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[webfact]

Britain's Boris Johnson jokes about dead bodies in Libya

 

Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson addresses the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

 

MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson quipped on Tuesday that Libya can become a new Dubai if it can clear the dead bodies away, the latest gaffe by Britain's top diplomat.

 

Johnson, who has offended some allies with flippant remarks, told Conservative Party members that the Libyan city of Sirte could be turned into the next Dubai by British investors if they could clear the bodies.

 

"They've got a brilliant vision to turn Sirte, with the help of the municipality of Sirte, to turn it into the next Dubai," Johnson said. "The only thing they've got to do is clear the dead bodies away and then we will be there."

 

Some activists from Prime Minister Theresa May's party laughed at the joke before the chair of the event changed the subject, saying: "Next question."

 

Britain and France took a leading role in the attacks that helped rebels overthrow Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The country has since descended into chaos, with thousands of casualties.

 

The Islamic State militant group took over Sirte in early 2015, turning it into their most important base outside the Middle East and attracting large numbers of foreign fighters into the city. It was later cleared of the militants.

 

In a series of late night posts on Twitter, Johnson said he was referring to the clearing of booby trapped bodies of Islamic State militant fighters.

 

"Shame people with no knowledge or understanding of Libya want to play politics with the appallingly dangerous reality in Sirte," Johnson said. "The reality there is that the clearing of corpses of Daesh fighters has been made much more difficult by IEDs and booby traps."

 

When asked about Johnson's comments, PM May's deputy, Damian Green, said all ministers need to be careful with their language when dealing with sensitive issues but refrained from criticising the foreign minister.

 

The opposition Labour Party's spokeswoman for foreign affairs, Emily Thornberry, said Johnson's joke was shameful and questioned whether May would take any action to reprimand him.

 

May’s appointment of Johnson, who in the run-up to Britain’s referendum on EU membership compared the goals of the European Union to those of Adolf Hitler and Napoleon, caused consternation in some European capitals.

 

Britain's ambassador to Myanmar was forced to interrupt Johnson earlier this year as he tried to recite a nostalgic colonial poem by Rudyard Kipling in public during a visit to the country's most famous Buddhist site.

 

(Reporting by William James; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Toby Chopra)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-10-04

[JHolmesJr]

7 minutes ago, webfact said:

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson quipped on Tuesday that Libya can become a new Dubai if it can clear the dead bodies away, the latest gaffe by Britain's top diplomat.

 

I don't see how this is a joke about dead bodies in libya.

 

Please rein in your obvious bias.

[webfact]

Boris Johnson Libya 'dead bodies' comment provokes anger

 

Boris Johnson has said Libyan city Sirte could be the new Dubai, adding, "all they have to do is clear the dead bodies away".

 

The foreign secretary's comments at a Conservative conference fringe meeting have sparked anger, with Labour calling them "crass, callous and cruel".

 

Conservative MP Heidi Allen said he should be sacked, as did the Lib Dems.

 

Full story: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-41490174

 

-- © Copyright BBC 2017-10-04

[craigt3365]

46 minutes ago, JHolmesJr said:

 

I don't see how this is a joke about dead bodies in libya.

 

Please rein in your obvious bias.

Joke or not, it was an inappropriate comment by a government official.  Heartless.

[marginline]

1 hour ago, craigt3365 said:

Joke or not, it was an inappropriate comment by a government official.  Heartless.

For a diplomat I'm kind of disappointed that our Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs -  appears to be diplomatically challenged.

Edited October 4, 2017 by marginline
typographic error

[champers]

If you believe Boris to be an idiot, you should remember who appointed him as Foreign Secretary in the first place.

[baboon]

20 minutes ago, marginline said:

For a diplomat I'm kind of disappointed that our Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs -  appears to be diplomatically challenged.

He's coming out with all this cack because he wants to be sacked. He cares only about himself and where he can go to next.

[Baerboxer]

4 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

Joke or not, it was an inappropriate comment by a government official.  Heartless.

 

If it was intended as a joke it was in appalling taste and totally inappropriate. If as he later claimed it was reference to the dangerous work of removing booby trapped bodies then he should have offered a better description rather than assuming all would know what he was referring to.

 

He isn't always acting the buffoon - sometimes that's the real him!

[Baerboxer]

2 hours ago, baboon said:

He's coming out with all this cack because he wants to be sacked. He cares only about himself and where he can go to next.

 

Quite probably got the next lucrative roles outside politics already lined up. Banks, the City, large corporations - the world is his lobster!

[saminoz]

Seriously, who really gives a damn?

[mrfill]

3 hours ago, champers said:

If you believe Boris to be an idiot, you should remember who appointed him as Foreign Secretary in the first place.

 

So that would be the tax dodging billionaires who run the Daily Mail, Sun, Times, Telegraph and Express then.

[dunroaming]

18 minutes ago, saminoz said:

Seriously, who really gives a damn?

 

Well those backing him to become the next PM for a start.  It is bizarre that anyone would think that he would be a good choice for the job.  One thing that does make him suitable is that he can spin on a sixpence and backtrack with the best of them.

[BKKBrit]

I think he's the bee's knees  He just says what we're all thinking. And in this context, it was explained he was referring to the Daesh bodies that have been booby-trapped that are the impediment to moving in. 

[dunroaming]

1 minute ago, BKKBrit said:

I think he's the bee's knees  He just says what we're all thinking. And in this context, it was explained he was referring to the Daesh bodies that have been booby-trapped that are the impediment to moving in. 

 

The bee's knees indeed.  First he said it was a joke and then that he was making a serious point.

[Belzybob]

5 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

Joke or not, it was an inappropriate comment by a government official.  Heartless.

 

Not PC, but basically factual and realistic.

[Currumbin]

5 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

Joke or not, it was an inappropriate comment by a government official.  Heartless.

Boris should have been appointed to guide UkKout of the EEC. If they had done so the UK would be out by now. He  is gifted when it comes to diplomacy.

[Jonnapat]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Boris Johnson Libya 'dead bodies' comment provokes anger

 

Boris Johnson has said Libyan city Sirte could be the new Dubai, adding, "all they have to do is clear the dead bodies away".

 

The foreign secretary's comments at a Conservative conference fringe meeting have sparked anger, with Labour calling them "crass, callous and cruel".

 

Conservative MP Heidi Allen said he should be sacked, as did the Lib Dems.

 

Full story: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-41490174

 

-- © Copyright BBC 2017-10-04

And so do I , and have said so for a long time

[Jonnapat]

4 hours ago, marginline said:

For a diplomat I'm kind of disappointed that our Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs -  appears to be diplomatically challenged.

I'm a little surprised if you have only just come to this conclusion.

[baboon]

6 minutes ago, Currumbin said:

Boris should have been appointed to guide UkKout of the EEC. If they had done so the UK would be out by now. He  is gifted when it comes to diplomacy.

The man turned Brexit as a career move, nothing else. If he sees the tide turning he will go back to remain. 

I doubt you will have been able to have seen the documentary on him aired on Channel 4 in the UK last Sunday night. It was a real eye opener, believe me...

[baboon]

1 hour ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Quite probably got the next lucrative roles outside politics already lined up. Banks, the City, large corporations - the world is his lobster!

I dunno how old you are, but don't you think that politics and politicians are the scummiest there has ever been?

[BuaBS]

The UK was in the coalition with other euro states , that destroyed Libya , lead by Hillary Clinton . Are all those bodies cleaned up yet , Boris ?

[craigt3365]

11 hours ago, Belzybob said:

 

Not PC, but basically factual and realistic.

I'm sure there are a few dead bodies there as it's a war zone.  But that comment is far from factual and realistic. Definitely not PC.  He is a politician after all and that's part of the job.  Like it or not.

[craigt3365]

10 hours ago, BuaBS said:

The UK was in the coalition with other euro states , that destroyed Libya , lead by Hillary Clinton . Are all those bodies cleaned up yet , Boris ?

The dictator leader of Libya destroyed his own country.  You don't see a country like Norway heading down this route.  It's all about the leadership.  And he was a bad one.

 

Can't blame the West for everything bad that happens there.

[JHolmesJr]

I saw a documentary about Boris on 4 last weekend....it covered his trip to Burma among other things.

 

While he was visiting the big pagoda, he rattled off an entire poem by Kipling or someone....it was about mandalay and the brits

that were there before.....a very funny man.

 

The british ambassador to the UK was trying to shush him....why.....its not like the burmese understand kipling.

[tryasimight]

10 hours ago, JHolmesJr said:

I saw a documentary about Boris on 4 last weekend....it covered his trip to Burma among other things.

 

While he was visiting the big pagoda, he rattled off an entire poem by Kipling or someone....it was about mandalay and the brits

that were there before.....a very funny man.

 

The british ambassador to the UK was trying to shush him....why.....its not like the burmese understand kipling.

I guess the owner of Kipling's cafe in Mandalay does.

[tryasimight]

5 hours ago, tryasimight said:

I guess the owner of Kipling's cafe in Mandalay does.

Over the road from the 'palace'

[bendejo]

So when asked about re-building the London Underground after WW II, what if Churchill (or anyone else) made such a comment about clearing the bodies?  "Bloody stinks down there, it does!"

 

By US standards this guy is presidential material, and since he was born in NYC, and if he's still a dual-national -- uh-oh!  This could turn into Britain's payback for the American Revolution.

 

 

[BuaBS]

Libya Before NATO

Pre-war Libya had the highest Human Development Indext (HDI) ranking in Africa. In 2010, a year before the NATO war, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) assigned an HDI ranking of 53 to Libya (out of 169 countries ranked, Libya ranked highest on the African continent). The HDI is a composite statistic which measures comparative quality of life around the world with regard to education, lifespan, wages, and general standard of living. For example, Libya ranked above Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Brazil, and South Africa for multiple years running through 2010 and was categorized as having "High Human Development". Libya has now fallen to 102 in the world according to the UN's 2016 HDI report.

 

Interesting read about what's behind BJ comment

[craigt3365]

Those stats are good. But there's a dark side to them. And the reason for his downfall.

 

https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/1.570727

 

Gruesome Details of Gadhafi's Rape of Teenagers and Other Crimes Revealed

 

BBC documentary has eyewitness accounts of murder, torture and sexual abuse by the Libyan dictator, who was shot by rebels in 2011.