Symon Hill guardian.co.uk
Saturday 27 June 2009
Whatever animosity Gordon Brown and Tony Blair may feel towards each other, one characteristic they share is an unswerving ability to underestimate the intelligence of the British public. Six years after the weapons of mass destruction were discovered to exist only in Blair’s imagination, Brown apparently thought he could get away with a secret inquiry into the Iraq war. Today he wants the public to join in with another thinly veiled attempt at dodging the issue, as the government celebrates the UK’s first Armed Forces Day.
With breathtaking hypocrisy, ministers are promoting “respect” for the people whose lives they risked in a futile war based on deceit. Like most attempts by politicians to patronise the public, Armed Forces Day looks likely to backfire.
