Dossier

Claire Ribonnet

“A British intelligence dossier on Iraq’s latest misdeeds has turned out
to be a re-hash of old academic papers, most of it plagiarized
by the British government. In fact, Secretary of State Colin Powell
praised that British document in his address to the UN this week.”

Oh, James, oh 007,
where are you now
that what's left of the free
world really needs you
for your calm resourcefulness
and sharp-edged wit?

I know you're only fiction,
a character on the big screen,
but couldn't you please,
just this once, drop into Iraq
and locate all those hidden

weapons of mass destruction,
so that His Majesties Secret Service
and the American intelligence agencies
don't look so damned stupid

when our Secretary of State
goes before the United Nations
and presents old speculation as new fact?

Or else tell us that it's all a lie,
that there are no underground
chemical weapons plants,
no anthrax spawning RVs,
no nuclear missiles waiting,
like tulip bulbs for spring,
to sprout from the desert sands.

Expose our leaders
as part of an evil plot:
show us how a select group
of corporations plans
to take over the world

and condemn us all
to a life of slavery
and a short retirement
spent counting chads in Florida.