Pots and kettles

Could you make it up? Norman Kember, released after four months in captivity after being kidnapped in Iraq, is now facing a barrage of attacks from the military and the press. His crime? Having been in Iraq in the first place and showing insufficient gratitude for his rescue.

The phrase pots and kettles comes to mind. The troops are the people who shouldn't be there, and while there is no sign that Iraqis have done anything but welcome Norman and his fellow campaigners that can't be said of the troops. Demonstrations regularly call for them to go and the highest votes in last year's election went to anti occupation candidates.

As for the claim that costs of Norman's rescue ran into millions and that soldiers risked their lives rescuing him, the facts seem rather different. There appears to have been an uncontested handover of the hostages, the kidnappers having fled. It seems hard to understand how this could have cost millions, unless he was flown back in a private jet. But no, he was on a BA scheduled flight from Kuwait.

This claim about costs looks a little thin in the light of the billions already spent and the fact that we the British taxpayers pay for mercenaries to run private security in Iraq.

Norman and Christian Peacemakers surely have a right to be in Iraq, since they see this as the way to bring peace to the Middle East. Even if you disagree with that way of campaigning (and personally I think our most effective camapigns are those carried out in solidarity with Iraqis here)you should accept that they have gone there to try to help. If only all of the westerners who had gone there in recent years had the same aim.

Meanwhile I'm waiting for government calls for Halliburton, the oil companies and the 'private security' firms to quit.