I'm frankly flabbergasted by this. Regular readers will know of my disdain for Neil Clark, who seeks to silence the free expression of views through legal action and writes with love of the old days of the Warsaw Pact. But for all my disdain - nay, contempt - even I never thought to read such a truly vile piece as this by him (or indeed anyone else), let alone on a maninstream newspaper's site.

Clark expreses the view, with regard to the campaign to allow the Iraqi translators who have helped the British army in their service for the Iraqi government, that:

The interpreters did not work for "us", the British people, but for themselves - they are paid around £16 a day, an excellent wage in Iraq - and for an illegal occupying force. Let's not cast them as heroes. The true heroes in Iraq are those who have resisted the invasion of their country.

...Before you rush to condemn Iraqis who feel ill disposed towards the interpreters, ask yourself a simple question: how would you view fellow Britons who worked for the forces of a foreign occupier, if Britain were ever invaded? History tells us that down through history, Quislings have - surprise, surprise - not been well received, and the Iraqi people's animosity towards those who collaborated with US and British forces is only to be expected.

...let's do all we can to keep self-centred mercenaries who betrayed their fellow countrymen and women for financial gain out of Britain.

If that means some of them may lose their lives, then the responsibility lies with those who planned and supported this wicked, deceitful and catastrophic war, and not those of us who tried all we could to stop it.

Words fail me.

I actually take heart from this, or rather from the reaction to it.. I have been the first to pillory the commenters on Comment is Free. But if you have a look at the comments on Clark's piece, you'll see that they are overwhelmingly appalled by what he has written - and that from their anti-war perspective. Clark has shown himself to be beyond the pale even of Comment is Free commenters.

(Here's what the campaign's progenitor, Dan Hardie (who was, not that it should matter a jot, antiwar) has to say.)

UPDATE: James has the same reaction (unsurprisingly, given that he is not Neil Clark.)