The British investigation into the previous Blair regime’s complicity in torture and terrorism is becoming clearer by the day. Such studies, while inevitably flawed due to a generally bi-partisan belief in keeping the worst details private, are a far cry from anything undertaken by America or Australia: The true extent of the Labour government’s involvement…
Showing all posts tagged Britain
More journalists must take risks, says Wikileaks head
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in the Guardian: There has been an unconscionable failure to protect sources. It is those sources who take all the risks. I was at a journalism conference a few months ago, and there were posters up saying a thousand journalists had been killed since 1944. That’s outrageous. How many policemen have…
The hype against Saddam was false, part 8642
This story isn’t old news and remains key to understanding any possible military strike against Iran: Former UK diplomat Carne Ross claimed that the [British] Government ”intentionally and substantially” exaggerated its assessment of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in public documents. ”Most of the unanswered questions derived from discrepancies in Iraq’s accounting for its…
Don’t expect the BBC to answer your question, please don’t call again
The complaints procedure at the BBC shows how utterly unaccountable the organisation has become, seemingly beyond the reach of the public to legitimately complain about bias, lack of balance and an excess of “official” voices.
Should a man be held in the West for years without charge?
Babar Ahmad, 35, is the longest-serving prisoner held without charge or trial in the UK. Six years and counting in the farcical “war on terror”.
When killing “enemies” is the default media position
A leading British former counter-terrorism official says that his country’s “war on terror” has been an abject failure, alienated Muslims and increased the chances of terrorism. The CIA’s former top counter-terrorism official claims that the use of contracting in the “war on terror” is a good thing and Washington’s post 9/11 posture has been one…
How we are helping Islamists
Dissenting British historian Mark Curtis has a record of skewering the realities of his country’s foreign policy. We don’t just work with the “enemy”; we’ve become the enemy. His latest: When the London bombers struck five years ago, many people blamed the invasion of Iraq for inspiring them. But the connection between 7/7 and British…
Refugees are sent back to an uncertain fate
The London Independent on what really happens when the UK deports failed asylum-seekers.
Better find another country to visit, Hebron oppressor
Watching every step. Israeli officers and politicians will soon be before international courts. That day is coming: The IDF was forced to cancel the departure of the outgoing Hebron Brigade commander, Col. Udi Ben-Moha, to study in the UK. Yedioth Ahronoth has learned that the army feared that Ben Moha would be arrested upon landing…
British looks back into history and misses the good old days
Just what the world needs; an invigorated, more interventionist British empire: William Hague has outlined the Government’s vision of Britain’s role in the world, promising a sweeping overhaul of foreign policy aimed at expanding the country’s influence to every inhabited continent. In his first major speech as Foreign Secretary Mr Hague stressed that while he…