Fueling the fire

“John Robert Hewson AM (born 28 October 1946) is an Australian economist, company director and a former politician. He was federal leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 1990 to 1994
Speaking on the ABC’s Q&A on Monday night, three weeks into the brouhaha over the program’s editorial decisions, Hewson said that the unilateral decision to invade Iraq based on a “very tenuous” connection to al-Qaida allowed for the emergence of a more militant Islamic extremism.

“I have absolutely no doubt that we have ourselves to blame for this,” he said.

“I think that it was a very, very sorry period in international history and Australia’s role in that, I think, should be an embarrassment to all of us.”

Hewson said that while there might be a moral argument to justify Australia’s recently expanded involvement in Iraq to address the threat posed by Isis, it could be a slippery slope that saw the country ‘implicitly committing ourselves to escalating involvement’.”

‘The signs of the times give evidence that the judgments of heaven are being poured out, that the day of the Lord is at hand. The daily papers are full of indications of an intense conflict in the future.’ E G White