Dates and intervals

In musing about 1968 and all that, Geoffrey Wheatcroft thinks he has a direct line to the ironies of history:

A full "where are they now" catalogue of soixante-huitards would be most amusing, if unkind. Christopher Hitchens proudly tells us that "Old leftist friends of mine from the 1960s are now on Labour's frontbench and staunchly defend the overthrow of Saddam Hussein", which I think may definitely be called an unforeseen outcome; and Dany le Rouge himself is today an MEP unpopular with his fellow Greens for supporting military intervention in the Balkans and Afghanistan.

Would-be ironies backed only by simplicities - as if the spirit of 1968 required us to oppose the overthrow of murderous tyrants or the prevention of ethnic cleansing. Here's another date for Wheatcroft: 1982, year of the Falklands War. There were those who were 'there' in 1968 and who supported the war against Galtieri. That year, 1982, is closer in time to 1968 than it is to 2003 or even to 2001.