Americans attacked by British pit bull
by Benjamin Roberts, 2006

It came without warning, swooped in, and went straight for the jugular. It was not a warplane, warship, or submarine. It was not a missile. It was not even a British Bulldog. No, it was was much worse. It was a British Pit Bull, if you will, in the form of elected British MP Honourable George Galloway. The attack was without question provoked, and the unfortunate provocateur and victim was our United States Senate, the bastion of American political power and decisionmaking. What a scene! Our leaders had no idea what they were getting into when they, led by Minnesota Republican Senator Norm Coleman, decided to hurl stones at Galloway, accusing him of abusing and benefiting from the United Nations Iraqi Oil For Food Program.

Despite being a lowly Joe Blow in America, I was in a position to warn our venerable lawmaking body about the possibility of being attacked, and the need to stay well clear of MP Galloway. You see, unlike many of us, I choose not to park myself in front of TV and allow CNN, FOX NEWS, and the other major networks to saturate, assail, and assault me with what they call news. Instead I choose to piece together a news picture by tuning in to what is happening in different parts of our world. It was while on one of these far flung flights of information gathering that I came to know about British MP George Galloway.

In short, my radio dial was tuned to the BBC. It was the night of the British elections. Tony Blair and his Labour Party had just been declared the winners. But this time there was no stunning landslide. Close to a hundred seats had been slashed from his previous margin of victory. One of those seats was captured on that night by Mr. Galloway.

In the aftermath Galloway was being interviewed by BBC newsman Jeffrey Paxman who proceeded to vilify and attack him for having won. He even went as far as upbraiding Galloway for shamelessly wrestling the long held seat away from the poor incumbent Oona King, a black female. This assault on Galloway was nothing short of horrendous. Well, Mr. Galloway wasted no time opening up with a full broadside on the newsman, chiding him for poor professional journalism, and taking him to task for displaying gross insensitivity in attacking instead of congratulating him on his victory. In the exchange he even gave an I-told-you-so shout out to his nemesis Tony Blair, telling him the 'blood of innocent Iraqis is on your hands,' and letting him know that the British vote reflected this. Suffice it to say that the newsman came away from that exchange with Galloway the worse for wear. Even though Mr. Galloway came across as a bit harsh and blunt in this interchange, it was absolutely appro! priate in that he was defending himself against an all out assault and mugging. So you see, I knew what our Senate was in for when it decided to go headhunting for Honourable Galloway.

When Galloway heard about the Senate investigation that had him in their sights, he probably was chomping at the bit to get over here and face his accusers. My guess is that the good man wished the Concorde was still flying, so as to whisk him over here in record time. The man is a firebrand in England, and he was a firebrand here. He practically lit up our Senate and our lame media with his battle royal brand of British politics. He blasted this Administration for going to war with Iraq in the basis of 'a pack of lies.' He dismissed the investigation of him as being 'the mother of all smoke screens,' designed to embarrass the United Nations. He labeled his main accuser, Minnesota Republican Senator Coleman as 'not much of a lyncher.' In other words calling them nothing more than a lynch mob. Anyone paying attention to the news of late would have to agree that MP George Galloway is right, and that America is being hornswoggled and taken for a ride by those they have chosen t! o lead them. Here are some things worth noting:

Bush and his Administration assured us that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and that we needed to attack and disarm them. A strangely silent Senate gave him carte blanche to attack while they, like Nero, on the eve of the attack, were preoccupied with some inane debate to change the name of French Fries to Freedom Fries. What a waste of the working American's hard earned taxpayer dollars. Try enlisting the aid of these elected officials in intervening on a serious matter affecting our daily lives, such as the tidal wave of substance abuse gripping this nation, and see how far you get. No WMDs have ever been found. Bush's 'out' is that 'mistakes were made.' No one in his Administration has ever been brought to account for these 'mistakes.' The behavior of our forces at Abu Ghraib Iraq has brought America much shame. The highest, and only, ranking officer found at fault was a woman, General Janis Karpinski. Is it possible that a single woman, in an institution presided ! over overwhelmingly by men, is the sole high ranking offender? In McCarthy style the military has alleged, through unnamed sources, that prior to promotion to General, Karpinski was charged with shoplifting. She is scheduled to, or has been already stripped of her rank and demoted by George Bush. Yes, you heard me right. Where is the outrage? American women especially, should be pouring out into the streets in protest and accosting their elected representatives everywhere for gender discrimination. Just prior to war with Iraq, America gave Iraq an ultimatum for turning over to the UN an inventory of their weapons capability and arms programs. But it was not the UN who got this document. The United States intercepted it. You see Colombia was at the time doing its stint as head of the UN agency having to do with this matter. Its ambassador passed the material directly over to US authorities. Who could forget Secretary Of State Colin Powell on the occasion grinning like a Ches! hire cat as he headed for Columbia loaded down with gifts like Santa Claus to reward that country for its graciousness. Bush Administration officials even admitted that they had 'redacted' material from the documents before general viewing was allowed by the UN Security Council. What a travesty. These redactions no doubt showed which US government officials, companies, and private individuals had circumvented UN sanctions and assisted Saddam in his rearming and other schemes, such as the Oil For Food. Now you know why names are coming up in Britain, Russia, and France as aiding and abetting Saddam, but none from America. Preposterous! This Senate investigation was conducted with a half deck of cards, and as Galloway puts it, it was 'the mother of all smoke screens.' Prior to the American invasion of Iraq the world was treated to stories of a diabolical Ricin plot in Britain. Presumably a rabid terrorist cell in London was arrested there with a setup which was producing the p! oison Ricin. Apparently they were up to no good and out to do bodily harm to the British populace. A recent article in the Washington Post by staff writer Walter Pincus carried a story of the investigation which concluded that there was never any trace of Ricin found. Even worse is the fact that British investigators knew before the war began that there was no evidence of Ricin in these arrests. Yet Dick Cheney, General Richard Myers, then White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, and Secretary Of State Colin Powell at his now famous UN slide show, all told us unequivocally of this dire development of terrorists producing Ricin and making our world even more dangerous. What better way to terrorize, make us cower in fear, and soften us up for supporting their war ambitions. See what George Galloway means by 'a pack of lies?'

Our government miscalculated very badly in going after MP George Galloway. Instead of damaging him, as they probably figured, they actually increased his stock. The majority of Britons opposed their country and America going to war with Iraq. My guess is that in their eyes Galloway's wrestling match and mauling of the American power elite over their going to war, is a blow struck for them, and a comeuppance for the annoying Americans. This means MP Galloway star has to be shining brighter in their eyes. Not good for America, as this gives him added ammunition and makes him an even more potent rival for their wounded friend and pal, Tony Blair. Real bad. The Bush Administration and his Republican dominated Senate royally bungled this one. Maybe an updated parable will help them the next time they embark on another such venture. It is: 'Goliaths who live in glass houses with cracks should not aggravate sling toting Davids.'