Firebrand former Labour MP Ron Brown has died after a long illness.
Like other former Labour Scottish MP's, he had something of a penchant for visiting dictatorships (North Korea and Libya), although he drew the line at praising Saddam Hussein.
Whilst he may have had some deeply held views, particularly left wing extremist ones, I am afraid as a politician I could not abide the way he acted or the company he kept. But for Tam Dalyell to laud him as some sort of prophet about Afghanistan, is ludicrous.
To put it in to context, when Afghanistan was a Soviet run left wing dictatorship, Ron Brown visited there, and as Tam Dalyell points out
"But the fact is that Ron Brown was one of the few people to have gone to Afghanistan before the crisis blew up and warned us that it was extremely unwise to back the mujahideen against the Russians."
Firstly, Ron Brown, it appears, would not pass up the chance to visit any communist dictator.
Secondly, what "crisis" is he on about. Afghanistan was in a state of crisis from the moment the Soviet Union invaded in 1979, and for some time before that too. Ron Brown did not visit Afghanistan before the "crisis".
And lastly, are we really to be shocked or surprised that Ron Brown advised people not to oppose a communist government given his own political views ?
He was hardly a prophet. Just a supporter of communism.
2 comments:
I think the point was that Ron Brown said backing the mujahideen against the Soviets wouldn't be in our long term interest. And so it proved. I don't recall the Soviets ever getting involved in flying planes into the Twin Towers.
But I mande the point that Ron Brown supported the Soviet Union full stop. if they were invading Edinburgh I doubt he would have complained.
He was no prophet, just an apologist for communist dictators.
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