FOR the sake of politeness, we should never simply assume that politicians are always economical with the truth.
In this spirit, we have to accept the possibility that Foreign Minister David Miliband may have suddenly remembered that he and his wife have a new addition to their family that made it impossible for him to fulfil a joint appointment with Saudi Prince Saud al-Faisal.
On the other hand, he may have had early sight of the cringeing nonsense that Foreign Office mandarins had prepared as his speech and retched at the thought of it.
At least he could have had no worries about his colleague Kim Howells being prepared to spout whatever was placed in front of him.
So comprehensively has he distanced himself from his previous existence as a Communist Party member and researcher for the South Wales miners that even his reference to Britain and Saudi Arabia uniting around their “shared values” did not stick in his craw.
These values are, presumably, an hereditary head of state, addiction to oil and corruption-greased arms deals and utter subservience to Washington. These shared values certainly don’t include a commitment to human rights and democracy, despite the usual propaganda from the US and its acolytes.
The Foreign Office claims that the Saud dynasty is making slight progress towards reform, but the government knows that any idea of a democratic opening is illusory.
Nor do they include the battle against international terrorism, whatever the protestations of the feudal despot King Abdullah that his regime supplied useful information to the British authorities prior to the July 7 terrorist outrages.
The Saudi monarchy is a prime sponsor of terrorism, having financed and organised the network of madrasas in Pakistan that formed the basis for the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
It had earlier done the dirty work for the US in acting as a conduit for terrorists who worked to overthrow the progressive Najibullah government in that country.
But Riyadh is not alone in doing its utmost to foment international terrorism.
While our government proclaims its backing for the US phoney war against terror, it is implicated up to its neck in the same crimes against humanity that exacerbate the sentiments of desperation and rage and fuel religious-based terrorism.
The pitiless invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan followed a decade-long sanctions regime that cost the lives of half a million Iraqi children.
And this is in addition to the unconscionable support for Israel’s ongoing colonisation of Palestine, complete with ethnic cleansing and collective punishment of the civilian population.
Britain’s criminal record is why calls for the British government to lecture Saudi Arabia on human rights are inadequate. Britain does not have the moral authority.
Far better that Britain’s political parties should clean up their own Augean stables first.
They should stop dancing to Washington’s tune, which always seems to be a martial air. They should put an end to the corrupt practice of turning a blind eye to financial corruption to set up arms deals.
And, above all, they should signal a new era of support for international law, democracy and human rights instead of imperialist wars, racism, exploitation and oppression.
FOR the sake of politeness, we should never simply assume that politicians are always economical with the truth.
In this spirit, we have to accept the possibility that Foreign Minister David Miliband may have suddenly remembered that he and his wife have a new addition to their family that made it impossible for him to fulfil a joint appointment with Saudi Prince Saud al-Faisal.
On the other hand, he may have had early sight of the cringeing nonsense that Foreign Office mandarins had prepared as his speech and retched at the thought of it.
At least he could have had no worries about his colleague Kim Howells being prepared to spout whatever was placed in front of him.
So comprehensively has he distanced himself from his previous existence as a Communist Party member and researcher for the South Wales miners that even his reference to Britain and Saudi Arabia uniting around their “shared values” did not stick in his craw.
These values are, presumably, an hereditary head of state, addiction to oil and corruption-greased arms deals and utter subservience to Washington. These shared values certainly don’t include a commitment to human rights and democracy, despite the usual propaganda from the US and its acolytes.
The Foreign Office claims that the Saud dynasty is making slight progress towards reform, but the government knows that any idea of a democratic opening is illusory.
Nor do they include the battle against international terrorism, whatever the protestations of the feudal despot King Abdullah that his regime supplied useful information to the British authorities prior to the July 7 terrorist outrages.
The Saudi monarchy is a prime sponsor of terrorism, having financed and organised the network of madrasas in Pakistan that formed the basis for the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
It had earlier done the dirty work for the US in acting as a conduit for terrorists who worked to overthrow the progressive Najibullah government in that country.
But Riyadh is not alone in doing its utmost to foment international terrorism.
While our government proclaims its backing for the US phoney war against terror, it is implicated up to its neck in the same crimes against humanity that exacerbate the sentiments of desperation and rage and fuel religious-based terrorism.
The pitiless invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan followed a decade-long sanctions regime that cost the lives of half a million Iraqi children.
And this is in addition to the unconscionable support for Israel’s ongoing colonisation of Palestine, complete with ethnic cleansing and collective punishment of the civilian population.
Britain’s criminal record is why calls for the British government to lecture Saudi Arabia on human rights are inadequate. Britain does not have the moral authority.
Far better that Britain’s political parties should clean up their own Augean stables first.
They should stop dancing to Washington’s tune, which always seems to be a martial air. They should put an end to the corrupt practice of turning a blind eye to financial corruption to set up arms deals.
And, above all, they should signal a new era of support for international law, democracy and human rights instead of imperialist wars, racism, exploitation and oppression.