Guantanamo Bay and Margaret Beckett....

Where has Margaret Beckett been hiding for the past couple of years? Been abducted by aliens?
Has she only realised that Guantanamo Bay is a dire place, which abuses human rights? Locking people up without trial, systematic abuse and torture.

Like most gutless politicians, she suffers from that well known classic disorder, "Head in the Sand Syndrome", soon to be added to the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Or maybe it is just a factional and cynical manoeuvre where Beckett is taking a pop at the Blairites. Who knows what is going on in the mind of the opportunistic inveterate caravaner. But frankly Margaret, you just don't give a damn do you?

"The continuing detention without fair trial of prisoners is unacceptable in terms of human rights".

And, "We believe the camp should close". Not shit, Margaret!

But Margaret got back on track by questioning the report from the Lancet about the number of Iraqi civilians killed since the war began in 2003.

"No-one disputes that there have been many deaths in Iraq and all those deaths are regrettable and tragically many have been deaths of civilians".

Regrettable? It is regrettable when your train doesn't turn up on time not when you are describing the deaths of thousands of people. This clinical and cold language, which minimises the utter devastation experienced by the Iraqi people. But she showed which side she was on when it came to describing Israel pounding the crap out of Lebanon as "proportionate".

Even better she tries to explain away the imperialist intervention in both Iraq and Afghanistan by arguing that the abuses of human rights were not an indictment of Bliar's foreign policy.

Sorry Margaret, beg to differ!