KEY POINTS:
The battle of the two major parties over the war in Iraq is becoming quite distasteful.
It was taken to new heights in today's question time when National Deputy leader Gerry Brownlee wondered whether John Key could use his airpoints to fly to Iraq seeing as Air New Zealand goes there now.
(Green MP Keith Locke had suggested Key be flown to Iraq under on Defence funding to see for himself that the war was not over).
Sure there are political points to be scored by both parties but the relish with which they savour their small victories is getting to obscene levels. Labour raised the issue today. Defence Minister Phil Goff recited the death toll (768 coalition forces members and around 3000 Iraqis since February this year) in order to inflict more discomfort on Key who said last week the war was over.
National then dredged up comments from 2003 by Goff and Mark Burton when they had liberally and positively referred to the "post-war" state Iraq was in - as it appeared to be in when the Saddam regime fell and before the insurgency.
When Goff said he did not resile from the comments there was more general uproar from the National benches, which prompted the rather sensible and sensitive observation from Foreign Minister Winston Peters: "The circumstances of Iraq surely do not justify the kind of guffawing glee, laughter, and noise that is emanating from the National Party benches."
Labour is not blameless either. It has over-egged the war quote mercilessly while trying to maintain an air of sanctimony.
If the US was offended by Helen Clark saying the war would never have happened if Al Gore had won the presidency, it and perhaps Australia too, must be feeling more than a little upset at the political sport that is being had day after day over Iraq.
Today was my second day back in the Press Gallery after a terrific holiday in Rarotonga, where I resisted the urge to blog for a fortnight in case you missed me. Next week I'm off to the Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga where I'll be blogging more regularly.
