Finally, Democrat Al Franken, comedian turned talk-show host, has been declared the winner in Minnesota's contested race for the second US Senate seat. Outgoing and defeated Republican, Norm Coleman, who lost by just over 300 votes, conceded and sent a congratulatory message to his new senator.
But dark clouds cast over Coleman a few years ago. It might be a tale compared to the old adage: he who lives by the sword, dies by it. In this case the sword was the United States of America's concocted invasion and occupation of Iraq, from which nothing good has come.
A US senator and chair of a powerful committee had just after the US assault against Iraq set about making allegations that a certain British member of Parliament was part of the smoking gun. The smoking gun was Saddam Hussein's non-complicity with al-Quaida; his penetration of British airspace with superbombs; and moneys given the "dictator" and by whom.
A US senator and chair of a powerful committee alleged something about oil for food and implicated this British MP.
George Galloway is no pussy cat. He bows and scrapes to no one. So for a US senator and chair of a powerful committee to name that particular Briton as someone secretly funneling cash to the Iraqi regime (which I suppose fuels its non-involvement with al-Quaida!) revealed pretty quickly his capacity for duty. Galloway stood up to Tony Blair and the New Labour complicity in the US-led, US orchestrated war, and he was thrown out of his political party for speaking truth to power. He ran for Parliament again, under a newly formed political party, won, beating a prominent Blair ally. He famously stood up to journalist Christopher Hitchens. He lambasted the BBC for ignoring the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Galloway authored a splendid biography of his friend, Fidel Castro.
Galloway took the US senator and chair's allegations serious enough where he flew to the US on May 17, 2005, to sit before the committee in charge - the whole committee did not show up, only two. Galloway dressed down its chairman mercilessly making me wonder how with Britons like Galloway and American politicians like Coleman did the British colonies ever free themselves from King George III.
That a US senator and chair of a powerful committee was none other than Norm Coleman. Ask not for whom the Gong Show tolls.
For more info: I am not, nor have I ever been, an oil trader: Galloway to the US Senate * Youtube Vid of Galloway dressing down Norm Coleman
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