Galloway says murder of Blair would be 'justified'

[The Onyx Key]

The Respect MP George Galloway has said it would be morally justified for a suicide bomber to murder Tony Blair.

In an interview with GQ magazine, the reporter asked him: "Would the assassination of, say, Tony Blair by a suicide bomber - if there were no other casualties - be justified as revenge for the war on Iraq?"

Mr Galloway replied: "Yes, it would be morally justified. I am not calling for it - but if it happened it would be of a wholly different moral order to the events of 7/7. It would be entirely logical and explicable. And morally equivalent to ordering the deaths of thousands of innocent people in Iraq - as Blair did."

The Labour MP Stephen Pound, a persistent critic of Mr Galloway during previous controversies, told The Sun that the Respect MP for Bethnal Green and Bow in east London was "disgraceful and truly twisted".

He said: "These comments take my breath away. Every time you think he can't sink any lower he goes and stuns you again. It's reprehensible to say it would be justified for a suicide bomber to assassinate anyone."

The Stop the War Coalition criticised Mr Galloway: "We don't agree with Tony Blair's actions, but neither do we agree with suicide bombers or assassinations."

link: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article601356.ece

[xultar]

1. Ahh that's some shit that will wreck a cause. What a fucktard.

[Meldread]

2. woah...

Had that happened in America, he'd likely be wasting away in Gitmo by now.

Crazy bastard.

[madaboutharry]

3. These are the words of a very unstable

person. He needs an intervention.

[heartofthesiskiyou]

4. This guy's a wingnut

[DemoTex]

5. Circumscribed, mealy-mouth words from Galloway.

He will end up eating that word sandwich and retiring to the marginalia he has created for himself. Too bad. He did have a way with the English language. Too late now, I would say. What a waste of great talent.

Mac

[TSIAS]

6. What a stupid thing to say

Just adds fuel to the fire for the wingnuts who want to demonize him.

[derby378]

7. Galloway has pissed away any support he gained on DU

There's no way I'm going to support a statement like that - or the guy who utters it.

[seriousstan]

8. Don't you believe it, check this thread........

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1286969

[norml]

9. It's an interesting question, one which he certainly didn't shrink from.

"Would the assassination of, say, Tony Blair by a suicide bomber - if there were no other casualties - be justified as revenge for the war on Iraq?"

The politic thing to do would have been to say "No, assassinations of heads of state can never justified as revenge for anything."

When is murder justified?

What are the rules in war?

These are interesting questions, ones which most politicians would rather duck than answer with any bluntness about how things are justified, either in murder, or in war.

[mdmc]

13. ha ha

you a thinker...:patriot:

[Douglas Carpenter]

10. I would wait and find out what Mr. Galloway actually said

I just did a google search and could only find four articles on this matter.

If Mr. Galloway actually said this--it cannot be justified.

However, a lie can get half-way around the world before truth can get its boots on.

[Monk06]

11. He should be asking if political suicide is morally justified. I feel

sorry for his constituents.

He grew up yarping the phoney Trotski-ite
class warfare rhetoric of pre Thatcher Labor.

It's guys like him that did in British unions
and put Thatcher in power.

[mdmc]

12. this is an exercise in empathy

How would you fight against the West?

[orleans]

14. we loved him now we hate him? we applauded him for speaking

truth to power and now we abhor him?

what the hell is going on?

wait! i have to switch my glasses/my road map/my attitude--apparently i'm so behind on du--i just can't keep up with it

[erpowers]

15. Wrong

Galloway was wrong to say that. No matter what Blair did a it would still be wrong for a suicide bomber to attack Blair. I am glad the Stop teh War Coalition came out and critized Mr. Galloway.

[Douglas Carpenter]

16. Galloway's response from his website: "I would not support assassination"

"I would not support anyone seeking to assassinate the Prime Minister. That’s why I said in the interview I would report to the authorities any such plot that I knew of."

link:

http://www.respectcoalition.org/?ite=1086

"Galloway responds to Blair ‘assassination’ row
26/05/2006

“Like the Prime Minister’s wife commenting on suicide bombings in Israel I understand why such desperate acts take place and why those involved might believe such actions are morally justifiable.

"From the point of view of someone who has seen their country invaded and their family blown apart it’s possible, of course, for them to construct a moral justification. But I’ve made my position clear. I would not support anyone seeking to assassinate the Prime Minister. That’s why I said in the interview I would report to the authorities any such plot that I knew of."

“What I did make abundantly clear to Piers Morgan in the GQ interview is that I would like to see Tony Blair in front of a war crimes tribunal for sending this country to war illegally and for the appalling human consequences which resulted. That’s what I will continue to press for”.

George Galloway, Respect MP for Bethnal Green and Bow"

link:

http://www.respectcoalition.org/?ite=1086