ONE of the least edifying spectacles of the past couple of weeks has been the
sight of political leaders using the attacks on the US to further their own
ambitions or as cover for words and deeds that would be normally be
unacceptable.
Even as New Yorkers were fleeing giant plumes of dust in Manhattan, Ariel
Sharon, prime minister of Israel, was ordering his tanks to tighten their grip
on West Bank settlements. And within days, Northern Ireland’s Unionists were
seizing on the new mood of antipathy towards terrorism to score points against
their Republican opponents.
Blatant as they were,…
