Gorgeous George Takes on the World

By ZP Heller, AlterNet. Posted September 16, 2005.

George Galloway is well-known as one of the most outspoken critics of the war in Iraq. Since the war began in 2003, Galloway, a longtime member of Parliament, has harshly criticized both the Bush administration and Prime Minister Tony Blair. In an interview on Abu-Dhabi TV last November, Galloway said, "The people who invaded and destroyed Iraq and have murdered more than a million Iraqi people by sanctions and war will burn in Hell in the hell-fires, and their name in history will be branded as killers and war criminals for all time."

Galloway's candor has gotten him in a great deal of trouble over the years. Back in 2003, he was expelled from the Labour Party after publicly calling Bush and Blair liars and wolves, and stating that "the best thing British troops can do is refuse to obey orders." Then, on the day of the London bombings, Galloway lashed out in the House of Commons, contending that the terrorist attacks were a direct, foreseeable result of Britain's involvement in the war.

Eighty-nine of our own boys, including the son of Rose Gentle from Glasgow, 19-year-old Gordon, were sent to die in Iraq on a pack of lies. ... [Our Ministers] have absolutely no grasp of the gravity of the situation, or of how unpopular their stand has become outside these walls. ... The honorable Member for North Durham (Mr. Jones), in an otherwise fine speech, described today's events as 'unpredictable.' They were not remotely unpredictable. Our own security services predicted them and warned the government that if we did this we would be at greater risk from terrorist attacks such as the one that we have suffered this morning.

While Galloway has devoted the majority of his 30 years in politics to advocating human rights, specifically for Iraqi citizens, his career has also been rife with political scandal. Aside from infidelities and indiscretions, Galloway's frankness has made him the center of many political controversies. After calling for an end to the sanctions brought against the Iraqis for years, Galloway appeared with Saddam Hussein and said, "Sir, I salute your courage, your strength, your indefatigability." (Galloway has since stated that he was referring to the Iraqi people as a whole, and that he regrets that statement.) Galloway's support for Iraqi rights is also questionable because of his friendship with Tariq Aziz, the former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister under Hussein. While Galloway is certainly one of the most liberal Parliamentary figures, he is also pro-life and staunchly pro-Palestinian, which fits nicely into his anti-imperialist philosophy.

Perhaps the greatest controversy to plague Galloway lately has been his alleged involvement in the Oil-for-Food program. In May, the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations accused Galloway of receiving allocations worth 20 million barrels of oil between 2000 and 2003. Galloway's response to these allegations was admirable and garnered him worldwide attention and respect.

With a tone he claims was inspired by Rocky Marciano, Galloway went after the Senate subcommittee. He told Sen. Norm Coleman, R-MN: "Now I know that standards have slipped in the last few years in Washington, but for a lawyer you are remarkably cavalier with any idea of justice." Galloway added, "I am here today but last week you already found me guilty. You traduced my name around the world without ever having asked me a single question, without ever having contacted me, without ever written to me or telephoned me, without any attempt to contact me whatsoever. And you call that justice."

Galloway's testimony before the Senate subcommittee sparked the publication of a new book, Mr. Galloway Goes to Washington, as well as a book tour, in which he debated polemicist Christopher Hitchens and will appear with Jane Fonda in her first-ever appearance against the Iraq War. While in New York, Galloway sat down with AlterNet to discuss his new political stature.

President Bush's approval rating right now is at an all-time low, and there's growing unrest in this country over the war in Iraq. What is the situation like in the U.K.?

The British Prime Minister's rating are at an all-time low too, both in the country as a whole, and, perhaps more significantly, within his own party. Unlike President Bush, he has a successor all dressed up with nowhere to go -- the Finance Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer has already measured the curtains at 10 Downing Street and is waiting for the chance to move in.

His problem is that if Mr. Blair's popularity continues to sink, then by the time he becomes Prime Minister, Labour may already be on its way to an electoral defeat, especially if the conservatives choose a credible leader, like Kenneth Clarke, the former Finance Minister under Mrs. Thatcher who was one of the very few conservatives to oppose the war in Iraq.

Zack Pelta-Heller is a graduate student at The New School and a regular contributor to AlterNet.

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