Obituary: Robin Cook

[beam me up scottie]

My condolences to my friends and all citizens of the UK.

This is a terrible loss for Great Britain and the world.

From the BBC:

Obituary: Robin Cook

Robin Cook made his reputation as a sharp debater

Former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, 59, has died after collapsing while out hill walking in Scotland.

The Labour MP for Livingston was considered one of the Commons' most intelligent MPs and one of its most skilled debaters.

He spectacularly resigned from Tony Blair's Cabinet in March 2003 over the Iraq crisis.

One of the highest profile figures in the Labour party, he delivered a withering speech on the decision to go to war with Iraq, as he quit government ranks.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4127676.stm

May he rest in peace.

Please post your own thoughts and comments on this great man.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

1. Rest peacefully, Robin Cook

[fooj]

2. Cook- A warrior for truth. A man of peace.

RIP. You will be missed.

[Cha]

3. Oh Dear, So Sad..I remember

Robin Cook so well for standing up against the rove/cheney lackey, tony blair.

RIP, Robin CookO8) Thank you so much for all you did for the World.

[JDPriestly]

4. Could he be the source for the DSMs?

God rest his soul.

[The Doctor.]

5. The fools who blindly follow...

wrap themselves in the flag, call themselves patriots, and deride those who stand against the overwhelming tide of media wrought nationalism to speak the truth are not fit to lie at the feet of such a man.

He goes with the favor of God.

[LeftishBrit]

6. A great loss!

What a pity that more people didn't listen to him at the time!!!

[beam me up scottie]

7. From his resignation speech in the House of Commons March 2003:

On Iraq, I believe that the prevailing mood of the British people is sound. They do not doubt that Saddam is a brutal dictator, but they are not persuaded that he is a clear and present danger to Britain.

They want inspections to be given a chance, and they suspect that they are being pushed too quickly into conflict by a US Administration with an agenda of its own.

Above all, they are uneasy at Britain going out on a limb on a military adventure without a broader international coalition and against the hostility of many of our traditional allies.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2859431.stm

[AlamoDemoc]

8. I will certainly miss his

"I told you so, Mr. Blair" articles he wrote about the un-just war in Iraq



On edit: RIP Sir. Robin Cook

[grytpype]

9. What a tragedy.

He showed leadership against Bushism. What a loss.

[Taxloss]

10. I'm really devastated by this.

He was a constant, still, small, voice of sanity. His columns in the Guardian were cogent and well-written, his fresh criticism always timely, never bitter, never shrill. He was the steady, clear tone of sanity in fervid times. The loss of that voice only highlights its clear importance by the dearth of successors. This man fought against a government he loathed under Thatcher and Major, and once he was part of a government he helped define did not lose his independent voice; so much so that he fell out of step with Blairism, yet still stayed, accepting a humiliating demotion in an administration his still believed in until he could stomach no more.

Goodbye Robin.

[beam me up scottie]

11. I am so sorry.

I wish I could say something that would help.

He inspired many and even in death, will continue to do so.
His fight was not in vain.

[Taxloss]

14. It's really such a horrible, horrible loss.

Your words are kind, but I fear you don't see the true damage done by Robin's death; we are left with no credible former Cabinet voice to speak out against Blair. It's a awful, awful blow to our democracy.

[beam me up scottie]

15. I'm beginning to realize that.

Is there no one else who is credible and will be able to pick up the torch?

[Taxloss]

17. No one who could command similar respect.

Michael Meacher is a crackpot. Bomber Short is derided and hated across the spectrum for opportunism. Frank Field isn't interested, and besides he's a creepy authoritarian.

Do you know who that leaves? Stephen Byers. I never thought I'd say this, but Stephen Byers now possibly a potential source for coherent ex-Cabinet dissent. I only hope he completes what was beginning to look like a convincing Damascene Conversion.

And where the bloody hell is Harriet Harman?

Chris Smith is of course battling AIDS. And poor old Mo Mowlam is seriously ill as well.

I wonder how many American politicians have AIDS, or brain tumours, and carry on, and how many resign on political principle.

[mrfrapp]

18. Meacher

Why is Michael Meacher a "crackpot"?

[Taxloss]

19. You're right, I like Meacher, I should have said

"is considered to be a crackpot". I really do like the guy, any Bennite is OK in my book.

[T_i_B]

27. Frank Dobson?

He may look like Santa Claus, but IMHO he's not too bad.

[LeftishBrit]

36. I'm a Dobson fan too!

He used to be my MP, when I lived in London. Unfortunately, like most of the decent ones, he probably isn't good enough at the cut and thrust of political infighting to get to the top in present circumstances.

[Taxloss]

38. He might not be too bad, but I have yet to see any evidence that

he's any good. Where are his writings? Where's his thought? I'd be interested to read it.

On edit:

I just found this, with Dobson.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4128718.stm

[southlandshari]

24. Thinking of you and all my other UK friends

We all will be missing his voice of reason and truth at a time when both are in short supply in our respective governments. Know you are all in my thoughts and prayers (have been there pretty much non-stop for the past few weeks, truth be told!).

:grouphug:


Taxloss - great to have you back! You get one of these all of your own:

:hug:

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[beam me up scottie]

13. Robin Cook: Your tributes

Memories of Robin Cook from BBC readers around the world:

Watching the Iraq War unfold, I was unsure of the morality of the invasion. It was seeing Mr. Cook, the only high-profile member of either the American or British governments, taking a stand and step down did I see that there are slivers of hope in a world of chaos. He will be sorely missed.
Royal Oak, Michigan, USA

Robin Cook's resignation speech completely changed my view of politicians and restored my faith in the British democratic system. He was admired deeply in the Muslim community for his principled stand against the Iraq invasion and will be deeply missed. May God rest his soul.
UK

It was Robin Cook who tabled, in 1980, the amendment to Scots law to decriminalise homosexuality in Scotland. Gay people in Scotland will remember him with respect and gratitude.
Edinburgh

Many, many more at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/4127724.stm

[non sociopath skin]

20. I remember some years ago when the world & I were young ...

.. and the Labour Party was worth working & fighting for, when Robin Cook gave a magnificent speech at Blyth and inspired everyone in the room.

Both he and the local hero who chaired the meeting, Ted Weekes, are gone now.

I'm heartbroken.

The Skin

[beam me up scottie]

21. I am sorry.

There are so few leaders who deserve our admiration and loyalty.
And now there is one less.
My deepest sympathy.

[Mr Creosote]

16. It's totally trivial

but I always remember his occasional appearances on the Morning Line and the like, where, it seemed to me, he invariably tipped winners. And once his son was on, and also tipped a winner. Seems to me that made him much more a man of the people than Blair's weaseling about whatever he was weaseling about the other day did. I like politicians who have a grounding in reality.

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

22. Extracts from his diary

Thursday March 7: A real discussion at cabinet. Tony permitted us to have the debate on Iraq which David and I had asked for. For the first time I can recall in five years, Tony was out on a limb.

David was first over the top. Being now home secretary he cunningly camped on the need for a proper legal authority for any action: "What has changed that suddenly gives us the legal right to take military action that we didn't have a few months ago? Has anybody asked the legal opinion of the attorney-general, and what is he saying?"

Pat Hewitt lamented that we were expected to listen to US worries about Iraq when we could not get them to listen to us before slapping higher tariffs on our steel exports. "We are in danger of being seen as close to President Bush, but without any influence over President Bush."

I am told that in the old days prime ministers would sum up the balance of view in the discussion. This would be simple in the present case as all contributions pointed in one direction. However, Tony does not regard the cabinet as a place for decisions. Normally he avoids having discussions in cabinet until decisions are taken and announced to it.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-525-841557,00.html

A fascinating, gentle & humorous look at the run up to war & House of Lords reform that I'd highly recommend.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743483774/qid=1123377684/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_11_4/026-4374942-4094019

[Jack Rabbit]

23. Excerpt from Cook's speech to the House of Commons, March 17, 2003

From the London Observer (Sunday supplement of the Guardian Unlimited)
Posted Sunday August 7, 2005

Why I cannot be part of this divisive war
This is an extract from Robin Cook's resignation speech to the House of Commons, 17 March 2003. It electrified Parliament and will be remembered as one of the most important addresses in modern Westminster history.



The reality is that Britain is being asked to embark on a war without agreement in any of the international bodies of which we are a leading partner - not Nato, not the European Union and, now, not the Security Council.

Only a year ago, we and the United States were part of a coalition against terrorism that was wider and more diverse than I would ever have imagined possible. History will be astonished at the diplomatic miscalculations that led so quickly to the disintegration of that powerful coalition.

Our interests are best protected not by unilateral action but by multilateral agreement and a world order governed by rules. Yet tonight the international partnerships most important to us are weakened: the European Union is divided; the Security Council is in stalemate. Those are heavy casualties of a war in which a shot has yet to be fired.

I have heard some parallels between military action in these circumstances and the military action that we took in Kosovo. There was no doubt about the multilateral support that we had for the action that we took in Kosovo. It was supported by Nato; it was supported by the European Union; it was supported by every single one of the seven neighbours in the region. France and Germany were our active allies. It is precisely because we have none of that support in this case that it was all the more important to get agreement in the Security Council as the last hope of demonstrating international agreement.

Read more.

Photo from the BBC

[Briar]

25. I can't think of a single Labour party figure

capable of filling his shoes. The other principled opponents of Bliarism have already been labelled and marginalised as "the usual suspects". No matter how sound and compelling their arguments, they will be ignored and dismissed. Only Cook could make such points and be attended. The rest of the party, mostly handpicked for selection as candidates as manipulable management types, will not break ranks with the government. It's hard not to think, this morning, that the Labour party itself died yesterday, and with it principled parliamentary politics in this country.

Robin Cook had become unique, and his loss is an absolute one.

[mogster]

26. He took a stand, didn't he?

And walked away instead of participating in something he didn't believe in.

Ah, if just every politician had such a format.

RIP, Robin Cook.
You were a politician with a large resource of human qualitites now sorely missed.

Peace too you, UK DU'ers. This is a sad day :-(

[T_i_B]

28. Gerald Kaufman's tribute in the Sunday Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2005/08/07/do0701a.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/08/07/ixportal.html

Robin Cook was one of the very greatest Parliamentary orators of the past third of a century. His resignation speech from the Cabinet over the impending Iraq war was of such extraordinary quality that, whether it pleased him or not, he was given a standing ovation, unprecedented in my experience, by the Liberal Democrats. As Leader of the House he introduced controversial Commons reforms but failed in his objective of obtaining a substantially elected House of Lords. His disappointments in that job played their part in his decision to resign. Previously he had been an exceptional Foreign Secretary. In Opposition his forensic speeches from the Labour front bench inflicted devastating wounds on the Conservative government.

Personally he was a loner, with so few allies that, despite his universally recognised talents, he did not put himself forward for the party leadership when John Smith died. I congratulated him at the time on his good judgment in staying out of the contest and he told me, ruefully, that realistic assessment was more sensible than frustrated ambition. Before becoming a genial elder statesmen with a lethal sting, which was his role by the beginning of this new Parliament, he had in Opposition been regarded with suspicion by many colleagues. One fellow-member of the Shadow Cabinet asked the rhetorical question: "What is a conspiracy in the Labour Party?" Answer: "Robin Cook on his own."

He was not just an absolutely marvellous speaker, at once penetrating and piercingly witty, both qualities possessed by Michael Foot. Unlike Foot, who was a master of phraseology and over-the-top rhetoric, Robin had the ability to master a mass of detail and then to present it to immaculate and lethal effect.

In my view he was the greatest Foreign Secretary up to that point in my Parliamentary lifetime. He changed government policy on the Pakistan-India conflict over Kashmir when accompanying the Queen on a visit to India and, though what he said at the time offended the Indian government, he helped to lead to the current encouraging negotiations between those two governments.

[emad]

29. Last time I interviewed him and Gaynor for UK TV things were

far from blissful in the matrimonial department. The public front they showed was as good a spin product as anything Peter Mandelson ever conjured up. The relationship was pretty much over by the time Margater Cook divorced her husband. Gaynor made some pretty crushing statements about the wifely role she was more or less ordered to play when she accompanied her husband on those pathetic PR disasters of QEII's foreign trips to India and elsewhere.

Politically Iraq was the end of the road for Cook and gave him the face saver he desperately needed for UK incompetencce in 9/11. While he may have voiced some genuine convictions re the validity and legality of UK and US action in Iraq, he was totally finished after the 9/11 crisis and his political sidelining originated from there.

As foreign secretary in the run up to 9/11 he had overall responsibility for MI6 - same as the home secretary is responsible for MI5.

He trusted heavily on Thatcher MI6 spook and FO appointee Sherrard Cowper Coles, whom he promoted to be his parliamentary private secretary, before making him UK ambassador to Israel. Cowper Coles then was promoted further and is now sitting pretty as UK ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

Having known Cowper Coles and his wife professionally and personally for over 25 years I would say he is 100% cold war crook whose sole raison d'etre was to gloss over Thatcher and Aitken's criminality in the arms to Iraq debacle which was so conveniently papered over by the Scott Report. Ditto Robert Maxwell's role in selling UK minitary secrets to Israel which Thatcher and later Major were at such pains to whitewash over.

Cowper Coles has also been the one FO spook who ensured that Conrad Black's catalogue of fraud, deception and larceny was excised from UK criminal records and paved the way for Thatcher to be able to insist on him being given a life peerage.

Conrad Black is now the subject of a massive US fraud lawsuit re his Hollinger holdings.

Robin Cook as Foreign Secretary gave Cowper Coles pretty much a free hand in making sure Black was never investigated and prosecuted in the UK because he was beholden first to the Al Maktoums in Dubai and the Al Nahayans in Abu Dhabi during the run up to the BCCI UK class action which eventually began last year.

He also made sure that foreign organised crime related to Saudi dissidents protected by former Saudi spooks' chief Kamel Adham were not investigated and prosecuted in the UK re huge frauds at HSBC - which Mandelson eventually hid in the laughable 'Good Friday Agreement'.

NB Kamel Adham the Saudi top spook was not only a BCCI director/shareholder for many years but during the early years of the Thatcher administration circa 1980-86 was Jonathan Aitken's principal Saudi business partner in financial and arms companies that were eventually linked to the Matrix Churchill fiasco.

A UK investigation into the 2002 early and unexpected death of the Saudi security chief Prince Ahmed bin Faisal overseen by Robin Cook ensured no tricky questions were asked about the Salman brothers' non thoroughbred horeseracing business activities connected to both former US ambassador to the UK William Stamps Farish III, Conrad Black and US organisations which bankrolled George W BUsh into office in 2000.

The only fallout from debacle was when Saudi ambassador to UK Ghazi al Gosaibi was sacked from his job and returned back home to Riyad and the opprobium of his demotion - as Minister for Water and Sewerage. That set the ball rolling for Cook's well orchestrated exit from UK high office.

Keeping that Carlton House terrace grace and favor residence was part of the face saver that Poodle had to agree.

[non sociopath skin]

32. Well thanks. That really cheered me up. Not.

Mo Mowlam is seriously ill too. Hope you're hard at work digging up some dirt for when she goes.

:mad: :sarcasm:

The Skin

[emad]

33. Etoilating Cook merely for his fierce anti-Iraq war stance and

criticism of Bush administration foreign policy is an easy option - same as lauding Philby, Maclean and Blunt for their contribution to international understanding of the workings of democracy.

Like many journos I covered Cook's career for over 30 years and have noted his and others' re-inventions of their personae with interest.

The humbug that is being heaped on him now is no better or worse than the crap festooned on Ted Heath on his recent demise.

As for Mo Mowlam, I would refer you to the 1986 and 1988 Panorama interviews about her, the Newsnight specials circa 1992, 1995 and 1996 for a different perspective to the one spun by New Labour since they came into office.

[non sociopath skin]

35. Man, it must be great to be perfect.

The Skin

[sweetheart]

30. What a beautiful place to die

This is a map of the north highlands with a circle around ben stack:
http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?client=public&X=225000.927047197&Y=950000.819882893&width=500&height=300&gride=227000.927047197&gridn=942268.819882893&srec=0&coordsys=gb&db=freegaz&addr1=&addr2=&addr3=&pc=&advanced=&local=&localinfosel=&kw=&inmap=&table=&ovtype=&zm=1&scale=1000000

I was just there about 3 weeks ago, exactly in that valley on the
estate owned by the duke of westminster. It is an extremely natural
preserve, inland from scourie. Of all the places on earth to drop down
and die, there are few so beautiful.

Clearly he saw it coming, picked his moment and his ground.

Robin Cook was a grand and great man, and he will be missed.

[Jack Rabbit]

31. Roy Hattersley (The Guardian): On a par with our heroes (Robin Cook)

From The Guardian Unlimited (London)
Dated Monday August 8

On a par with our heroes
By Roy Hattersley

The death of a friend should first evoke personal memories of happy times spent together. And, next week in Edinburgh, I will recall a boisterous lunch with Robin Cook at which we laughed about our disagreements with government policy on the principle that we were both too old to cry. But it is impossible to mourn Robin's death without feeling, almost as the primary emotion, despair at what the Labour party and the country has lost.

Robin Cook was more than one of the most talented politicians of his generation. He shared with Gordon Brown, and perhaps Peter Mandelson, the right to be compared - for commitment and ability - with the old heroes of the Labour party. In 20 years' time, he will be talked about in the way that Aneurin Bevan is talked about today.

His reputation, and his memory, have both - as was the case with Bevan - been immensely enhanced by resignation from the government. In an age of blatant political cynicism, even men and women who supported the war in Iraq applauded his decision to put principle ahead of his prospects of continuing in high office. And Robin's determination to follow where conscience led had added impact because it was unexpected. There was so much talk about his ability that his convictions were often overlooked.

The first time I heard Robin's name was when Jim Callaghan drew my attention to both of those essential aspects of his political character. I had missed the foreign affairs debate at the 1977 Labour party conference and, as I returned to my place in the hall, the prime minister stopped me. "A man called Cook has made a very bad speech," he said. Then he corrected himself. "In one sense, it was a very good speech. But it was bad for us." Robin had made a robust defence of unilateral nuclear disarmament.

Read more.

[muriel_volestrangler]

34. A piece by Gordon Brown

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-355-1725917-355,00.html

While he'd obviously want to speak well of Cook now, the fact that the Cooks went to Brown's house a few weeks ago would seem to show that they got on well enough. I'd have hoped Brown could have found somewhere suitable in the cabinet for Cook, though I'm not sure where - I think Foreign Secretary would only have worked if there was a complete withdrawal from Iraq on the cards, and Chancellor would have been very close to the heart of Brown's policies - I think he'll want a very loyal Brownite there.

It would be refreshing to have someone like Robin Cook (though, as we've said, is there anyone left?) as Home Secretary - someone who thinks things through, and doesn't just go for the knee-jerk authoritarian option. An ethical dimension to law and order would be a Good Thing right now.

[LeftishBrit]

37. I WISH we had someone like that as Home Secretary!

I don't trust Charles Clarke at any time, let alone at a time of crisis.

Robin Cook is greatly to be missed.

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

39. Craig Murray on Cook

I was one of a few enthusiasts in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office who welcomed the arrival of Robin Cook as Foreign Secretary and his declaration of an “Ethical foreign policy”. The majority were hostile and cynical, but not nearly so much as was Tony Blair.

Within a very few weeks, Blair arranged Robin Cook’s defeat at Cabinet when Cook wanted to stop the export of British Aerospace Hawk jets to the Suharto regime of Indonesia, which has a strong history of vicious repression of its disparate peoples. I was told by a Cabinet Minister who sided with Cook, that Blair managed Cook’s cabinet defeat in as confrontational and humiliating a manner as possible.

(...)

By one of life’s sad ironies I was closely involved in an episode which held the ethical foreign policy up to media ridicule, from which it never recovered. A mercenary outfit called Sandline claimed to have been given the go-ahead by the FCO to ship weapons to Sierra Leone, to help President Kabbah recover his country from rebels. The problem was this breached a UN arms embargo. Both the Tory media and the pro-Blair Murdoch media had a frenzy, attacking Cook for claiming to be ethical while breaching UN law.

In fact, while Sandline had close connections with the British High Commission in Sierra Leone, they were simply lying about being given permission to ship arms. I can say that with certainty, because it was I they claimed gave the permission.

http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/weblog.html

[beam me up scottie]

40. I never knew that.

What a vile, despicable man Blair is.
I'm beginning to realize how much he has in common with our neocons.

[D-Notice]

41. Judging by this

Bliar'll be glad Cook's no longer around... :-(

[Briar]

42. David Clark on Cook

(I think I liked the best of the many warm tributes paid to Robin Cook.)

Of all the things that have been said about Robin Cook over the last few days, the one that has made me smile the most is the suggestion that he didn't suffer fools gladly. Thankfully for me, that wasn't true. I hadn't been working for him very long when I accompanied him by train to a Labour conference in Birmingham. My first mistake was to persuade him, against his better judgment, to get off at the wrong station, leaving us miles from the venue. My second was to turn away as some local youths made off with his briefcase and the only copy of the speech he was about to give.

If he had sacked me on the spot I wouldn't have complained. But realising my distress, his first instinct was to reassure me that everything would be OK. When we eventually arrived at the conference, late and flustered, he delivered a barnstorming, off-the-cuff speech far better than the one in his missing briefcase. Robin was certainly capable of being irritable and abrupt under pressure, but he also had an immense capacity for personal kindness and understanding that stood in sharp contrast to his public image.
...

One thing that has been remarked on that no one should doubt was his political courage. In February 2003, when Robin first told me that he might have to quit the government over Iraq, I urged caution. We both agreed that the threat from Iraq had been grossly inflated and that Saddam was being effectively contained. But I said that the invading troops would probably unearth some rusting stockpiles of chemical weapons left over from the first Gulf war and that Blair would be able to claim vindication. His allies were already briefing that those who opposed the war would put themselves "on the wrong side of history".

Robin agreed with my assessment, but dismissed it as a consideration: "This war is wrong and I will oppose it in any case." Those who knew him well will agree that by putting his intellectual reputation on the line he risked losing something far dearer to him than his ministerial limousine. That was the true measure of his courage...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1545291,00.html

[beam me up scottie]

43. That was wonderful.

It's fairly obvious who put themselves "on the wrong side of history".