'The Future of Iraq' - CANCELLED

I had to chuckle seeing this caption on an email that came in today.

Here is the text of the email:

'The Future of Iraq' - CANCELLED
The Henry Jackson Society regrets to announce that Monday’s event with Mithal al-Alusi has been cancelled. Due to the breakdown of the biometrics machine at the Baghdad embassy, Mr al-Alusi has been unable to get a visa at this time. We apologise for these unforeseen difficulties, and will notify you as soon as the event is rescheduled.

Mr. al-Alusi is an elected member of the Iraqi Council of Representatives. He founded the Democratic Party of the Iraqi Nation in 2005 after he was sacked from his ministerial position by his previous party, the Iraqi National Congress, for visiting Israel and daring to express the hope that there might be peace between the countries. He regularly speaks out against extremist parties and sectarianism, and paid the ultimate price for his outspoken stand when his two sons were killed in an assassination attempt aimed at his car. Despite this horrific loss, he has courageously stuck to his convictions and refuses to back down from expressing them.

Why do I blog it?

Well it’s just the irony of the thing.

Here’s one of the few good guys in a who has suffered personal tragedy and risks his life every day in the promotion of democracy and decency in the world’s most troubled region. And he can’t get in to the UK for a lecture at Westminster without his biometrics being in order.

In stark contrast sits this piece of pure excrement: Abu Qatada who is known as Osama Bin Laden’s spokesman in Europe. His other roles are spiritual leader of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), and the Tunisian Combat Group. In 1997 it is claimed Qatada called upon Muslims to kill the wives and children of Egyptian police and army officers. He is reputed to have been a preacher or advisor to al-Qaeda terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui and shoe bomber Richard Reid.

He was freed from a UK prison because his human rights would have been infringed by holding him any longer or deporting him to Jordan where he awaits trial for plotting to bomb tourists in 2000. Why this drekk should be entitled to any rights in the UK is a joke, since he came into the country on a forged passport and has been living off the state ever since. The British taxpayer now faces a million-pound-a-year cost to supervise his parole conditions.

Poor Mr. al-Alusi.

One of the good guys, he sits in Baghdad this weekend. For biometric reasons he is prevented from delivering his lecture in the very Parliament of a once 'Great' Britain which now shelters terrorists and their human rights.

If this goes on much longer, the future of Iraq - and western democracy - may indeed be 'cancelled'.