Sadly and quite tragically the prospect of a Brazil-Argentinean world cup football final appears far less enticing than the greatest battle for decades that is about to kickoff just north of Baghdad between the Sunnis and the Shias.
Although in one sense this sectarian war can be traced right back fourteen hundred years or so, this current standoff is a poor excuse for those wishing to wash their bloody hands of blame. It is undoubtedly as a direct result of the US / British invasion of 2003 . Of course according to Tony Blair in his deluded greed ridden psychotic view of the world, the current situation could have been easily stopped had we bombed Syria.
WHAT!, I hear you cry, is this man, as Boris Johnson has come out to say- completely MAD .. Well yes of-course he is. Having written an eight page diatribe on his own web page, Blair is actually showing signs of a massive sociopathic guilt complex .
Well Tony ,hate to disappoint you but the clue is in the name- ISIS ' Islamic state of Iraq and the sham ' ( or levant) are a massive and well equipped band of jihadists, financially and militarily backed by Saudi Arabia who were originally known as Al Queida in Iraq .With a whole mix of foreign fighters they stem from the insurgency that fought US forces a decade ago, many of them from Fallujah the notorious Sunni town about forty miles west of Baghdad where the US carried out their Phantom fury battle of 2004 and from where around 4000 people lost their lives. Children are still being born defected as a result of the depleted uranium that found its way into the drinking water as a direct result of American's use of depleted uranium..ISIS did not arrive from Syria but expanded there when the boarders became porous after the start of the Syrian revolution. They have since been kicked out of Aleppo the second largest city in Syria but as we all know have since taken Mosul the second biggest city in Iraq along with its arms-caches and $123 million from its banks .
On the other side of the field we have the US backed but virtually useless Iraqi army, supported from the dug-out , by the wonderfully and evocatively named Grand ayatollah Ali al-Sistani whose mad as a hatter 1.5 million volunteering army are more than happy to throw down their lives for the opportunity of a guaranteed place in martyrdom heaven..
Even Iran, America's long-time enemy has stepped up to the plate to suggest it might referee the match standing shoulder to shoulder with Obama to fight, in God's name, the so called terrorists. Whoever wins you can be sure that one way or another we are about to witness an almighty bloodbath. A bloodbath that Bashir Assad and Tony Blair can only dream of whilst they sit back to watch the TV stations pumping out the footy on one channel and the horror show of the century on the other .
Before we go further, I'd just like to mention a rather duplicitous bit of the game that in effect sees the US on both sides in this war, at least financially. As allies of Saudi Arabia with whom they do around $50 billion a year in arms sales with they are backing both sides. Incredulous, ? Surely as far as morals go, America is by default bereft ,as with each man that falls to his grave they will be making money off his back .
Back to Bush and Blair and their 2003 invasion: Do you remember how just before he legged it out of Baghdad, Saddam Hussein opened all the jails freeing all the hardened criminals back into society. Not to be the only prison break in the last ten years to have swelled the Al-Qeida supporters by the thousands .Thousands of criminals returning to doing what they do best, murder and destruction..Murder and destruction helped in no small part by the most stupid decision in the history of foreign policy making, that of Paul Bremer the hapless US, Iraqi Governor who just after the occupation disbanded the army leaving thousands of trained men to go seek work elsewhere. This in a country like Iraq where unemployment stands at around 25% and where the salary for joining the army doesn't leave you with much change to feed your family..Is it any real wonder Mosul fell so swiftly.
Then in the mix we have the US and the CIA backed Noari al Malaki, Iraq's two times prime minister who , allied with Iran has failed to see the obvious antagonistic approach of not inviting one's fellow countrymen to be a part of any administration. This was something the Baathist, nationalist Saddam Hussein at least understood. Under his rule there was sectarianism but Suunis ,Shias ,Christians, Jews ,Druze and so on lived alongside each other .Under his admittedly awful reign it was a common occurrence to see them all mixing socially in the coffee shops of Baghdad.
So now as we sit down with our tins of beer and fags,our Britishishness shinning through, let us pray that during the world cup there are no 'hands of God' stealing victory from the clutches of England or any other football team for that matter.And let us pray, for heaven's sake, that we spare a thought for the thousands who are about to be cheated of their lives as a direct result of the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq, all in the name of Oil , Banking , Construction and Arms , or greed as it is more commonly known. And as we swell the last dregs of our beer please don't forget to think of Tony's millions and his jet setting life style that he so fondly likes to portray as he stands with palm trees behind him making yet more delusional speeches attempting to cover up his crimes..As a peace envoy he keeps demanding we bomb people. Perhaps he should be fired .What tangled webs we weave when at first we try to deceive.