Posing Without a Tutu

Archbishop Desmond Tutu has withdrawn from a summit in Johannesburg because he considers it inappropriate to appear alongside the Reverend Blair. "Ultimately, the archbishop is of the view that Mr Blair's decision to support the United States' military invasion of Iraq, on the basis of unproven allegations of the existence in Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, was morally indefensible," said Tutu's office, demonstrating a deplorable lack of that nuance which characterises the discourse of our own Retiring Vermiform Anglican. As usual, Tony's apostles were quick to invoke the Halabja massacre and the Iran-Iraq war, both of which took place some years before the Bush-Blair crusade and both of which involved chemical weapons that actually existed. Disagreements over whether régime change was a nice thing to do or not are, according to Tony's apostles, all part of a healthy democracy; the provisions of international law being mere piffle before the wind of righteousness. Remarkably enough, considering his reverence's well-known contempt for legal quibbles over such minor matters as blood and money, Tony's apostles were careful to point out that, even had Tutu attended the meeting, he and Tony would not actually have shared a platform. Besides Tony and his humility, a former chief executive of Tesco's is attending as well, so accommodation will clearly be limited.