Friday 16 March 2018

The Lines Are Being Drawn

Vladimir Putin, or at any rate someone, needs to give Theresa May 24 hours to account for the deaths of men, women and children in war crimes in Yemen, since the weapons in question were such that they could only have been made in one country.

Unlike Novichok, about which there are two plausible theories. One is that any of the 15 former Soviet Republics might have it, as might the United States following the CIA's participation in the dismantlement of the facility in Uzbekistan. The other is that the only two countries that could possibly have it are Uzbekistan and the United States. Mix into either of those, however, the British claim to have been able to identify it at Porton Down, which can only be a claim to have it, illegal though it is, at Porton Down. Russia does not claim to have it, and indeed expressly denies having it. Not so, Britain.

From 1989 until his death in 2016, the dictator of Soviet and then post-Soviet Uzbekistan was Islam Karimov, who embodied for the West the old adage that, "He's a son of a bitch, but he's our son of a bitch." The West used him against Russia, against China (at least as much as we were), and against Islamist terrorists, contracting out to him the torture of those suspected of being among those last. Tony Blair maintained particularly close and lucrative relations with what was one of the most repressive regimes in the world. The very last country to which it would have given Novichok would have been Russia.

To return to Putin's ultimate, what would he do if it were not met? Why, expel 23 British spies whom he had admitted in the first place, of course. Oh, and he would decline to send one of his grandchildren to the next major sporting tournament that was held in Britain. Take that, Mrs May. Take that.

Of course the Salisbury attack has not been staged in order to deflect attention from Brexit, nor to derail it. But it is being used to the first effect, and it could be used to the second, both of which call even further into question any culpability on the part of the staunchly pro-Brexit Kremlin. The first expressions of solidarity did not come from the United States, nor from NATO, which had apparently proved as effective as Trident at deterring the activation of a weapon of mass destruction on our streets. Rather, they came from the EU.

The lines are being drawn between those who see the EU as our bulwark against the wicked Russians, and those of us who look to the post-Brexit opportunities of an extra £350 million per week for the National Health Service, of the restoration of the United Kingdom's historic fishing rights of 200 miles or to the median line in accordance with international law, of a trade agreement with each of the BRICS countries while remaining thoroughly critical of all five of their current Governments, and of the integration into the Belt and Road Initiative of all four parts of the United Kingdom, of all nine English regions, and of all of the British Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. Never mind the Customs Union. These four amendments need to be tabled, and they need to be put to the vote on the floor of the House of Commons. 

Who would vote against them, and why? Few or no Labour MPs, presumably, since, for all May's claim that there was a consensus across the backbenches in support of her stance on Russia, 12 out of every 13 Labour MPs have not signed John Woodcock's Early Day Motion. May merely assumed such support, because she does not see herself as a politician. She called a General Election because Opposition MPs were daring to vote against her. During that campaign, her idea of an interview was to go on The One Show and talk about putting the bins out.

This week, she was shocked to her core that the Leader of the Opposition presumed to question her, and her response was one of hysterical abuse, although she has just frozen the assets of Russian oligarchs in Britain, as he has been advocating for over a year. She was clearly far happier yesterday in Salisbury, on a walkabout as if she were a member of the Royal Family.

But she is not. Her case against Russia, such as it ever was, is falling apart. And these four amendments need to be tabled, and they need to be put to the vote on the  floor of the House of Commons. To ensure that such things happen in future, you know what you have to do, brothers and sisters. You know what you have to do.

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