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08 April 2003: "Better late than never"

Jackie D links to this opinion piece in the London Times; it notes that a few myths ("memes" might be the better word) from the anti-war camp are due for deconstruction, one of which is the notion that "America and Britain armed Iraq" in the 1980s. To support this point, the author, Michael Gove, cites this report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. It should be noted that the "Dissident Frogman" made his own graphic of the very same data and posted it in this entry eight days ago.

Isn't it great when bloggers are over a week ahead of the established media? Mind you, that SIPRI data has been around since 29-Oct-2001 so I don't suppose there's that much cause for celebration, but then again, bloggers don't get paid.

Another one of the memes Gove addresses is the one that it is somehow hypocritical to condemn Iraq for violating UNSC resolutions when Israel is supposedly "in violation of UNSC resolutions as well." This is nothing new, of course; I've adressed that point myself a few times (most recently here and here). But frankly, the distinction between Chapter VI and Chapter VII resolutions should have long been a matter of common knowledge for (or to slap in the face of) anyone invoking this "argument"; it rathers saddens me that it is not.

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