Mark Steyn Interview

Enter Stage Right ^ | 12 May 2003 | Steve Martinovich

[Rummyfan]

Ping!

[7thson]

...political commentary means David Broder or Daniel Schnurr dragging their gravitas like a ball and chain.

The best line out of a bunch of great ones.

[7thson]

...political commentary means David Broder or Daniel Schnurr dragging their gravitas like a ball and chain.

The best line out of a bunch of great ones.

[MeekOneGOP]

"I've been calling him "the late Saddam Hussein" for a couple months now and I'll stick with that. But the point is that being a totalitarian dictator is like being in showbiz: if you're not working, you're effectively dead. And right now Saddam and the Ba'ath Party, like Osama and al-Qa'eda, are not working. It doesn't matter if he's holed up on the North-West Frontier at the back of the cave with Mullah Omar, or in the honeymoon suite at the Damascus Holiday Inn, or living on welfare in Ontario: if he's not dictator of Iraq, he's dead."

[MeekOneGOP]

In an April 26 Spectator column you wrote that you agreed with the notion that the United Nations is a full-fledged member of the axis of evil. Given its failure over Iraq, not to mention Kosovo, Rwanda, Bosnia and a number of other crises, do you think it has a future? Should the United States withdraw?

"Yes, but they won't, because no matter how disgustingly they behave a substantial chunk of the American electorate and big majorities in every other western nation hear the words "United Nations" and automatically associate it with benign multilateralism. They've got some old Polaroid of Audrey Hepburn surrounded by multiethnic UNICEF moppets lodged in the back of their heads, and it never fades. So I'm in favour of the serious powers allowing the UN to decay into an irrelevant talking-shop for Third World dictators and their European apologists. Lots of offices linger on long after they've outlived their usefulness: in England, there's still a Sheriff of Nottingham, but he doesn't chase Robin Hood and guys in green tights through Sherwood Forest any more; it's just an empty ceremonial office. That 's what the UN should be. The big message of the last year is bilateralism is back - Bush-Blair, Bush-Howard, relationships that aren't anything to do with global bureaucracies and rotating committees."

To Kofi Annan with love,

Bart

[MeekOneGOP]

ROFL !!

What's the one thing that few people know about you that would shock your readers?

"I'm actually a lesbian of colour and Women's Studies professor at Berkeley. I can't believe you right-wingers are so ideological you fell for such a crude and obvious parody of conservative male warmongering."

[Billthedrill]

I'm actually a lesbian of colour and Women's Studies professor at Berkeley. I can't believe you right-wingers are so ideological you fell for such a crude and obvious parody of conservative male warmongering.

I knew it all along. She's typing with hooks, too...

[knighthawk]

Ping

[gordgekko]

I'm glad everyone liked it. I was lucky to get him given how busy he is....

[Rummyfan]

Cool! Thanks for getting the interview and making it available - I came across it via Glenn Reynolds. Lots of big Steyn fans here (as I 'm sure you're aware...... and I mean no reference to the Yankees by that!).

[stands2reason]

Great interview! Does Mark ever go on TV? I'd love to see him on Fox...

[LisaFab]

Great stuff. THanks Poke.