" The world is returning to the law of the jungle, thanks to Bush and Blair"

Writing in The Independent, Michael Mansfield QC takes a swipe at the abuses of power that have become common place under the governments of Bush & Blair.

I argue Howard has taken many a leaf out of the 'governance' book of Bush and Blair. Our 'clever' politician hardly ever takes an international leadership role, but he is prone to borrow freely from fellow travelers in the new world order of unilateral preemption, the politics of fear and exclusion and a cavalier disregard for the tenets of international law.

The disrespect for truth and the rule of law that pervades the inner workings of these governments has seen not just an evaporation of trust in government and politicians generally, "but also a catastrophic erosion of the authority of international agencies that might otherwise have been able to bring about effective relief and peace".

Despite the best efforts of a largely credulous and complicit commercial media, the population at large have got the drift that they are being lied to routinely. Lack of accountability and transparency and a readiness to ignore obligations under the rule of law have weakened democratic institutions and systematically undermined the watch-dog role of international bodies established to monitor and report on the performance of nation states in meeting international obligations.

Click here to read the Mansfield article.