It’s not enough the US relied on the faulty Downing Street memo and used its existence as an excuse to go to war in Iraq. Effectively blaming the British for America’s mistake, the British government still seemed to be in synch with US policy in Iraq. Well, maybe not anymore. Now it appears the British government is questioning the integrity of US leaders, including George Bush when it comes to torture. There is a very long paper trail which indict the Bush Administration in it’s decision to torture, or bend the rules concerning torture of people it has captured in this phony war on terror, so there is plenty for the British to hang their hat on when condemning US policy. Citing a committee report which
said there were ‘serious implications’ of the striking inconsistencies between British ministers continuing to believe the Bush administration when it denies using torture. ‘The UK can no longer rely on US assurances that it does not use torture, and we recommend that the government does not rely on such assurances in the future,’ said the committee. ‘We also recommend that the government should immediately carry out an exhaustive analysis of current US interrogation techniques on the basis of such information as is publicly available or which can be supplied by the US.’
it marks a definite shift in British attitudes towards America. This observer only wishes such a shift began four years earlier before headlines such as these graced papers around the world:
British troops in torture scandal