[Daphne – I am not on a mission, no more than, say, you are. It’s my ‘job’ to discuss what is relevant, as opposed to what isn’t. My mind isn’t ‘set’. I have a clear opinion which will not change until the facts on which it is based do. That is unlikely to happen, and my opinion remains this: Malta has no right to expect other states to do a very expensive and extremely dangerous job from which Malta and the Maltese will benefit directly, without pitching in to help and being SEEN to do so.]

Oh dear, you’ve drawn me into theological arguments. My idea of ‘god’ is ‘the set of rules you live by’. In that sense, you could say that every man has his own god, and that they’re all different. So I wouldn’t say that the Christian and Muslim god are the same.

That ‘Alla’ thing is different. It’s the generic Arabic word for any god. That’s how we ended up using it. Christian Arabs also refer to their god as Allah. But you know this stuff and I don’t want to lecture you, of all people.

I’ll just say that it’s such an embarrassment for a nation claiming to be European.

[Daphne – Because he doesn’t call the shots, Angus. And yes, I have criticised him for his stance, but obviously, there are more grounds for criticising the prime minister because the buck stops with him. As to what is gained, these things are not done or said to ‘gain’ something. They’re done or said because there’s a little flicker of democracy still alive here. “I’ll say nothing because what purpose does it serve?” is the reason Malta ended up in such a mess, a mess it’s still crawling out of.]

It’s as if Malta is the only country which chose not to actively participate when the so called coalition has, within it, its own doubters and forced participants (US), eagerly waiting the minute to get the hell out.

[Daphne – Wrong. Everyone is eagerly awaiting the chance to get out, because nobody wanted in. It’s just something that had to be done, like pulling a rotten tooth or washing the floor.]

It is amazing how many people who were so appalled by the violence of the 70s and 80s, have suddenly acquired the taste of becoming participants in a situation which could very well have or may have dangerous situations for Malta.

[Daphne – Confused logic, sorry. It is PRECISELY BECAUSE we were appalled by the situation in Malta in the 1970s and 1980s that we can empathise with Libyans and insist that they should be helped, especially by sods like us.]

Hindsight is 20-20 and the eventual destruction of Libya’s air forces saved Malta’s bacon but when the coalition was dilly-dallying over what to do, if anything at all, such a situation could not be quantified in terms of success or failure and how long it would take to accomplish.

[Daphne – Ah yes, Libya’s air weaponry has been destroyed. But Malta’s stance hasn’t changed. We’re still shivering. What does that tell you? That our government is not scared of violent retaliation, but scared of something else.]

Dr. Gonzi insisted more than once that Malta was never asked to share its one airport with fighter bombers heading out to Libya and still continues not to be asked since the main objective seems to have been accomplished with no inconvenience to the coalition by Malta denying access to the coalition forces.

[Daphne – He was not asked, Angus, because he preempted any such request by declaring at the outset that he would say no. Or didn’t you get that bit of strategy?]

So, why point fingers at Dr. Gonzi alleging his ‘weakness or indecisions’ when deciding to keep Malta out of it, when he was never asked to offer Malta as a base?

Something smells rotten in the state of Malta.

[Daphne – You’re right. It does.]

Some people lead from behind. That’s why they stink.

Such rubbish is usually taken seriously by those of a literal mindset, so you have better explain that the christian God and the Muslim Allah is one and the same – hence ‘Alla’ in Maltese.

It’s not as if he’s leading.

That’s the proper place for a coward. A brave man would be in front.

And he could bury once and for all the “close ties with Libya” rhetoric. It’s just another country, for god’s sake. It’s not like we’ve shared the same foxhole (à la UK).

No. That would be a black-bearded turban-wearing god. The god that gave us Gonzi is bare-headed and has a white beard. They’re rumoured to be brothers, so if you shave off the beard the resemblance is uncanny.

That makes sixteen behind the Prime Minister.