John MacDonald: Fighting over Government statements won't bring peace

Former Prime Minister Helen Clark hasn’t been slow in criticising our government’s response to the attacks on Iran.

She’s not just criticising it - she’s slamming it. Saying that it’s “a disgrace” for not condemning Israel and the United States and, instead, criticising Iran’s “indiscriminate” retaliatory attacks.

Helen Clark says the Government knows full well that Israel and the US are breaking international law with these strikes and the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister should be saying so.

She says the Government knows that negotiations regarding Iran’s nuclear capability were underway and we should be ripping into Israel and the US for what they started on Saturday.

But here’s where I’m at. When I hear about people in Iran cheering and celebrating the demise of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who am I to criticise what’s happened?

Who am I to tell these people: “Oh no no, stop celebrating, it’s not right what’s happened. Israel and the US aren't playing by the rules.” Who am I to say that to those people?

And who is Helen Clark to say that?

This is the problem you get with people on the left side of the political spectrum, who seem to be incapable of seeing the bigger picture.

Has Helen Clark and the opposition MPs lining up to criticise the Government forgotten about the death sentences handed out to some of the people involved in the recent mass protests?

They want things done to the letter every time. But what if this brings a better life for the people of Iran?

It’s a big if. Because who knows whether this will be the end of the current regime running Iran or not?

Regime change is easy to talk about but very difficult to do. Because it’s not just the regime, it’s who fills the vacuum afterwards.

As we saw in Iraq. Yes, they got rid of Saddam Hussein, but then they got rid of the Iraqi army as well and that’s when it really hit the fan with other extremists and terror groups all wanting a piece of the action.

So, who knows how this is going to end up in the long term? But, when all is said and done, for me this is about the people of Iran.

Which is why you’re not going to hear me piling into our government the way Helen Clark is.

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