At least fifty people were killed and hundreds injured in the bomb blasts in Istanbul last week. The second explosions, aimed at British targets, took place while George W Bush was on a state visit to the United Kingdom. Of course the subject came up at a press conference shortly afterwards.

Watching them stand side by side at their podiums, of similar height, build and age, in similar suits and with similar superficial expressions, the overriding impression was of Tweedledum and Tweedledee. The only difference is that instead of contradicting each other, they merely repeat the same lines again and again. And so when one of them – I don’t remember which and it doesn’t matter – commented on the Turkish bombs, his reaction was predictable; they were further proof that the war against Iraq was justified and that terrorism must be rooted out and destroyed in all its forms.

There was no suggestion from either Tweedle that the bomb blasts were a reaction to the Iraq war and occupation. No recognition that the bombers were fired by an idealism as strong as the ideals that the Tweedles themselves profess. No understanding that terrorism – an inappropriate word but let’s use it for the moment – is not an evil force that emerges as spontaneously as a monster or spirit in a horror film, but a human action that is based on a premise that may be wrong but is still worthy of respect. It is a black and white world that the Tweedles live in, and having decided they are the Good Guys, at no point will they entertain the option that perhaps the situation is more complicated than the one they so confidently believe in.

It wasn’t always so. Back in the 1990s, Tony Blair argued passionately that his government would be tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime. In other words, our prime minister-to-be indicated that he realised that much crime stems not from a cartoon version of evil but from poverty, social deprivation and frustration caused by an inability to share in the wealth that others enjoy. Since he took over the government, we have heard less of that phrase, but at least some of New Labour’s policies are directed at eradicating the poverty that lies at the heart of much crime.

Yet Tony Blair, it seems, could make connections that Tweedleblair cannot. Apart from a few anodyne remarks about the current Israeli policy of driving Palestinians deeper and deeper into hatred, not once has he stated the obvious – that the only appropriate reaction to September 11 and its aftermath must surely be to be tough on terrorism and on the causes of terrorism. That means not only the Palestinian situation but the combination in many societies of poverty, ignorance, lack of employment opportunities, lack of alternatives to express one’s views, lack of opportunity to enjoy one’s sexuality, which all push young men and some young women into the arms of blinkered, murderous extremists. Yes, the Osama bin Ladens of the world must be caught and brought to justice, but that justice is meaningless if it continues to neglect the basic needs and dignity of those who follow him.

Or am I wrong? I know I am intelligent, and I also know that my intelligence is limited. I think my argument is sound; it has evolved over the years, not suddenly been thrown together by an emotional reaction to the Iraqi war. It is based on the tenet that while there are absolute standards of right and wrong (right is to promote good and minimise harm, while wrong is the opposite), none of us enjoy a monopoly of morality and few of us are irrevocably evil.

I listen again and again and again to the Tweedles and still I am unconvinced. The arguments they come up with at best do not make sense and at worst are downright lies – first they tell us we shouldn’t give the UN team more time to find weapons of mass destruction, then they tell us they need all the time in the world to find those same weapons. Yes, they say, Saddam Hussein posed a threat to world order; no, they reluctantly admit, there is no evidence that Saddam lay behind any atrocities outside the borders of Iraq, Kuwait and Iran.

Sometimes Tweedleblair disarmingly admits that some of his arguments are unproven, then he pleads with us to admire him and his brother for the depth of their convictions. Does that mean I am supposed to admire Hitler too? His convictions were equally deep. No, I shout at the television, conviction, passion and emotion mean nothing if they are not based on reason, and they mean even less when they are used to distort reason. Damn your conviction, damn your assertions, just give me facts.

Then I calm down. I even admit that I could be wrong and there might indeed be a rational argument for the invasion and occupation. Yet every argument the Tweedles offer has feet of clay. It is true that Saddam has gone, schools have opened, freedom of speech flourishes, salaries have risen; despite the occupation, most Iraqis are reportedly more content than they were under the régime. So, if freedom from dictatorship is the basis for pre-emptive strikes, when will the troops be massing on the borders of Burma, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe and a dozen more? Embarrassed silence from the Tweedles and a quick change of tack. There was evidence of weapons of mass destruction, they insist. No, the world replies, there was no such evidence; yes such weapons had been used in the past, but they had long since been destroyed. There were links to Al-Qaeda, the Tweedles insist. Actually, the links were far weaker than in other countries (Saudi Arabia, anyone?) that the Tweedles conveniently forgot to invade. The world is a safer place now, they tell us; unfortunately, most of us consider it more dangerous, thanks to the Tweedles, the best recruiting agent that extremists have.

Still, I try my hardest to believe, and while 98 percent of me is convinced that it is the Tweedles whose actions and inactions and stupidity and stubbornness are leading us further and further into a spiral of violence, 2 percent of me concedes that I might be mistaken. And that 2 percent keeps me listening to the other side. Would George Bush and Tony Blair also listened.