N2272V

As a service to the political community at DAC, I am going to begin a weekly posting of the most retarded quotes from the vaunted, yet rapidly becoming irrelevant news media. My intent is not only to provoke thought, but to also entertain.

I hope you all enjoy it:

Quote today from a London Reporter babette to Prime minister Blair:

"Mr Blair, do you think that your policies are to blame for these recent bombing attacks?"

Blair: "No, I think the people doing the BOMBING are to blame."

Here's a brilliant summary about these events before and after 9-11 from an interview with John Howard, the Australian Prime MInister who says it ALL and says it so well:

JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister you have advice that tells you that this not related to Iraq?

PRIME MINISTER:
No I didn’t say that, I was asked my view and I’ve given my view.

JOURNALIST:
Is it your view that the motivation of the London bombings…

PRIME MINISTER:
I think the motivation is the same as the motivation of the people who murdered 88 Australians in Bali which took place before the Iraq war, the motivation that murdered 3000 people in the World Trade Centre on the 11th September 2001 which took place before the Iraq war and that is a perverted, twisted and totally immoral depiction of extreme Islam. I think that is their motivation.

JOURNALIST:
But how can you say Prime Minister that Iraq does not now feed into that motivation?

PRIME MINISTER:
Well I can only express the view that the motivation behind all of these attacks is a motivation based on perverted ideology. I don’t think it is event specific. I think it is an attitude and mind of a section of, a fanatical section of the Islamic community.

JOURNALIST:
You don’t think the presence of Australian, US and British troops in Iraq has anything to do with what’s in the minds of these people who have committed…?

PRIME MINISTER:
Jim, I can not put myself in minds of people anymore than you can. I can only express a view based on empirical evidence and the empirical evidence is that these foul motivations did dreadful things before the Iraq war.

JOURNALIST:
Were you surprised by Louise Barry’s inquiry…?

PRIME MINISTER:
I beg your pardon?

JOURNALIST:
What would you say to the assertion that the Iraq war has not made terrorist attacks any less likely on this country…?

PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think all I can say to that is to again remind you that terrorist attacks occurred before Iraq was on the radar screen and those people who argue as your question implies, this is really because of Iraq, completely ignore those facts.

JOURNALIST:
Does it help…?

PRIME MINISTER:
Is that a question or an expression, is it an expression of an opinion? I believe that terrorism is based upon a perverted ideology, I don’t believe it is event specific, I think it is based upon a perverted ideology and the evidence supports that very very strongly.

JOURNALIST:
Does it concern you that Louise Barry, a victim of the London bombing thinks that the bombings are because of Australia, Britain and the US involvement in Iraq, what do you say to those victims?

PRIME MINISTER:
Well it doesn’t concern me because we live in a democracy and there are people who have that view just as there are people who don’t have that view, and the fact that she might have that view; it’s part of the scene - equally a man who was a captive, was a hostage in Iraq, namely Douglas Wood has expressed strong support for Australia’s involvement in Iraq. Now all that indicates is we live in a democracy where there is a range of views, I have my view, others are entitled to different views and I have never ignored the fact that there are people who have different views about our involvement in Iraq than I do and its ever been thus. I don’t find that remarkable at all, it doesn’t disturb me.

There you have, the REST of the story!