supposedly threatened and taunted by Iranian ships along the Straight of Hormuz, which almost led to the American's opening fire. Again, this was revealed as the next concrete argument in Bush's arsenal that fell to pieces - it appears the taunts the American ship's heard via radio were simply the prankish chants of a local lunatic. So, the ineffectual, whimsical, almost childish shout of: "You will explode" could have kick-started a firefight with Iran. Don't get me wrong, the way the Iranian's treated the British sailors during their period in captivity early last year was inexcusable, and our damp-squib government earned that title yet again. But the voters of America and its allies cannot go on being misinformed in this way. The work of the 82nd battalion is worthy of our utmost praise, yet their efforts could be historically squandered if the US government persists in this way. Think before you speak.