Memory Loss

Mike Moore's record shows that his claim to the moral highground over the Iraqi situation is undermined by his memory loss, says Progressive deputy leader Matt Robson.

"As director-general of the World Trade Organization, he spent years arguing vociferously for a rules-based system to stop the powerful riding rough shod over the smaller economies like New Zealand," Matt Robson said.

"That, he correctly used to point out, was the only way to protect New Zealand's interests and the interests of the wider international community.

"Now he appears to have done a complete about face. In terms of relations between states, he seems to be arguing for tossing the rules of the United Nations and international law aside and supporting the United States in Iraq regardless of the U.N.," Matt Robson added.

The Progressives support work through the United Nations to fight the modern fascist threat represented by the Al Qaeda and its fundamentalist allies.

"Any unilateral war in Iraq will provide good propaganda to Al Qaeda and its allies as they look for new recruits for their terrorist networks. No one would be happier than the leaders of Al Qaeda if the U.S. and the U.K. ignore international law by unilaterally invading Iraq without the U.N. Security Council's greenlight," Matt Robson said.

"That is because such a development would allow Al Qaeda to portray the war as a piece of Western imperialism and hypocrisy," he added.

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