I'm Back...Been Offline Feeding My Conscience With Albert Camus

The resignation of Claire Short is a near death blow for Tony Blair, at least within his own party. Unless events in Iraq suddenly transform to the positive.

Short stayed on pre-war, even though threatening resignation, and surely Robin Cook, who did resign in the buildup to war, did not object. Cook and Short saw the writing on the wall, and it's better to have a resignation in protest before the war, and another after the war as the reasons and deceptions come clear, then for two resignations at the beginning.

This strengthens both resignations, in a mutually reinforcing manner, and underscores to the electorate in Britain why and what it's all about. I wouldn't be surprised to hear later that Short held on just for this reason, in glim hopes that it may work out for the best, but in all honesty in preparation for resignation when the truth begins to come out.

This strategy is the best, for efforts to distract and redirect attention are primed for the post-war period, if things go awry. By resigning now, and forcefully restating the position of the opposition, these ideas, arguments and issues will not go away.

They should be answered. For honesty, integrity and accountability. Otherwise, we are no better than anyone else. We should not allow ourselves to be aiders and abetters to crime, which is what we'll end up with without the mechanism of accountability. The British opposition has held up a sterling example of principled dissent and integrity, a beacon of freedom and the operations of democracy.

Here in America, that's not the case. To our shame. That's too bad. Resistance now does not have the proof of steps all along the way, as in Britain. That is left largely to us here in the blogosphere, the new avenue of dissent and conscience, at least in regards to the war. Albert Camus would have loved it.