American Fraud

Sense and lies

“That document is a fraud!”

It’s not the best way to make friends but that was my reaction to a briefing by a top State Department official yesterday in Washington. His Walter Mitty version of the situation in Afghanistan was a dangerous fiction. The sort that is sending our soldiers to die in an impossible mission.

He produced a map shown the Afghan Provinces where opium was growing in 2001 all coloured red. A second map showed the current position with few red areas. “Where were your production figures?” I asked him. Our drugs eradication programme is a hideous abject failure. Production in he past two years is the highest ever. There is more heroin on the world market than ever and the price of heroin on the streets of our cities in the lowest ever.

I could have said all this in the Commons yesterday for the umpteenth time in answer to Des Browne’s maniacally optimistic statement there. His theme is that things are going so well, we need send another 230 troops to become targets for Taliban terrorists. Just an obvious point Des. If things are going that well, why aren't we bringing troops home?

I am in the United States as a member of the Council of Europe Defence Committee. The US want to persuade us. The committee is composed of defence specialist MPs from more than 20 countries – including German, France and Italy. These countries are not persuaded by America’s optimism. They are refusing to expose their soldiers to the suicidal mission in the South.

The answer after one day here to the question of whether it is worthwhile coming here is a resounding ‘Yes’. We have had fifteen presentations over 11 hours yesterday. Some were authoritative and full of unique insights. Others were base self-serving propaganda. Being here is a wonderful chance to nail the deceivers and to strengthen the conscientious resistance of fellow Europeans states to the bellicose war mongering of George Bush.

The Count

Having a Tory led-council in Newport is not an entirely new experience. Many feel bitter that by voting Lib-Dem they have got a Tory Council, even though Labour has 5 more councillors that the Tories.

MPs and AMs will work with the new council for the benefit of the city. There are great years ahead. Many of the plans announced by the new regime are uncosted and I anticipate a few disappointments.

The last time the Tories were in control in Newport they had a leadership of three oddballs. One was a mildly eccentric dentist; the second a salesman and the third named himself the Vicomte de Villa. His real name was very ordinary. The Vicomte was made chairman of education. He told everyone ‘ Called me Count’. After a few months in office, everyone did.

But they did not always get the pronunciation right.