Warning: Don’t look any further if pictures of death and destruction upset you.
I don’t like taking sides in wars that are nothing to do with us and that I don’t fully understand. And heaven knows, how would someone like me understand war in the Middle East? How could any Brit?
Invariably there are bad and good on both sides. And invariably you lay yourself open to not unreasonable criticism if you favour one side against the other without understanding the intricacies.
Whatever the faults of the terrorists in Yemen, the Saudis, using weapons manufactured in the UK, aren’t targeting only terrorists. They are bombing hospitals and schools. They are killing little boys and little girls.
It’s bad enough that they are doing it. But it makes it very much our business that they are using UK-made weapons, and receiving strategic help from UK forces.
While Boris Johnson thinks that Londoners should demonstrate outside the Russian embassy to protest at the horrific bombings in Aleppo, he doesn’t show the same enthusiasm for protests outside the Saudi embassy. Of course, Boris’s lord and master isn’t a close personal friend of Mr Putin and no embarrassment would be caused to the Saxe Coburgs by Brits shouting anti-Russin war slogans.
MUNGUIN'S NEW REPUBLIC 
Perhaps a lot more real media coverage with
The real horror of war/murder on the pages of
The torygraph etc may show the war brigade how
terrible war is on innocent people but then that
Wouldn’t suit the masters of the msm agenda..
LikeLiked by 2 people
Agreed. Not a lot we can do. But occasionally, the pictures are too painful to see and I feel obliged to print something on here.
Doubt the Torygraph in its current tabloid form under the mad muppets of Sark, is interested in anything like this.
Once upon a time it would have been.
I’d like to know why the UK is still selling them bombs and helping them with strategy. Are they being paid like mercenaries, or is it just a favour to the Windsors’ friends?
LikeLike
Those poor children !
LikeLike
Absolutely heartbreaking
LikeLike
Ach it’s only Yemen … it’s not like anyone actually knows where Yemen is … or do they?
This must be the first Middle East “war” that has not had direct input from good old Uncle Sam with his loyal lap dog yapping at his heels! I for one find this rather strange … oh wait a second Yemen does NOT have any oil and is therefore not threatening to drop the American Dollar in its sales of of its oil … unlike Iraq, Libya and … erm … Syria leading to American calls for regime change to teach those dastardly leaders a lesson or three.
So the bottom line appears to be that Yemen is NOT on the radar of the Nobel Peace Prize winning American president only because it has no oil. Otherwise we’d be looking at FOUR Middle East wars all instigated by the good old Peace Prize winner or his Secretary of State. As it is we only have THREE Middle East wars instigated by the Peace Prize officiado. So that’s all right then … apparently!
I am in no way defending Saddam Hussain, Muammar Gaddafi or Bashar al Assad but each of their country’s were at least outwardly peaceful. In fact in Libya they all had FREE education and health and when someone got married they received $25,000 to put towards a new house as I learnt recently. As far as Assad is concerned again Syria has been relatively peaceful multi faith. So from my point of view everything appears to be revolving around the idea that good old Uncle Sam hates the idea that leaders of some country’s do things differently to Uncle Sam … oh and do NOT have any nukes!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Actually Saddam wasn’t THAT bad to live under according to an Iraqi friend of mine. OK, where i could stand i the City Square and curse at the Queen and not be imprisoned (although I suspect the police might move me on), he would have been in prison tout de suite. The lesson was, don’t get on the wrong side of Saddam.
Sounds very restrictive, but compared with many ME regimes it was relatively benign.
LikeLike
Some how I didn’t think it would be Tris.
In my blinkered view the whole Middle East catastrophe, let’s not beat about the bush here it is indeed a catastrophe, is whole 100% down to good old Uncle Sam and his desire to overthrow world leaders who do NOT follow their (Uncle Sam) requirements of doing as they are told and conforming to Uncle Sam’s demands!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, in fairness, Arbroath, I think you have to add France and UK into that mix. Going back in time, before America was a major global player, the two major European powers were incredibly damaging with their carving up of the different territories as if they had some inalienable rights to them.
LikeLike
You will get no argument from me on that point Tris.
As if to further confirm that very point both of these nations are currently involved to a greater or lesser degree in backing up Uncle Sam in his attempts to overthrow a legally elected world leader.
I just wonder how their governments would like it if someone came along, say Russia or China perhaps, and tried to over throw their legally elected government because it did not comply with the views of Russia or China?
Of course we all know this would never happen … right?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yemin and Eritrea occupie strategicly valuble positions on either side of the gulf of aden.
LikeLike
Aye true. So what’s the life of a million kids, if it given the odious Saudi government control of one side. I wonder how much we’re involved in selling arms to Eritrea…
LikeLike
And yet the Great British arms traders will keep trading, perhaps from Betty’s old boat, to the Saudis; or any other dubious regime, the whore of all parliaments, Westminster, deems as friend or ally.
I like Niko’s idea, show the real horrors of war, not the patriotic self sacrifice lie the real blood and gore, the real suffering of children, the old, the women and men scared in mind and body. The destruction of community, of culture and place.
The utter futility of wars of aggression and conquest, where the wars which should be waged are wars against, hunger, poverty, disease, ignorance and intolerance.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I just can’t understand how we can have got so far and yet still be knocking seven bells out of each other. Why can’t we find other ways?
I wish we could have better coverage, but most of the newspapers are utterly loyal to Westminster and the royals, who are very close to the royal families of Saudi and Bahrain, evil though they are.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Goodness – yet another evil Nat agreeing with Niko – but nonetheless, good comment sir. But ultimately it all comes down to the same thing; the outrageous, barbaric troughers in the MSM slavering up the respective arises of their Lords and Masters, masters like those Sark resident gentlemen; coz of course, maister aye kens best, especially when they have the full support of their corporate and governmental whores – same old, same old; ‘please, please, can I have my directorship and / or my seat in the House of Lords now please’? So, baubles for the elite; i.e. those born to rule, and beer and circuses for the plebs, or in these days, WillnKate, lots of girlie flesh, Bradgelina, and nasty nasty foreigners – and sorry Niko but in that I have to include us Jocks, as we are demonized to the hilt these days; and unfortunately half the time by the social climbing Scots born metro-tariat ‘tenement Jocks’ described by a certain Mr Cleese a coupla days ago. Anyway, whatever happened to excessive ownership of the press, monopolies and mergers, and gawd elp us, a bit of balance? Ah, these rose tinted specs o’ mine, can’t let compassion, understanding, good old fair play and worldy, brotherly / sisterly love get in the way of a buck or ten from a bomb or two. Ach, sometimes it would gar ye greet. Thanks Tris for giving me / us a forum to sound off on, and to know that at least a few of your readers are on a similar sorta page. Awra best – XXX to all
LikeLike
Sometimes, just sometimes mind, Niko makes some sense, and in this case he was spot on.
LikeLike
Yes, Jim. Niko’s a goodun really. Just misguided sometimes in his loyalty to the Empire.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Auch well, Gary. if you can’t sound off here, where else can you sound off?
The “bit of balance” these days comes mainly from online media, and that, of course, is one of the reasons we get such a variance of views between the young and the older folk.
Just imagine what they wold have done with the referenda on Scottish Independence and on EU membership, if some balance hadn’t come from Facebook, Twitter, and of course blogs.
LikeLike
Bloody spell check – arses, not arises
LikeLike
And I thought you were being polite too!!! 🙂
LikeLike
Let no one on he Yes side be under any illusion what we are up against – a ruling elite that thinks images like those above are just tickety boo. Scary isn’t it?
The situation in Yemen was briefly touched on by the BBC, mentioning that the country was on the verge of famine but the next day Brad and Angelina divorced, so who cares about a lot of stupid foreigners dying?
As regards Syria and Iraq, these two countries are artificial creations of Britain and France after WW1 and contain many disparate groups and have only been held together by strong leaders. Despite this they were among the most “liberal” in the Middle East. I do fully acknowledge Saddam’s treatment of the Kurds and Shias but that isn’t why the West overthrew him.
LikeLike
The West, in general, has to take a huge responsibility for what is happening in the Middle East. If it wasn’t Britain it was France, and later America, that messed up.
If you have the situations we left behind you need strong leaders. If i can see that I’m not sure why the FO or the MdAE can’t.
But it’s strange, don’t you think, that we don’t seem to have massive problems with strong leaders when they are royal… no matter how barbaric.
LikeLike
A fascinating take on British involvement in Yemen by Adam Curtis from 2010:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/2010/01/yemen_the_return_of_old_ghosts.html
Sadly, the embedded videos don’t work any more.
Sorry for going off topic here but the great news is that Adam Curtis has a new film coming out on iplayer on Sunday. His trailers are always strangely affecting. This one is no different:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/entries/02d9ed3c-d71b-4232-ae17-67da423b5df5
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Terry,
BTW the rule on MNR as it was on the old one, is that you can go off topic at any time at all, as long as it’s interesting 🙂
LikeLike
Incidentally, I won;t be able to watch the new film, as I point blank refuse to pay for the BBC, and now they won’t allow you to watch iplayer if you haven’t a licence.
😦
LikeLike
The “Return of Old Ghosts” is fascinating, and I’d suggest everyone might like to read it. This business of wanting to return to glory days, power and influence is so predictable. It’s interesting to remember though, that the ordinary person in Britain/the West, never actually profits from this. They didn’t in the 1800s and they don’t now.
LikeLike
I can’t watch iplayer either because it is blocked to non-UK IPs. His last film was on youtube almost immediately so I just watched it there.
Do you have a thread depth limit? No worries if you have – it’s your site, after all 🙂 Just a heads-up if it was a hidden default setting.
LikeLike
I don’t think so, Terry… why did you ask? Are you having a problem posting?
Ah, I’ll look to see if it turns up on Youtube.
LikeLike
Not having any problems posting but the “reply” but seems to disappear on the nested posts. For example, your reply beginning “Incidentally, I won;t be able to watch the new film, ..” has no reply button. It’s probably me just being an idiot.
LikeLike
I have always thought that the wider world was mad.
Quite why Saudi Arabia is still seen as ‘one of the good guys’ eludes me. Quite why members of the Bin Laden dynasty were allowed out of the US when, otherwise, there was a ‘no fly’ lockdown just struck me as one of those things.
Quite why we are all still ‘pals’ with Saudi Arabia after 9/11, given the nationalities of the known perpetrators?
It all seemed a bit mad to me.
But money, (or oil wealth, are they not the same thing?), seems to count for a lot more than morality these days.
Heartbreaking photographs. I hope you never falter.
LikeLike
The desperate attempts by Obama’s Executive to block Congress’s recent bill to allow 9/11 victim’s families to sue Saudi Arabia over it’s alleged involvement is revealing.
If Saudi Arabia had to defend itself in a U.S. court there would be the danger of the truth coming out. That is why Obama’s masters instructed him to block it, the Saudi “connection” is a smokescreen.
Mind you, the real perpetrators, or perhaps more accurately contractors, are situated not a million miles away from the Saudi’s. Who the actual 9/11 “movers and shakers” were we’ll probably never know!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I was greatly disappointed by that. Saudi seems untouchable by the Americans or the their puppets the Brits.
LikeLike