Foot in Mouth Disease

Via Mr Eugenides, the lastest ramblings from Baroness Jenny Tonge. For those who don't know her, she was the Lib Dem Fronbencher who was asked, in rare moment of clarity, by Charles Kennedy to step down after saying she would consider being a suicide bomber if she was Palestinian. She is the same Jenny Tonge who knifed her leader in the back as soon as Charlie Boy admitted he had a drink problem. Like Jeremy Thorpe and Mark Oaten, she is an excellent example of why I for one will never vote Liberal.

Her most recent effort is this letter to The Independent. It is difficult for me to explain just how stupid her comments are, but I will give it a go anyway. She asserts that she is not surprised that suicide bombers in Iraq are from Palestine. And then she gives the reason:

"Israel's security wall is forcing them to export themselves to another arena to fight"

Hmmm. So the security wall that Israel built to stop suicide bombings in Israel is stopping suicide bombings in Israel. In other words, it is working. Ok, the suicide bombers are just going elsewhere. Which is terrible for the people of Iraq, but probably comes as some relief for the people of Israel. The main upshot of the security wall is that suicide bombers have to travel further to kill innocent people. And frankly, I am not that worried if suicide bombers - cold blooded killers - are inconvenienced by the Security Wall. In fact, I hope the longer journey is really miserable for them.

Moving on:

"The injustices to Palestinians, following the creation of the state of Israel and the subsequent brutal occupation by that country lies at the very roots of the causes of terrorism and the ideology of Osama bin Laden."

I dare say Osama bin Laden is upset by the conflict between Israel and Palestine. And honestly, I'm not that bothered if he is unhappy. But I think you misjudge Mr bin Laden, Jenny. The roots of Al Qaeda lie not in the specifics of the Palestine/Israeli conflict, but more in the desires of bin Laden to return the world to a medieval extremist theocracy. He wants a world where women are effectively the property of men, where the likes of Baroness Tonge would be hidden in doors and unable to be seen - let alone speak - in public. The logical extension of what Tonge is saying is that if Israel gave Palestine everything they want then the bin Laden jihad would end. Which is at best shortsighted, and at worst utterly, utterly crass. But she goes on anyway:

"In desperate attempts not to be accused of anti-Semitism, our leaders refuse to accept this and carry on supporting the USA and its military base in the Middle East called Israel."

Well, our leaders probably refuse to accept it because, as I mentioned earlier, it is not true. But let's move on. Let's look at the assertion that Israel is a US military base. Erm, again, no. Israel has a very effective military, but then again so would any nation surrounded by other countries that want to "wipe it off the map". And whilst it does look to the USA, Israel remains a fiercely independent nation. And that last word - nation - is the crucial one. Israel is not a military base, Tonge. It is a nation. It is a country. It is a home. Don't patronise and insult the people who live there.

Finally, we have:

"If someone in power does not do something to restore Palestine, even if only to acknowledge that Israel must withdraw to the pre 1967 borders, and allow the Palestinians to form a viable country, we shall have no peace."

The logical extension of what Tonge is saying is that we have peace in the Middle East if we reverse the actions that ended the Six Day War. What utter, utter toss. Why do you think the Six Day War happened? There has been conflict in that area since the Attlee administration set up Israel. It was the constant, hostile actions of Jordan, Egypt and Syria that made Israel launch their pre-emptive strike. Hell, there has been conflict in the Middle East since the time of Jesus, and even before. It is astoundingly naive for any senior figure in one of the UK's major parties (even the Liberal Democrats) to see a Palestinian state as a cure for all the ills that affect the Middle East.

I am a passionate believer in the freedom of speech, and realise that passion means that I have to allow the likes of Jenny Tonge to spout their twaddle. But the great thing about freedom of speech is that I can reply. So, in a nutshell, I say "shut up, you cretin. You have no idea what you are talking about."