When Tony Benn Did a “Party Political Broadcast” for Saddam Hussein
It was predictable that the pro-war press would react with sharp hostility to Tony Benn’s eve-of-war interview with Saddam Hussein. The Spectator published a dollop of stale, badly-written bile by the Guardian columnist Rod Liddle. But socialists too have reason to be hostile to Benn’s enterprising trip to Baghdad. Benn sat across a table from the mass murderer Saddam Hussein and respectfully fed him questions designed to stimulate him into explaining his point of view. It was essentially a “party political broadcast” from Baghdad. Benn invited Saddam to speak directly to the people of Britain...