1 June 2004
The Americans' preferred man for (figurehead) Iraqi president was chosen, but immediately resigned. A "compromise" candidate, "critical" of the US, was then picked.
As a result of high demand, particularly by China, now boosted by terrorist attacks in Saudi and Iraq, the price of crude oil is rising fast.
Which reminds me of the "oil-as-power" thesis; of the American right holding Europe, China, etc by the bollocks by getting control of Mideast oil. (See 'Henry Kissinger ...".) Another instance of the Imperial Right and Qaeda "making common cause" ...
But the empire drive is about oil-as-economics too, since the Mideast (and Saudi particularly) holds the key to international oil prices — regardless of what alternative sources of petroleum the USA might have established nowadays.
'CHILD PORN ARREST JUDGE RETIRES
'A senior judge who was arrested over child pornography claims is to retire on Wednesday [2 June] over ill health.
'David Selwood — the resident judge at Portsmouth Crown Court — was due to retire on his 70th birthday on 27 June.
'Judge Selwood, of Winchester, Hants, was arrested in April over allegations of possessing indecent images of children and released on police bail. [See April 2004 diary, under 23 April.]
'A Department for Constitutional Affairs spokesman said he was retired [sic] over ill health and would get a full pension.'
(BBC Ceefax, 1 June 04, p.115)
2 June 04
'IRAN SCOFFS AT CHALABI SPY CLAIMS
'Iran has denied reports in the US that Iraqi politician Ahmed Chalabi warned Tehran that Washington had broken its secret communication codes.
'"The whole story is completely false", said Supreme National Security Council secretary Hassan Rowhani.
'The FBI has reportedly begun an inquiry to see who passed information to Mr Chalabi and if it damaged US security.
'Officials said the alleged leak helped cause a parting of ways between the US and its former favourite Iraqi leader.'
(BBC Ceefax, p.122)
LIBERAL DEMOCRAT PARTY CANDIDATE ARRESTED IN UK
'A candidate for the upcoming local elections has been arrested in connection with allegations of election irregularities, police said.
'Aftab Hussein, a Lib Dem candidate for Alexandra in Oldham, was held over an alleged incident in which five ballot papers were handed over to two men.
'The 39-year-old was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and theft of ballot papers, and bailed.'
(ITV Teletext, 2 June 04, p.312)
'... The move comes after two men called at a house and offered to look after the ballot papers for all its residents.
'Police say they want to ensure public confidence in all postal voting trials. [Very generous-minded of the police to want to take care of political matters.]'
(BBC Ceefax, 2 June 04, p.115)
Cf. Lib-Dem councillor John Astley's arrest "for electoral fraud" in Bristol in October 2003. The local police managed to throw in "downloaded child porn" too in this case.
George Tenet Resigns as CIA Director
Bush says Embattled Spy Chief Cited 'Personal Reasons'
NBR.org, 2 June 04
'... Tenet has been a Washington survivor, serving in the top intelligence post under Democratic and Republican administrations. He was the lone official in a senior post held over from the Clinton administration.
'But the United States suffered a series of intelligence failures on his watch — including the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and inaccurate estimates about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. ...
'Tenet will continue as CIA director until mid-July. Earlier this year, Tenet had warned that he might not remain in his post through a second Bush administration, but the timing of Tenet's resignation took many by surprise. A deputy will lead the agency temporarily until a successor is found.'
3 June 04
'100 HELD IN SCOTLAND PORN RAIDS
'More than 100 people are being questioned after a series of raids across Scotland as part of an operation against child pornography.
'Officers from all eight Scottish police forces took part in the searches as part of Operation Falcon [such a noble name!], along with the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency.
'The raids came after information was sent to UK forces from intelligence and police sources in the United States. [New, or still spilling out of Operations Candyman/Avalanche?]
'Police may seize computer equipment before any charges are made.'
(BBC Ceefax, 3 June 04, p.113)
This follows yesterday's arrest of an electoral candidate of the Liberal-Democrat Party (the nearest thing in Britain to an opposition party) on allegations of electoral irregularities (see above, under 2 June). While evidence is limited that the paedophile weapon is being engaged against opposition to the two-in-one party imperial puppet state, yet it is now concurring with explicit (albeit yet limited) actions in this direction.
'Former Prime Minister Pavlo Lazorenko has been convicted in the US of money-laundering and extortion. ...'
(BBC Ceefax, 3 June, p.119)
4 June 04
Now James Pavitt, the CIA's no. 3 man, "deputy" director of operations, has resigned. It's claimed his resignation was planned weeks ago, and has nothing to do with George Tenet's own (see above, under 2 June).
5 June 04
'[Financial Times:] The inquiry into [UK] intelligence failures over Iraq has ranged more widely than PM Tony Blair expected.'
(ITV Teletext, p.328, reviews of British papers)
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says we are still in the early stages of the "War On Terror"!
Ah yes, the good old War Of Terror! You can always fall back on that when things have gone pear-shaped in Iraq.
The former head of the Iraq Survey Group, David Kay, has said PM Tony Blair is "delusional" over "Iraqi WMD".
There were no actual WMD stockpiles, Kay said.
(BBC Ceefax, 5 June 04, p.109)
6 June 04
Zarqawi (that other Qaeda phantom) has "claimed" responsibility for a car-bomb in Iraq that has killed nine people.
US President Bush was among speakers at the D-Day 60th anniversary proceedings in Normandy, which celebrated the victory of freedom over tyranny.
In the words of the old saying, it is a sweet procession where the Devil carries the Cross.
Or even his glove-puppet.
BBC MEN SHOT IN RIYADH
A BBC security correspondent was shot and critically wounded, and his cameraman killed, while they were filming outside a militant's house in a southern suburb of the Saudi capital Riyadh. Frank Gardner, a Qaeda expert, is in a critical but stable condition in a Saudi hospital.
One story is that it was a drive-by shooting; other people say that gunmen got out of the vehicle and casually continued fire. What it a chance attack on Westerners, or did the gunmen know in advance who theire targets were? The BBC men's Saudi minder (whom all visiters must have) was unhurt, and is being questioned.
BBC men make a convenient "outrage target", while being no skin of the noses of oil imperialists. (They have already been dealt a powerful blow, the "Gilligan affair", by the Blair puppet and his accolytes.)
Saudi, the key state in world oil production, is an established playground of the CIA. Most officials at the Jeddah consulate, for example, worked for US intelligence, if we are to believe ex consular official J Michael Springmann. Fifteen of the 19 "9/11 hijackers" got their US entry visas at this consulate, according to Springmann (which is presumably the basis on which they were described as "Saudi").
Prince Turki al-Faisal, the former head of Saudi intelligence (and now ambassador to Britain), allegedly worked with the CIA and al-Qaeda in the early 1990s. (See "Al-Qaeda: A CIA protégé").
7 June 04
The US is to withdraw one-third of its 37,000 troops in South Korea by December 2005.
A deception-cover for a possible invasion of North Korea during a second Bush term?
8 June 04
[UK government] WATCHDOG'S "ALARM" OVER ID CARDS
'Plans for a national ID card scheme risk changing the relationship between the British state and its citizens, the information watchdog has warned. [Surely this is the whole point of it.]
'Richard Thomas said he had initially greeted the plans with "healthy scepticism" but the details had changed his view to "increasing alarm".
'The government hopes a pilot scheme will pave the way for compulsory identity cards within the next decade.
'Mr Thomas told MPs the scheme was "unprecedented" in international terms.'
(BBC Ceefax, p.111)
The UN Security Council has unanimously passed a US/UK-proposed resolution on "restoring sovereignty" to Iraq.
US Attorney General John Ashcroft was questioned by a Congressional committee over a Justice Department memorandum purportedly saying that torture of prisoners could be justified in some circumstances. (This could have been used to justify the prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere.)
Ashcroft refused to disclose the memorandum's contents to the committee. But (as ABC News Tonight comments) he is unlikely to be cited for contempt, because the Republicans are in a majority on the committee.
(ABC News Tonight, 8 June 04, rebroadcast on BBC News 24, 9 June 04 at 1:37 am BST)
9 June 04
'TIMES[:] Postal ballots [in the UK] were thrown into turmoil after a Times investigation uncovered widespread allegations of fraud, vote-stealing and intimidation.'
(ITV Teletext, p.328, reviews of British papers)
'... The Times says many postal voters have been forced to hand over blank ballot papers or to vote for certain parties.'
(BBC Ceefax, 9 June 04, p.148, reviews of British papers)
Not, presumably, all by Liberal Democrats of south-Asian origin!!! Cf. above, under 2 June 04.
British Channel 4 News finds that party workers (didn't say which parties) in Burnley have been collecting blank postal voting forms from houses, saying they will fill them in for voters.
Burnley was another northern town scene of race riots in 2000 (along with Oldham), and is another fertile patch for the far-right British National Party (BNP).
POLICE TO MONITOR CHATROOMS
'Police around the world [the Anglo-Saxon world anyway] are planning to monitor conversations on internet chat rooms so they can stop paedophiles from grooming their victims over the web.
'The idea emerged at a summit in London of the Virtual Global Task Force, set up six months ago to make the internet safer for young people.
'Police in the UK, US and Australia will make use of different time zones to monitor the web 24 hours a day.
'If a dialogue is potentially dangerous, officers may warn both parties.'
(BBC Ceefax, 9 June 04, p.111)
10 June 04
'POLICE STEP UP "HOOLIGAN" CHECKS [at UK ports and airports]
'Police have stepped up checks at all UK ports and airports, as thousands of England [football] fans leave for the Euro 2004 championships in Portugal.
'Officers are on the lookout for known or suspected hooligans subject to banning orders, and are also carrying out checks on other fans. [My emphasis. How do they distinguish fans? By their rosettes? Or are they making random checks on all travellers?]
'The Home Office has said that 13 people had so far been stopped from departing. ...'
(BBC Ceefax, 10 June 04, p.111)
11 June 04
'US ADMITS TERROR ATTACKS "ERROR"
'The US State Department has admitted it significantly underestimated the number of global terrorist attacks last year.
'It had reported in April that there were less terror attacks in 2003 than in any year since 1969 [see April 2004 diary diary, under 30 April], but now says there was actually a big increase.
'Secretary of State Colin Powell said data in April's report was misleading, but was due to an "honest" error.
'Bush administration-officials had cited the April report as proof that the US was winning its "war on terror".'
(BBC Ceefax, 11 June 04, p.116)
On the contrary, a continuing "wave of terror" is essential to the puppet-masters scheme of world empire. However, we're not yet at the stage when, as in late-30s Russia, statisticians were put in front of a firing squad for reporting a deficit (a population deficit in this case).
The UK Labour government has suffered the worst defeat in living memory in local council elections, being driven (votes-wise) into third place (26%) after the Conservatives (38%) and Liberal-Democrats (29%). Blair admits it's the Iraq war.
The results of the simultaneous Euro-elections are due out on Sunday 13 June.
'AUSTRALIA[:] Ian George, the Anglican archbishop of Adelaide, has resigned over a child sex abuse scandal involving members of his church.'
(ITV Teletext, 11 June 04, p.318)
12 June 04
'TELEGRAPH[:] The whole idea of releasing a dossier on Iraq's WMD was misguided and has damaged confidence in the secret service, the former head of MI5 said.'
(ITV Teletext, p.328, reviews of British papers)
Because it exposed the "intelligence" lie-machine to the public. If it had been confined to the government, we wouldn't have been able to tell.
13 June 04
'Major [UK] city centres should be evacuated in practice runs for dealing with a terrorist attack, Tory [Conservative] homeland security spokesman Patrick Mercer said.'
(ITV Teletext, p.317)
Let's start by practising on Mercer and his homeland security confederates.
'TORIES ISSUE TERROR EXERCISE CALL
'The public should be involved in practices for terrorist attacks, conservative homeland security spokesman Patrick Mercer has said.
'A major test is taking place this weekend in Scotland's Grampian region. [A thinly-populated mountain area.]
'Mr Mercer told Radio Four's Today programme [Today's certainly making up for Gilligan!!]: "This is another opportunity the government have lost to practise a thoroughly realistic scenario."
'He complained that the lack of public involvement meant there was no chance to practise evacuation procedures.'
(BBC Ceefax, 13 June 04, p.118)
Mercer's evidently recognized that the prime function of terror is manipulation of the public.
The British embassy in Saudi Arabia is to allow "non-essential" staff to leave the country. This follows the shooting dead one American and kidnapping of another in Saudi.
Justice Dept. Memo Says Torture "May Be Justified'
Dana Priest, Washington Post online, 13 June 04
'Today washingtonpost.com is posting a copy of the Aug. 1, 2002, memorandum (PDF) [linked in original] "Re: Standards of Conduct for Interrogation under 18 U.S.C. 2340-2340A," from the Justice Department's Office of Legal counsel for Alberto R. Gonzales, counsel to President Bush.
'The memo was the focus of a recent article [linked in original] in The Washington Post.
'The memo was written at the request of the CIA. The CIA wanted authority to conduct more aggressive interrogations than were permitted prior to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The interrogations were of suspected al Qaeda members whom the CIA had apprehended outside the United States. The CIA asked the White House for legal guidance. [They weren't the ones supplying guidance?!] The White House asked the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel for its legal opinion on the standards of conduct under the Convention Against torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane and Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
'The Office of Legal Counsel is the federal government's ultimate legal adviser. ...'
15 June 04
The Israelis have killed a local head of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade and two other militants in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli attorney-general, Meni Mazuz, has given up the idea of trying Ariel Sharon on corruption charges "because of lack of evidence".
'AL-QAEDA "POSTPONED 9/11 ATTACK"
'The 11 September 2001 attacks may have been originally planned for May or June of that year, according to a US newspaper.
'The Washington Post says sources close to the 9/11 Commission said the alleged mastermind of the attacks persuaded al-Qaeda leaders to postpone.
'Khalid Sheikh Mohammed convinced Osama Bin Laden to wait as the lead hijacker was not ready, the paper says.
'The possible date postponement is set to be discussed at a commission hearing on Wednesday, the paper adds.'
(BBC Ceefax, 15 June 04, p.109)
Oliver Burkeman, "9/11 attacks postponed, says panel", The Guardian (Britain), 16 June 04
'Sabotage attacks on a southern Iraqi pipeline have brought oil exports to a standstill, the oil minister says. ...'
(BBC Ceefax, 15 June 04, p.111)
The Iraqi "government" says Saddam Hussein is to be handed over within two weeks, to stand trial. But the US denies that such a timetable has been agreed to. It says it wants his security assured when he is in Iraq.
16 June 04
Three Irishmen with connections with Sinn Fein (the political wing of the IRA), have been released from detention in Colombia after 34 months. They had been accused of training terrorists in the country, but the charge has been withdrawn. But an appeal against this decision is pending ...
Abu Ghraib scandal convulses U.S. military
Ex-commander of notorious Iraqi prison complains of being turned into scapegoat
Paul Koring, Globe and Mail (USA), 16 June 04, p.A16
'Washington — Internecine warfare over the widening Iraq prison-abuse scandal is threatening to explode within the U.S. military, pitting brass against low-ranking grunts, regulars against reserves and unit against unit.
'Top Pentagon officials want to paint the abuse at Abu Ghraib as an isolated case of ill-trained, war-weary soldiers brutalizing prisoners. But lawyers for at least some of the lower-ranking soldiers facing courts-martial want to trace the trail of responsibility all the way up the ladder to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, perhaps even to the Oval Office.
'The general who was in charge of the now notorious prison, [Gen. Janis Karpinski] meanwhile, said in an interview broadcast yesterday [15 June 04] that she knew nothing of the abuse and co,plained of being turned into a "convenient scapegoat." ...
'With her latest salvo, Gen. Karpinski took aim at the former commander of the special prison built at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to house suspected terrorists beyond the jurisdiction of U.S. law.
'"They are like dogs, and if you allow them to believe at any point that they are more than a dog, you've lost control of them," Gen. Karpinski said, quoting Major-General Geoffrey Miller, who was sent to Iraq from Guantanamo last summer to give advice on extracting information from detainees.
'Gen. Miller, who has told congressional hearings under oath that no torture was ever used at Guantanamo, flatly denied Gen. Karpinski's accusations.
'"Karpinski's statement to the media is categorically false," said spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Barry Johnson. ...
'containing the already severe damage to Washington's reputation in the Arab world [and not only there, by a long chalk!] requires that President George W. Bush's administration successfully portray Abu Ghraib as exception, rather than the rule. ...
'"In terms of the abuses that occurred at Abu Ghraib, they were appaling and they were wrong," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said yesterday.
'"Beyond that, there are a number of ongoing investigations to look into the abuses there and also take a broader look at the prison system to see whether there are systematic problems that need to be addressed as well."
'But if those investigations prove that what took place there was merely the tip of a hideous iceberg of policy-driven abuse, with the tacit or explicit approval of senior officials, then the war on terrorism itself will wind up on trial. [My emphases] ...'
17 June 04
'INDEPENDENT[:] The Bush administration was dealt a blow when the 9/11 probe said there was no credible evidence Saddam's regime assisted al-Qaeda.'
(ITV Teletext, p.328, reviews of British papers)
Bush today (backed up by his UK government acolytes) insisted there were such links, though not specifically for 9/11.
'9/11 "CONFUSION" DETAILED
'US Vice-President Dick Cheney repeatedly authorised fighters to shoot down hijacked airlines on September 11 2001, a special commission [The National Commission On Terrorist Attacks] has heard.
'But his orders did not reach jet pilots until the last of the four hijacked planes had crashed, the US probe heard.
'Cheney at one point believed his orders had resulted in two aircraft being shot down, as miscommunication and confusion became apparent on the fateful day.'
(ITV Teletext, 17 June 04, p.306)
... The Commission also heard that there was no evidence that a previous consultative phone call had occurred between Cheney and President Bush, as was apparently claimed.
(BBC Newsnight, 17 June 04)
We shouldn't imagine that the Bush-puppet would pull back on his Cheney-strings, either on 9/11 or any other critical time. But the question whether Cheney himself is a "second-level" potential patsy is an open one, as far as I'm concerned.
Cf. "The September 11 Atrocities".
'USA[:] A contractor working for the CIA has been charged [with what?] by a federal grand jury in North Carolina over the fatal beating of a prisoner in Afghanistan.'
(ITV Teletext, 17 June 04, p.318)
'Car bombs have killed at least 41 people in and around the Iraqi capital, with 35 dying in a single attack on an army recruiting centre in Baghdad. ...'
(BBC Ceefax, 17 June 04, p.107)
'More than 600 Royal Marine commandoes are to be deployed to Iraq', UK Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon has announced.' This will result in a net increase of 270 British troops in the country, to a total of 9,200.
18 June 04
The Iraqi puppet government says it may declare martial law after "sovereignty is restored" on June 30, because of the escalation of violence.
The American cabal will continue, under the auspices of its 'governing council" facade, to rule Iraq by force. Continued violence is essential to this project and, even more important, to ultimately provide the pretext to invade the other key oil producers Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Backing for Bush from a Com-rogue ...
'RUSSIA WARNED OF US ATTACKS
'Russia warned Washington before the Iraq war that Saddam Hussein's regime might be preparing attacks against the United States, Vladimir Putin said.
'The Russian president said Saddam's regime was preparing terror attacks against the US and its interests after September 11 [2001] and before the Gulf War.
'But he said Russia did not have any information that Saddam's regime had actually been behind terrorist acts.'
(ITV Teletext, 18 June 04, p.309)
Understandable support from the man who prefigured 9/11 with the Russian apartment bombings of 1999. (Cf. Eric Margolis, "9/11 Deja Vu: The Apartment Bombing Mystery".) But this toadying-up won't ultimately save Russia from becoming a target of the US cabal's world-ravening imperialism.
The Saudi "Qaeda" group that kidnapped American Paul Johnson say they have beheaded him.
The Saudi authorities now say they have found Johnson's body.
And, as in a stage(d) drama,
'SAUDI AL-QAEDA BOSS "KILLED"
'an Arabic TV station says it has unconfirmed reports that the top al-Qaeda leader in Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz al-Muqrin, has been killed. ...'
(ITV Teletext, 18 June 04, p.306)
Al-Muqrin "appeared" on the webcast announcing Johnson's kidnapping. So why was he hooded? Like the men in that Iraqi "beheading" video?? (One of whom was "very probably" Zarqawi, according to the CIA.)
Two images of al-Muqrin appeared side-by-side on British TV news. The left one with full beard, the right one with a trim version. The right image, at least, looked like a photofit. ...
19 June 04
U.S. contractor beheaded —
Saudis say top suspect slain Leader of al Qaeda cell
reportedly killed hours after terror group carries out threat
Craig Whitlock, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle
Saudis show slain al-Qaeda chief
BBC News online, 19 June 04
'Saudi TV has broadcast footage of what it says is the body of a slain al-Qaeda chief, killed by security forces hours after he beheaded a US hostage.
'Abdul Aziz al-Muqrin and three other militants died in a shootout in Riyadh after dumping American Paul Johnson's body, Saudi officials said. ...
'There are few details about the operation but a witness is said to have given police the licence number of the militants' car. ...'
And, in a more-or-less instantaneous mirror-event,
US forces destroyed a house, in "militant-town" Falluja, West of Baghdad, with a helicopter-missile strike. At least twenty people are said to have been killed.
The Americans say it was a "safe house" for followers of Qaeda-man Zarqawi. But locals say women and children were killed.
21 June 04
Three British naval patrol boats have been detained by Iran in the Shatt-al-Arab waterway, and their crews arrested. The Iranians say they were on the Iranian territorial side of the waterway. No comment has yet been forthcoming from the British.
The Shatt-al-Arab is Iraq's only link to the sea. The boats were being delivered to the Iraqi river police.
22 June 04
Iranian state TV has put on display the captured Royal Navy men, and says they will be prosecuted.
'AMNESTY SLAMS GULF RIGHTS RECORD
'The US-led "War on Terror" has had a "profound and far-reaching impact" on human rights in the Gulf region, says an Amnesty International report.
'The organisation says Gulf states, along with the US, show a "disturbing disregard for the rule of law and fundamental human rights standards".
'It says a region whose rights record had been improving was now using the war as a cover for repression.
'The by-products of war are torture and extra-judicial killings, it says.'
(BBC Ceefax, 22 June 04, p.111)
'An ex-Saudi policeman has become leader of the al-Qaeda militant group in Saudi Arabia, according to media reports from the troubled kingdom.
'Saleh al-Oufi, 38, will take over from Abdul Aziz al-Muqrin, who was killed by police on Friday [18 June 04].'
(BBC Ceefax, 22 June 04, p.118)
The Bichard inquiry into the Huntley/Soham affair in Britain has concluded. It seems confirmed that the affair will be used as a lever to promote "safety" at the expense of confidentiality, and to centralize police intelligence. Indeed, Home Secretary Blunkett has said it must mark a "watershed".
Amongst other things, Bichard has proposed a "passport" for those working with children and vulnerable adults.
UK Home Secretary David Blunkett has ordered the suspension of the Humberside chief constable (under "new" powers of 2002) over the Huntley/Soham. But Chief Constable David Westward has said he will carry on in his job until his police authority says otherwise.
The Barclay brothers have bought the Telegraph group, which includes the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, from Hollinger, for £665 million.
Kim Sun-il, a South Korean hostage held in Iraq by "a Qaeda-backed group", has been beheaded.
'A masked killer from the Monotheism and Jihad terror group read out a statement which condemned the Seoul government's plan to deploy 3,000 troops in Iraq.'
(ITV Teletext, 22 June 04, p.311)
A repeat performance:- A US airstrike on a "Zarqawi safe house" in Fallujah. Three dead this time. (Cf. above, under 19 June.)
23 June 04
'BBC OUTLINES POST-HUTTON REFORMS
'The BBC is to establish a college of journalism training following a report into what lessons the corporation should learn from the Hutton Inquiry.
'Ex-BBC News chief Ron Neil demanded a "sea change" [Echo of Blunkett's "watershed"! See above, under 22 June.] in training to strengthen BBC journalism and improve competence.
'The BBC is also to strengthen the roles of programme editors and lawyers in the editorial process following his report. [So a criterion for reporting will be whether they can be sued or not?]
'Lord Hutton's inquiry concluded [that] a BBC reporter's [Gilligan's] claim the government "sexed up" an Iraq dossier was "unfounded".'
(BBC Ceefax, 23 June 04)
What they really need, of course, is a reincarnation of Dr Goebbels for college rector.
'US WAR CRIMES IMMUNITY BID FAILS
'The US has given up trying to get its soldiers immunity from prosecution at the new International Criminal Court.
'It has withdrawn its attempt to have its exemption renewed by the United Nations Security Council, because it failed to gain enough support.
'The US won special status for the last two years, arguing its troops could be subject to malicious prosecution.
'But UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said it should not be renewed, partly because of the Iraq jail abuse scandal.'
(BBC Ceefax, 23 June 04, p.113)
24 June 04
The eight British marines have been released by Iran.
Over 100 have been killed and 320 injured in a series of bomb attacks in Iraqi cities.
'Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terror network claimed responsibility for the attacks on police stations and government buildings in Mosul, Baquoba and Ramadi. ...'
(ITV Teletext, 24 June 04, p.306)
'US GIVES IRAQ TROOPS LEGAL COVER
'The US government has said it plans to maintain legal jurisdiction over US forces in Iraq after the handover of government at the end of June.
'It is taking this action so its forces are not subject to Iraqi courts.'
(BBC Ceefax, 24 June 04, p.111)
25 June 04
The Humberside police authority has voted 12-5 to ask UK Home Secretary Blunkett to reconsider his position on suspending the Humberside chief constable, David Westwood.
Blunkett has reaffirmed his position and says he will take legal action if the authority doesn't carry out his request/order.
("Legal threat to Soham row police", BBC News online)
The British government's attorney-general, Lord Goldsmith, has underlined UK criticism of upcoming US military tribunals. It's OK to compromise on some legal principles during the War on Terror, he says, but the tribunals are a bridge too far. You couldn't expect a fair trial with them, he says.
... But this is a bit rich coming from the fellow minister of David Blunkett, our Home Secretary who is striving his level best to undermine principles of legal equity by token of the Terror Threat.
'[Web u]sers are being told to avoid using Internet Explorer until Microsoft patches a serious security hole in it. [But Explorer is the Web as far as surfers are concerned! Microsoft has established a virtual monopoly of "flaws" ...] ...'
("Web browser flaw prompts warning", BBC News online, 25 June 04)
At least 90 people died in Iran when a petrol tanker collided with buses and other vehicles. It happened outside Zahedan on the main road from Iran to Pakistan. Some reports say the death toll may be as high as 200.
("Scores die in Iran tanker inferno", BBC News online, 25 June 04)
UN seeks 'terror inmates' access
BBC News online, 25 June 04
'UN human rights experts are demanding to visit prisoners in US custody in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay.
'A group of 31 experts issued a rare joint statement on concerns about the effects of some US counter-terrorism measures on human rights worldwide.
'The move follows a global outcry at the abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib jail and anxiety about inmates elsewhere.
'UK Attorney General Lord Goldsmith said military tribunals set for Guantanamo did not meet international standards. ...'
27 June 04
The father of murdered Soham schoolgirl Holly Wells has said that he backs the Humberside chief constable, David Westwood. He says it's a "travesty" that he's being made to take all the blame, and that he's appaled that the affair has become a political issue. He considers that Westwood did his best.
Soham was designed from the start to be a political issue.
28 June 04
The US Supreme Court has ruled that Guantanamo inmates have the right to challenge their detention under US law.
The US has sneaked the "sovereignty" of Iraq in two days early.
Reminds me of that cartoon about the ending of martial law in Poland in 1981. A man, released from a prison into a larger, Poland-shaped walled compound, being told: "Congratulations! You're now free."
29 June 04
The Green Zone, the fortress of American "allied" control in Baghdad, is — voila! — to be the area of the new American "embassy" (and of that of their British flunkeys, etc). It will, as we already know, be the biggest US embassy in the Middle East.
Paul Bremer, the US administrator of Iraq, is being replace by "ambassador' John Negroponte — another "Kissinger protégé" (London Times).
Confirmation that Iraq is a Kissinger satrapy.
30 June 04
A front-page story in the Daily Telegraph says that Sanchez, until recently head of US forces in Iraq, urged Britain to attack Iran. (UK TV reviews of papers)
'America's military commander in Iraq ordered British troops to prepare a full-scale ground offensive against Iranian forces that had crossed the border and grabbed disputed territory, a senior officer has disclosed.
'An attack would almost certainly have provoked open conflict with Iran. But the British chose instead to resolve the matter through diplomatic channels. ...
'The incident was disclosed by a senior British officer at a conference last week and is reported in today's edition of Defence Analysis. The identity of the officer is not given. ...
'The incident began last July [2003] when Revolutionary Guards pushed about a kilometre into Iraq to the north and east of Basra in an apparent attempt to reoccupy territory which they claimed belonged to Iran.
'Lt Gen Ricardo Sanchez then ordered the British to prepare to send in several thousand troops to attack the Revolutionary Guard positions. ...
'The Iran-Iraq incident lasted around a week and was resolved by a telephone conversation between Jack Straw, the foreign Secretary, and Kamal Kharrazi, his Iranian counterpart, British officials said. ...'
... a story neatly coordinated with —
'UK SERVICEMEN [were] "FORCED" INTO IRAN
'Eight British servicemen claim they were "forcibly escorted into Iranian territorial waters" before being taken captive, the [UK] defence secretary said.
'Geoff Hoon said the six royal Marines and two Royal Navy sailors maintained they had been operating in Iraq's waters and had not strayed into Iran's.
'The servicemen were held for three days [last week. See above, under 21, 22, 24 June] , sparking a stand-off with Britain.
'In a statement released by the Ministry of Defence, Mr Hoon said the MoD was looking into the servicemen's claims.'
(BBC Ceefax, 30 June 04, p.108
Evidently, the movers and shakers of petro-imperialism are trying to stage a case against Iran — specifically, Iranian extremists — the Navy men were arrested by Revolutionary Guards. Reminiscent, perhaps, of the Polish border incident staged by the Nazis in 1939.
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