British politician George Galloway was in Washington yesterday to clear his name in the oil-for-food scandal — and came out with both verbal barrels blazing as he ripped into what he suggested was the hypocrisy of American politicians and the Bush administration.
The BBC reports:
British MP George Galloway has told US senators who accused him of profiting from Iraq oil dealings their claims were the “mother of all smokescreens”.
In a combative performance before a Senate committee, the Respect Coalition MP accused the US lawmakers of being “cavalier” with justice. He said: “I am not now nor have I ever been an oil trader and neither has anyone on my behalf.”
The senators say he was given credits to buy Iraqi oil by Saddam Hussein. Mr Galloway travelled to Washington to clear his name before the Senate sub-committee on investigations. He claims the evidence against him is false. He says forged documents had been used to make claims about him before.
Mr Galloway went on the offensive from the start of his testimony, saying the committee had “traduced” his name around the world without asking him a single question.
He told committee chairman Senator Norm Coleman: “I know that standards have slipped over the last few years in Washington but for a lawyer you are remarkably cavalier with any idea of justice.”
A bit of balance is in order, though. There is some background to this. As Oliver Kamm notes:
Galloway, of course, was expelled from the Labour Party not for his ‘views on Iraq’ but for four specific acts: inciting foreign troops to fight British troops; inciting British troops to disobey orders; threatening to stand against Labour; and supporting a candidate for the Respect ‘Coalition’ in Preston. On a unanimous vote on all of these charges, he was expelled from the party. The fairness of the procedure was such that he was acquitted on a fifth charge of urging voters in Plymouth not to support Labour.
I would have been delighted had he been expelled for his ‘views’ on various issues many years earlier. His declared support for the Soviet Union was entirely incompatible with membership of a democratic party, and it is appropriate that he now represents instead Respect, which is an electoral front for the pro-fascist and antisemitic Socialist Workers’ Party. But the fact is that his expulsion came only belatedly, and for specific cited reasons, not for his opposition to the Iraq War.
Even so, it was a REMARKABLE and compelling performance. Crooks And Liars has an incredible video of the spectacle of Galloway ripping into U.S Iraq policy aiming his remarks at Norm Coleman.
Two things on this. (1) This writer has supported the war, but reads and watches everything he can on the subject. (We realize that some on the left and right consider that treason — to read and watch everything you can — so we plead guilty on that.) (2) Galloway’s statement is powerful stuff, delivered with no-holds-barred language and he seemingly makes the case that he has been correct on lots of things and HE is not having to backtrack with spinners trying to justify his earlier position…
It doesn’t matter if you support or oppose the war…this is must viewing (and Crooks And Liars as usual does a great job with giving you a hefty piece of high quality video). Watch it yourself.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.