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British envoy plays down Bush gaffe
The Daily Telegraph ^ | 21 September, 2004

Posted on 09/21/2004 7:04:02 AM PDT by tjwmason

British envoy plays down Bush gaffe

(Filed: 21/09/2004)

Britain's ambassador to Italy, who claimed President Bush was al-Qa'eda's "best recruiting sergeant", has distanced himself from the comments.

Sir Ivor Roberts's comments were apparently made during a closed doors Anglo-Italian conference at the weekend.

The meeting was covered by so-called Chatham House Rules which mean all speeches made by delegates are off the record.

But leading Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera decided Sir Ivor's comments were so significant that it breached the rules to publish them yesterday.

According to the newspaper, Sir Ivor said: "George W Bush is the best recruiting sergeant for al-Qa'eda.

"If there is anyone ready to celebrate his eventual re-election it is al-Qa'eda."

Sir Ivor was speaking at an annual conference in Pontignano, near Siena, on the theme of terrorism.

Guests at the event included Neil Kinnock and Chris Patten, Britain's outgoing European Union commissioners.

But Sir Ivor, 58, has sought to distance himself from the comments, saying: "These remarks as reported do not reflect my personal views."

A Foreign Office spokesman could not confirm reports that Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, is considering taking disciplinary action against Sir Ivor.

The spokesman said: "We will not comment on remarks made allegedly by Sir Ivor Roberts other than to say that they do not represent British Government policy."

Sir Ivor started his Foreign Office career in 1968. Before taking up his post in Rome he served as British ambassador in Belgrade and Dublin. He is married with two sons and one daughter.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Politics/Elections; United Kingdom; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: alqaeda; bush; sillyness
I am starting to smell a rat. If Sir Ivor did make these comments, then he should resign from the Diplomatic Service. He is unfit to represent Her Majesty, especially in a country which is a fellow warrior against terror in Iraq. The F.C.O. has made it clear that these views do not represent policy, and is clearly investigating.
1 posted on 09/21/2004 7:04:03 AM PDT by tjwmason
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To: tjwmason

I wondered whatever happened to Nevel Chamberlin (sp).


2 posted on 09/21/2004 7:07:11 AM PDT by NavVet (“Benedeict Arnold was wounded in battle fighting for America, but no one remembers him for that.”)
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To: tjwmason

Sir Ivor is probably going to get transferred to a consulate in Siberia...


3 posted on 09/21/2004 7:10:29 AM PDT by coconutt2000
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To: tjwmason

Yeah. Most organizations would love it if someone were to capture or kill 3/4 of its members.


4 posted on 09/21/2004 7:11:54 AM PDT by VisualizeSmallerGovernment (Question Liberal Authority)
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To: tjwmason

John Kerry and his spokesmen have said the same thing. Perhaps Ivor Roberts is one of the "foreign leaders" that Kerry considers as supportive of his candidacy.

In fact the Kerry campaign is so reckless that sentiments like this one can probably be found on his website or campaign mailings.


5 posted on 09/21/2004 7:12:54 AM PDT by maica
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To: tjwmason

Well, it's not a good thing to say, but it probably is, to some extent, true. When (not if) President Bush is re-elected, the Al-Q recruiters won't have to explain who he is and or why their young thugs should committ to jihad. All the old propaganda will still be usable and the "evils" of infidels in Saudi Arabia and/or Iraq won't have to be re-explained.


6 posted on 09/21/2004 7:14:11 AM PDT by aBootes (Wake me up when a liberal has an original idea that does NOT involve raising taxes -- gunnygail)
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To: tjwmason

What a misleading headline. I kept reading to find where Bush had made a gaffe that was being downplayed. A more accurate headline might have been "... Plays Down Anti-Bush Insult".

There was no gaffe, there was a deliberate insult.


7 posted on 09/21/2004 7:16:10 AM PDT by VRWCmember (I actually ignored this thread before I posted to it. jfk, 08/2004)
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To: tjwmason

Nice misleading headline.


8 posted on 09/21/2004 7:17:20 AM PDT by skeeter
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To: NavVet
"I wondered whatever happened to Nevel Chamberlin (sp)"

I was thinking the same thing. I'm beginning to believe in reincarnation :)
9 posted on 09/21/2004 7:18:04 AM PDT by LIConFem (A fronte praecipitium, a tergo lupi)
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To: VisualizeSmallerGovernment
Yeah. Most organizations would love it if someone were to capture or kill 3/4 of its members.

Unless you happen to be an organization that is looking to recruit suicide 'martyrs.' Then of course, the re-election of 'W' is a good thing.

Kind of hard to get the Jihad Juices flowing when the Great Satan has a French appeaser at the helm.

10 posted on 09/21/2004 7:22:18 AM PDT by JOAT
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To: All

"If there is anyone ready to celebrate his eventual re-election it is al-Qa'eda."

I like the part about W's eventual re-election. It's like its a foregone conclusion.



11 posted on 09/21/2004 7:27:26 AM PDT by ClarenceThomasfan ( We want a Bush landslide in November!!!)
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To: NavVet
I wondered whatever happened to Neville Chamberlain (sp).

His great-grand-nephew is running for POTUS...with the same "strategy"...APPEASEMENT!


12 posted on 09/21/2004 7:27:54 AM PDT by NewLand (Pajama Patriot reporting for duty!)
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To: tjwmason

Roberts is a Socialist. He thought he was among his friends--all Eurosocialists. He didn't think it would be published.

Tony Blair backed us in Iraq, but the British Labour party, and Blair too, were much happier when clinton was in office.

Notice that Kinnock and Patten were there--two other Socialist Euro-swines.


13 posted on 09/21/2004 7:41:38 AM PDT by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: Cicero
Roberts is a Socialist. He thought he was among his friends--all Eurosocialists. He didn't think it would be published.

Chatham House rules suggest that he shouldn't have been published. I do not actually have a problem with such an ambassador as long as he represents the policy of H.M. Government. However, now that the views are public, he is incapable of fairly representing Her Majesty and her government.

Notice that Kinnock and Patten were there--two other Socialist Euro-swines.

Patten's views are interesting. He was always on the left of the Tory Party, but his time as Governor of Hong Kong (during which he made a total mess of the hand-over to the P.R.C) seemed to have shown him that small government is remarkably successful - I certainly heard him talking about getting British Government spending towards 30% of G.D.P. (it's now over 40%). He remained wedded to the whole European project, and seems to have rolled over on the whole 'social-market' (i.e., rebranded socialism) philosophy of the E.U.
14 posted on 09/21/2004 8:02:09 AM PDT by tjwmason (Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt.)
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To: tjwmason

I rather liked Patten in the Hong Kong days. At least he meant well, even if he screwed up in the end. Maybe he couldn't help but screw up because Britain lacked the resolve to face down China.

As a bigwig in the European Uberbureaucracy he has been intolerable. There no longer seem to be any redeeming qualities.


15 posted on 09/21/2004 10:25:27 AM PDT by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: tjwmason
Britain's ambassador to Italy, who claimed President Bush was al-Qa'eda's "best recruiting sergeant", has distanced himself from the comments.

Yup, times were tough for al-Qa’eda when they ran Afghanistan were receiving money hand over fist from the Saudi’s, Saddam and Arabs wordwide.

They were just hoping and praying they could be in their present circumstances!

/sarcasm

16 posted on 09/21/2004 10:34:06 AM PDT by RJL
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