September, 30 2004

I don't recall meeting with Cardinal Pell (who is a fine man) during the election campaign. If you don't recall meeting with Cardinal Pell (who is a fine man,) you should say so, too. It's important to be clear and upfront about these things, or people will get the wrong idea.

Health minister Tony Abbott isn't afraid to not recall meeting Cardinal Pell (who is a fine man) during the election campaign. He spoke forthrightly on the ABC's Lateline last night:

TONY JONES: Tony Abbott on another matter, have you met Archbishop Pell during the election campaign?

TONY ABBOTT: Not that I can recall.

TONY JONES: Not that you can recall, because we believe that you've had at least one meeting with him quite recently?

You don't recall that?

TONY ABBOTT: Well, when?

Where?

TONY JONES: At the presbytery in Sydney.

TONY ABBOTT: Ah, actually now that you do mention it, I did met with Cardinal Pell.

So what?

Why shouldn't I meet with Cardinal Pell?

TONY JONES: Why couldn't you recall meeting him, I think, 10 days ago?

TONY ABBOTT: Look, whenever it was, so what?

Why shouldn't I meet Cardinal Pell.

Cardinal Pell is a fine man.

(via Chris G)

Carl Fyffe left a comment asking what political options Bush had in Iraq:

For more than 9 years the world played the political game with Iraq, and never could find out for sure whether or not there were weapons in the country.

If dealing with a country that is not playing by the rules for 9 years is a violence first policy, then I would like to know what you would consider a politics first policy.

The Bush administration had many political options open to it in 2002. Here’s four off the top of my head:

• The most obvious one would have been to let Iraq lie a while. The situation had already festered for nine years and another year while the US military finished in Afghanistan would have made little difference to the Iraq problem, but a big difference to the Iraq solution.

• More constructively, Bush could have tackled the ineffective sanctions against Iraq. The US government is in strong position to shame those who were part of the corruption, and wheel and deal to ensure that food and medical supplies went into the country while hard currency did not.

• Bush could have made complying with weapons inspections more palatable to Iraq by removing its spies from the inspection team. I can’t imagine the US being fully cooperative if Iraqi spies had been appointed by the U.N. to inspect US military bases, so why should Saddam have been fully cooperative with US spies in Iraqi military bases?

• Finally, I am certain that the $100 billion dollars already spent on war in Iraq, would have been better spent reducing the systemic factors that support terrorism and dictatorships in the middle-east.