Weekly Jackass Number Thirty-Eight: George Galloway
Even in the exalted world of the Weekly Jackass winners, there are gradations. Some jackasses are more intrinsicially jackassical than others. This week’s honoree belongs to the upper stratum of jackassdom, by virtue of a lifelong ability to be on exactly the wrong side of most every issue. He is a man who has been credibly accused of corruption by writers far greater than I, a man who has time and again chosen grandstanding over personal virtue, and a man whose intellectual opinions, such as they are, possess a rare toxicity even by the standards of the Radical Left. I’m speaking of none other than George Galloway, MP, RESPECT the Unity Coalition.
That Galloway was a notorious apologist for Saddam Hussein is now widely known; that his financial interests lined up with Saddam’s under the Oil-For-Food regime is, I suppose, a lucky coincidence. Galloway’s toadying for Saddam included this remarkable tribute to the man who invaded Kuwait:
Sir, I salute your courage, your strength, your indefatigability – to Saddam in Baghdad, January 1994
as well as this equally remarkable statement:
The state of Kuwait is “clearly a part of the greater Iraqi whole, stolen from the motherland by perfidious Albion.”
Thus does moral relativism show its true colors.
The coalition that sponsors Galloway (or is it vice versa?) is remarkable in its own right. On its website, RESPECT the Unity Coalition lets us in on the secret of its acronym:
Respect
Equality
Socialism
Peace
Environment
Community
Trade
Unionism
Never mind the haziness of some of the items; the clarity of those remaining speaks volumes.
With the above as background, then, it is no surprise that Galloway and his supporters are defeatists in the War against Terror. What is surprising, shocking, and, dare I say, treasonous, is the outright wish for the defeat of one’s own military. The following resolution was adopted by RESPECT in 2004:
Motion 1: War and Imperialism – National Executive Conference notes:1. That the defeat of the US led occupation of Iraq is critical if the global economic and political offensive begun by the US state and its allies at the time of the first Gulf War is to be defeated.
2. That the resistance in Iraq is engaged in a battle to liberate the country. That resistance is composed of elements which are Islamic, nationalist and socialist. It is a national liberation movement.
3. That the anti-war movement has a crucial role to play in forcing the imperialist governments to leave Iraq.
…
6. That Islamophobia is central to the ideology of war in this era.7. That attacks on civil liberties are the inevitable domestic counterpart of the “war on terror”.
8. That much older questions of self-determination, for instance for Palestinians, Kurds and Kashmiris, are now bound up with the struggle against the new imperialism.
What has Palestine to do with Iraq? Oh, right, the ‘Jewish question’…
Of course, England is a partner in the War in Iraq, so if the above doesn’t constitute treason, then I say we have set the bar too low. There is no phoney-baloney ’support the troops’ nonsense here; no, Galloway is openly rooting for the ‘resistance’ to defeat (and presumably kill quite a few of) his fellow countrymen.
Do I go too far? Consider the following statements broadcast on Arab television following a trip to Syria by Galloway:
In his most inflammatory outburst yet on the invasion of Iraq, George Galloway has sought to justify lethal attacks on British troops on the grounds that the rebels “are defending all the people of the world from American hegemony”….…”It is not the Muslims who are the terrorists,” he said. “The biggest terrorists are Bush and Blair.”…
…In a third section of the interview, this time carried on Syrian television, Mr Galloway appealed to the Arab world, drawing a parallel between Baghdad under coalition control and Jerusalem under Israeli control since the 1967 war.
“Two of your beautiful daughters are in the hands of foreigners: Jerusalem and Baghdad,” he said. “The foreigners are doing to your daughters as they will. The daughters are crying for help and the Arab world is silent. Some of them are collaborating with the rape of these two beautiful Arab daughters. Why? Because they are too weak and too corrupt to do anything about it.”
May I be forgiven for wondering where Mr. Galloway’s funding is currently coming from? Clearly, he is either on the payroll of some Arab terrorist apologist organization, think tank, or government, or he is clinically insane. Two further quotes from Galloway illustrate his complete and utter lack of concern for the truth and the victims of terror:
Mr. Blair is using this crime and all these dead people as a justification for this absurd idea of a war on terrorism. “Terror” is a word… Terror is a tactic, it’s not a strategy. The idea that Muslims have some kind of sickness in their bodies, which must be cured, which is the idea behind Bush, behind Mr. Blair, and behind Mr. Berlusconi’s government in Italy – It must be resisted. It’s not the Muslims who are sick. It’s Bush and Blair and Berlusconi who are sick. It’s not the Muslims who need to be cured. It’s the imperialist countries that need to be cured.
Most of the children, most of the schools, most of the buses, were bombed by the United States. Let’s keep this clearly in perspective: Most of the children who died in Iraq were killed by George Bush, not by Zarqawi. Most of the schools that were wrecked, buses that were bombed, hospitals that were destroyed, lives that were taken, were taken by George Bush, not by Zarqawi.
Generally speaking, I try to avoid extremist rhetoric myself…but I will say in closing that statements far milder than those of Galloway have, at various points in history, resulted in prison sentences – or hangings.
For myself, I only have words at my disposal, and it is my distinct pleasure to metaphorically spit upon the recipient of our lastest award. May the day come when I can literally do so, as well…
UPDATE 08/06/05 9:36 a.m. central: Some thoughts in a similar vein from Austin Bay (hat tip to Michelle Malkin)…
UPDATE 08/08/05 12:39 p.m. central: Many thanks to the good Dr. Shackleford for the link…
The fact that George Galloway is an Arabic-language media celebrity is news to me. Since I speak no Arabic and English translations of many Arabic-language news outlets are known to often differ drastically from Arabic versions, I have not made an effort to keep pace with Arabic-language news. Well, if our favorite MP has, indeed, turned traitor, perhaps it is time to hand him over — following a trial, of course — to the Yeomen Warders of the Tower. They are all retired Sergeants-Major; they can be trusted to closely watch a prisoner who has cheered on the killing of their comrades on active duty in Her Majesty’s armed forces. He can have Rudolph Hess’s old cell and listen to the ghosts of former inmates tell him how good his lot is in comparison.
Wow, that looks like a great piece…I will definitely check it out…
Honestly, JackAss seems much to civil for Galloway.
As a citizen, I doubt Blair can deport him (to where?). The only option is probably treason. I don’t know the standard of proof in the UK but it is pretty high here.
As was said most eloquently earlier: he is a despicable man who supports those that murder civilians, are racist, misogynist, and homophobic.
Well done, Mark.
As anyone who watched Galloways testimony to congress not long ago regarding the oil-for-food scandal knows, while his opinions are reprehensible his command of the language is nonpareil; he is not to be confronted unprepared. Sen. Norm Coleman unfortunately got both barrels for his lack of preparation. This and that Galloway is an elected official are why I think he transcends pain-in-the-neck status and can be reasonable thought of as a dangerous fellow. But what to do?
There has been some speculation recently as to what his fate will be now that Tony Blair has come out strongly in favor of legally cracking down on those who encourage or apologize for terrorists and their rhetoric. Galloway clearly does both those things. But the English are a funny bunch; no matter what has been done, they tend not to like to see one after their liberal heart of heartsone of their finest sonsdragged away in irons. Too much of a crackdown could backfire. The much-ballyhooed political instincts of PM Blair will be put to the test.
Real Clear Politics has today linked to a wonderful Guardian piece by Nick Cohen called “ I Still Fight Oppression.” It is the tale of one mans move rightward post the terrorist bombings to an embrace of what can only be called neoconservatism and the response to this move by his liberal cohorts. He explains well how he believes the multiculturalists on the left have become unwitting “fellow travelers” with fascist extremists.
He writes, “[W]hen confronted with a movement of contemporary imperialism – Islamism wants an empire from the Philippines to Gibraltar – and which is tyrannical, homophobic, misogynist, racist and homicidal to boot, [the left] feel it is valid because it is against Western culture. It expresses its feelings in a regrettably brutal manner perhaps, but that can’t hide its authenticity [But] if my emails are a guide, the London bombs have added a practical reason for breaking with the consensus: now they’re trying to kill us.”
I think the point that Galloway is a press celebrity in the arab world needs to be more clearly defined–he is all over arab media and quoted as the “British MP” who claims the Americans and British are about to be defeated in Iraq and Lebanon is about to go up in flames. It’s fine and well that he is more or less ignored in Britian as EK points out–but it is truly damaging to have him as the convenient “face” of British politics in this context as he spreads his venom to an audience that doesn’t know, or doesn’t care, that he is marginalized in his own country.
He is an extraordinarily robust specimen of the species.
The only problem is that he does have one audience that is listening; the Arab world…
Ha! Would I ever cherish that day…
“Clearly, he is either on the payroll of some Arab terrorist apologist organization, think tank, or government, or he is clinically insane.” I concur. This calls for either whoever investigates corruption in the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Chancellor of the Exchequer?) or a big syringe full of whatever it takes to make the voices quiet down. Given Mr. Galloway’s history of saying such things as you have quoted, might it not be time to stop paying attention to him? Comments such as the one above discredit him as a statesman of a civilized nation. Instead they place him on equal footing with every ignorant shmuck out there chanting “Death to America! Death to Jews!” The British Parliament does not seem to be listening to his ranting; why should anyone else?
Of course, if any actual ties between MP Galloway and terrorists become known, there’s always Traitor’s Gate…
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[...] …the Hitch is getting warmed up! In case you’ve forgotten, on Wednesday, the great Christopher Hitchens takes on former Weekly Jackass and apologist for tyrants George Galloway mano-y-mano. Hitch gets warmed up here at Slate (I can’t even print the best parts – as you know, I try to keep it relatively clean here). [...]
If Galloway’s criminal, subversive and treasonous rhethoric wasn’t enough, consider the reporting by SBS of George Galloway: the glorification of the man who was being paid off by Saddam & Sons and continues to lie (see end of post) about it. I had to change channels several times to prevent becoming ill.
By George!
Galloway was 100% correct about Iraq. Hitchens 100% wrong. I’m an Atheist, and Hitchens is a total ass.