Archives Bellaciao EN 1999-2016

PM was told war would spur terrorism

2004-08-23T12:25:19Z

by Tom Allard
The Federal Government was warned repeatedly by intelligence analysts before the Iraq war that the conflict would harm the war on terrorism by fanning Islamic extremism and spurring terrorist recruiting.
An investigation by the Herald, which has included interviews with several serving and retired intelligence figures, has uncovered that John Howard and his senior colleagues were briefed on the dangers, verbally and in written reports.
Yet the Prime Minister told (…)

- contributions / Attack-Terrorism, Australia, Tom Allard

Defence hot and bothered over Fahrenheit 9/11

2004-07-27T00:46:09Z

By Tom Allard
The Australian Defence Force stands accused of censorship after it banned the showing of the inflammatory anti-war blockbuster Fahrenheit 9/11 on military bases, despite requests direct to the distributor from serving personnel.
The film's distributor, Hopscotch, confirmed yesterday that a soldier had approached it for a copy of Michael Moore's film to show at a military base cinema.
Hopscotch offered it free and the immediate superiors of the soldier - who worked (…)

- contributions / Movement, Cinema-Video, Australia, Tom Allard

Red Cross urged to investigate Allawi claims

2004-07-19T19:28:50Z

By Tom Allard
The former British foreign secretary, Robin Cook, has urged the International Committee for the Red Cross to investigate witness claims that the new Iraqi prime minister, Iyad Allawi, shot dead six insurgents last month.
Revelations of the accounts of the killings by chief Herald correspondent Paul McGeough at the weekend and the refusal of US authorities to deny them outright sparked concerns around the world.
The Herald reported that two independent witnesses alleged Dr (…)

- contributions / Wars and conflicts, International, Governments, UK, Tom Allard

Hill won't release abuse dossier for risk of offending US

2004-06-22T16:07:52Z

By Tom Allard, Defence Reporter
The Federal Government has refused to make public a detailed 61-page dossier outlining what Australians knew about prisoner abuse in Iraq, with the Minister for Defence, Robert Hill, claiming some details would offend the US.
Senator Hill was yesterday censured in the Senate for his role in misleading Parliament and his failure to take responsibility for the false statements made by him, the Prime Minister and senior Defence officials.
Senator Hill had (…)

- contributions / Wars and conflicts, International, Prison, USA, Tom Allard