What a shame that Anthony Eden did not have a Butler around to explain he was not responsible for Suez
By Robin Cook
What a wonderful specimen of the British establishment is Lord Butler of Brockwell. Urbane, unflappable and understanding. He should be put on display somewhere as a prize example of our ruling classes. Possibly the Victoria and Albert Museum would provide the right grandeur and period ambiance.
There is an emotional disconnect between his measured tones and the (...)
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Britain’s worst intelligence failure, and Lord Butler says no one is to blame
17 July 2004 par (Open-Publishing)
2 comments -
Iraqi academics targeted in murder spree
16 July 2004 par (Open-Publishing)
1 commentRobert Fisk
The Mongols stained the Tigris black with the ink of the Iraqi books they destroyed. Today’s Mongols prefer to destroy the Iraqi teachers of books.
Since the Anglo-American invasion, they have murdered at least 13 academics at the University of Baghdad alone and countless others across Iraq. History professors, deans of college and Arabic tutors have all fallen victim to the war on learning. Only six weeks ago - virtually unreported, of course - the female dean of the (...) -
BOYCOTT THE MILITARY
15 July 2004 par (Open-Publishing)
by TED RALL
NEW YORK—A haunted young man whose face bears too many lines for his years, jetlagged and limping from a wound sustained in the defense of his country half a world away, emerges from a jetway at San Francisco International Airport. A woman about the same age awaits in the terminal. A peace-sign necklace hanging above a loose floral-print dress billowing about her unshaven legs, the hippie chick scornfully scans his uniform, spits in his face and screams: "Baby killer!" The (...) -
The day Jawad saw the birds fall from the sky and the villagers lying dead at his feet
12 July 2004 par (Open-Publishing)
by Robert Fisk
AWAD’S job yesterday was to find The Independent a new fir tree - or at least some foliage which would colour the sun-bleached balcony of the paper’s office in Baghdad. The fine little Christmas fir which graced the apartment had, despite promises of constant watering by colleagues, turned into a black, carbonised tree of tiny dark prickles. So it was that I set forth for the market garden behind Palestine Street, a place that reeks of hot flowers and undergrowth and pot (...) -
How the Iraqis See It
11 July 2004 par (Open-Publishing)
1 commentby Sam Hamod
I think it’s about time that someone told the American people how the Iraqis see it. I am not talking about the puppet regime installed by Bush, that was opposed, and is still opposed by the Iraqi people, Brahimi and the experts at the UN and in the US State Department, but about the vast majority of non-Kurd Iraqis (over 90% of the country).
The American troops are colonial occupiers, similar to the old British colonialists who tried to run Iraq in the past. They feel our (...) -
So this is what they call the new, ’free’ Iraq
7 July 2004 par (Open-Publishing)
2 commentsBy Robert Fisk
He drafted a new piece of legislation forbidding Iraqi motorists to drive with only one hand on the wheel. Another document solemnly announced that it would henceforth be a crime for Iraqis to sound their car horns except in an emergency. That same day, three American soldiers were torn apart by a roadside bomb north of Baghdad, one of more than 60 attacks on US forces over the weekend. And all the while, Mr Bremer was worrying about the standards of Iraqi driving.
It (...) -
Justice, Gas and Tears
6 July 2004 par (Open-Publishing)
by Uri Avnery
In the silence of the courtroom, there was an audible gasp of surprise and shock when Supreme Justice Aharon Barak, reading the court’s decision, reached the words: “The military commander did not use his discretion in a proportional way, as required.”
At that moment the veteran peace activists who filled the room realized that they had won.
Four days before, we could not have dreamt of that. We were far from the sterile silence of the beautiful Supreme Court building: (...) -
Confused? Shadow of His Old Self? Hardly
4 July 2004 par (Open-Publishing)
By Robert Fisk Bags beneath his eyes, beard greying, finger-jabbing with anger, Saddam was still the same fox, alert, cynical, defiant, abusive, proud. Yet history must record that the new "independent" government in Baghdad yesterday gave Saddam Hussein an initial trial hearing that was worthy of the brutal old dictator.
He was brought to court in chains and handcuffs. The judge insisted that his own name should be kept secret. The names of the other judges were kept secret. (...) -
The Handover: Restoration of Iraqi sovereignty - or Alice in Wonderland?
2 July 2004 par (Open-Publishing)
1 commentby Robert Fisk
So in the end, America’s enemies set the date. The handover of "full sovereignty" was secretly brought forward so that the ex-CIA intelligence officer who is now "Prime Minister" of Iraq could avoid another bloody offensive by America’s enemies. What is supposed to be the most important date in Iraq’s modern history was changed like a birthday party because it might rain on Wednesday.
Pitiful is the word that comes to mind. Here we were, handing "full sovereignty" to (...) -
Film shows Cleland’s cause Disabled vet says Iraq war a tragic error
2 July 2004 par (Open-Publishing)
1 commentBy DAVID HO
NEW YORK - Max Cleland never wanted to come full circle.
But for the Vietnam veteran and former U.S. senator from Georgia, his recent visits to see American soldiers wounded in Iraq have the feel of history repeating itself.
"This is Vietnam revisited in every way," Cleland, who lost two legs and an arm in a 1968 grenade explosion, said in an interview Wednesday. "I thought I’d never see it again in my lifetime. I thought we’d learned some basic lessons."
Cleland visits (...)