Frank Freeman's Diary, May 2005

'The man who led Britain's armed forces into Iraq has said that Tony Blair and the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, will join British soldiers in the dock if the military are ever prosecuted for war crimes in Iraq.

'In a remarkably frank interview that goes to the heart of the political row over the Attorney General's legal advice, Admiral Sir Michael Boyce, the former Chief of the Defence Staff, said he did not have full legal cover from prosecution at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

'"If my soldiers went to jail and I did, some other people would go with me," said Boyce. [My emphasis.]

'In his most detailed explanation yet of why he demanded an unequivocal assurance from lawyers that the war was legal, he said: "I wanted to make sure that we had this anchor which has been signed by the government law officer ...

'"It may not stop us from being charged, but, by God, it would make sure other people were brought into the frame as well."

'Pressed by The Observer on whether he meant the Prime Minister and the Attorney General, Boyce replied: "Too bloody right." [My emphasis.]

'The admiral added that he had never been shown the crucial 7 March advice by Goldsmith that questioned whether the war was legal. He had only been given a later assurance of legality, which contained none of the caveats. It was only after he questioned Number 10 about legal "top cover" that he was given Goldsmith's opinion.

'Boyce has consistently said he believed the war was legal and morally justified. But, asked whether the government had provided him with the legal cover necessary to avoid prosecution for war crimes, he replied: "No." ...

'In a further damaging development for the government, documents leaked to a Sunday newspaper [The Sunday Times, see next entry] appeared to show that Tony Blair was considering military action to topple Saddam Hussein as early as [July] 2002. ...

'An Observer investigation into the legal ramifications of the war also reveals that Goldsmith's advice was shaped after meeting the five most powerful Republican lawyers in the Bush administration, in February 2003 [my emphasis].

'These included Alberto Gonzales, Bush's controversial chief legal adviser [i.e. Attorney General] who has been at the centre of the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal. ...

'The four other lawyers were William Taft IV, chief legal adviser to the then Secretary of State Colin Powell; Jim Haynes, chief legal adviser to Donald Rumsfeld at the Pentagon; John Bellinger, chief legal adviser to Condoleezza Rice; and the then US Attorney General, John Ashcroft.

'Speaking to The Observer from his Virginia home, Taft explained how the US argument that a second UN resolution was not needed before invading Iraq was put to an undecided Goldsmith. Taft said: "I will say that when we heard about his statement in Parliament (on 17 March) ... what he said sounded very familiar." [My emphases.] ...'

'Inside Downing Street Tony Blair had gathered some of his senior ministers and advisers for a pivotal meeting in the build-up to the Iraq war. It was 9am on July 23, 2002, eight months before the invasion began and long before the public was told war was inevitable.

'The discussion that morning was highly confidential. As minutes of the proceedings, headed "Secret and strictly personal — UK eyes only", state: "This record is extremely sensitive. No further copies should be made. It should be shown only to those with a genuine need to know its contents."

'In the room were the prime minister, Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, Geoff Hoon, the defence secretary, Lord Goldsmith, the attorney-general, and military and intelligence chiefs. Also listed on the minutes are Alastair Campbell, then Blair's director of strategy, Jonathan Powell, his chief of staff, and Sally Morgan, director of government relations. ...

'* Blair was right from the outset committed to supporting US plans for "regime change" in Iraq. [This statement appears unproven.]

'Straw even said the case for war was "thin". So Blair and his inner circle set about devising a plan to justify invasion.

'"If the political context were right," said Blair, "people would support regime change." Straightforward regime change, though, was illegal. They needed another reason. ...'

Or rather, excuse. Excuse for an excuse. "Regime change", except for goodthinking fools like Blair, was itself an excuse. ...

'Italian media have published classified sections of an official US military inquiry into the accidental [!! BBC grovel grovel] killing of an Italian agent in Baghdad.

'The 40-page report was censored by the Pentagon before being officially published on Saturday [30 April 05].

'Italy has refused to accept the US report's findings [which "exonerated" the soldiers involved in the killing] and is to publish its own version of events later this week.

'Details of the official report were published in newspapers on Sunday [1 May 05] with censored material restored in full.'

'Italy says its report into the death of secret agent Nicola Calipari, killed in a roadblock in Iraq will show many disagreements with the US.

'The document reportedly accuses the US military of "tampering with the incident scene" and removing evidence.

'Italy refused to agree conclusions with the US after a joint inquiry into the shooting and observers say relations have rarely been more strained.

Oh well, here's a "red scare" that may (continue to) serve as an ersatz — eve-of-election — terror scare ...

Cancer checks ordered on all spices in new food dye alert
Valerie Elliot and Nicola Woolcock, The Times (UK)

'All imports of spices including chilli powder, cayenne pepper and turmeric are to be subjected to rigorous new tests after concern that they contain illegal dyes linked to cancer.

'Hundreds more products will be removed from supermarket shelves in the coming weeks after food safety officials ordered the urgent checks. Testing may begin as early as Friday [6 May 05] and other spices will be added to the list this week.

'The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is insisting on the stringent checks after Sudan I and Para Red, carcinogenic chemical dyes banned from the food chain, were found in chilli powder and paprika on sale in Britain. Authorities also believe that they could have been used to colour cayenne pepper and turmeric. ...'

'The U.S. government has opened an embezzlement investigation aimed at officials who failed to account for nearly $100 million in Iraqi reconstruction funds.

'Federal investigators said Wednesday [today] that auditors have been unable to document how the money was distributed to Iraqi workers by officials working from a U.S. outpost in Hillah, the Los Angeles Times reported. The special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, Stuart Bowen, released the audit report Wednesday. ...

'The report said the examined reconstruction funds came from seized assets of Saddam Hussein's regime and from Iraqi oil revenue, not [huge sigh of relief!] from U.S. taxpayer funds.'

Brig-Gen Janis Karpinski has been [gasp of shock] demoted to Colonel, in connection with the Iraqi Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal.

Election day in Britain, and two small bombs (apparently toy grenades filled with gunpowder) explode outside the UK consulate in New York. Damage is minor, and no injuries.

'A New York police department spokesperson said the man had been found "loitering" in the area at the time of the attack. It is believed he is a Dutch citizen who works as an analyst for the United Nations, although police refused to confirm such reports.

'"He is not being treated as a suspect at this stage," the spokesperson said. "It could be that he just happened to be in the area." ...

Blair's "Labour" government has won the British general election with a reduced, but still big, absolute majority (of about 66 seats). The Liberal Democrats (with 23 percent of the vote) have about 62 seats. (The House of Commons contains 645 seats.)

The extent of the role played by electoral fraud remains to be seen, and/or covered up.

Thus "Labour" has a good working majority, subject of course to the behaviour of their own left wing. The way seems clear for the twin developments of police state and empire, in which Britain plays the role of Iron-Guard Romania to America's Nazi Germany.

But not, hopefully, quite so clear as in "Labour's" last term of office, when they had a 107-seat majority. ...

'A candidate who lost to the former cabinet minister Clare Short has raised allegations of ballot rigging in the in the Birmingham Ladywood constituency.

'The claim by Ayoub Khan, a Liberal Democrat, is the first of many electoral challenges and complaints expected by defeated parliamentary candidates over the next few days amid doubts over the safety of postal voting.

'Mr Khan, who lost to Ms Short by 6,801 votes, claimed "personation" had been detected in the constituency.

'Conceding that the alleged irregularities would have made no difference to the outcome of the poll, he told reporters: "Polling agents have reported a degree of personation — people turning up to cast votes who are not the actual voter.

'"We believe there may have been substantial fraud. That needs to be investigated."

'The city's returning officer, Lin Homer, said Mr Khan's concerns had yet to be brought to her attention but pledged that any matters raised would be thoroughly investigated.

'The increased demand for postal votes across the country has been accompanied by tales of "ghost" voters, missing votes and multiple votes being received by unwitting members of the electorate.

'More than 6 million voters (15.5%) are believed to have voted by post in yesterday's general and local elections, almost four times the figure in 2001. [Postal votes are put into ballot boxes in polling stations on the day of the election.]

'The Association of Chief Police Officers last night confirmed that a number of inquiries were already under way. ...'

Hardly is the Blair government reinstalled in power, than the empire-building campaign swings back into high gear ...

'Senior British officials warned last night that talks with Iran over its nuclear ambitions were on the point of collapse and that it risked referral to the United Nations Security Council.

'Western diplomats said yesterday' statement by a top Iranian official that it would resume "in the next few days" activity related to uranium enrichment was a "serious" development. ...

'According to Tehran's official IRNA news agency, Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, told a university conference yesterday: "We will lift the first stage of our suspension, that of our UCF (uranium conversion facility) project in Isfahan, in the next fews days." ...

'Mr Saeedi said Iran wanted to continue the negotiations and insisted it was not resuming actual enrichment immediately. It would wait for European Union reaction before proceeding. ...'

The above article imputes blame to the Iranian regime. I haven't yet searched through news articles to decide if this is a balanced view. The timing suggests otherwise.

But look at the following two articles about North Korea's alleged plans to test a nuclear weapon. The first is an Associated Press report (appearing in the British Guardian. The second is from Voice of America ...

'Seoul, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Tuesday [today] dismissed reports that it was preparing a nuclear test, calling them U.S. propaganda, and blamed Washington for the impasse in international talks to disarm the hardline state ... according to the country's official Korean Central News Agency.

'U.S. officials said last week that spy satellites show possible preparations for North Korea's first nuclear weapons test ... North Korea claimed in February [again?! ...] to have built a nuclear weapon, and international experts believe it has enough plutonium to build about six bombs. ...

'Pyongyang has refused to return to six-nation disarmament talks since last June, after three rounds ended without any breakthroughs. ... On Tuesday, the North claimed Washington was to blame for the stalemate in the talks, which include China, Japan, Russia and South Korea. ...'

China. That has ever been the key to this game. US hawks want the talks to fail so that they can blame N Korea's best friend, and have an excuse to attack it. (In some combination with other things, like Taiwan.)

'As the United States and China renew their calls for North Korea to return to nuclear talks, Pyongyang is stepping up its rhetoric and pledging to defy any pressure for it to disarm.

'Throughout the North Korean nuclear crisis, Pyongyang has resorted to defiant and often insulting language against the United States and its leaders.

'Tuesday, a state-run newspaper in Pyongyang accused Washington of "making a fuss" over speculation that the North may be planning a nuclear test soon.'Along with what has become a usual list of personal attacks against President Bush, the commentary repeated Pyongyang's earlier assertions that it would not deal further with his administration. ...

'China, the host of three unsuccessful rounds of talks on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program expressed its growing concern over the reports of a possible nuclear test. ... In Beijing, the Chinese spokesman suggested that those involved in the talks should not "say or do anything that is not in favor of continuing the six-party talks." The talks have been stalled since North Korea refused to attend a fourth round in September, accusing the United States of taking a "hostile" attitude toward Pyongyang. ...'

On the other hand, here is one of those the US petro-cabal is cultivating as a client — sorry, friend ...

'Georgia is a "beacon of liberty for the region and the world", US President George W Bush has told a cheering crowd in the former Soviet republic.

'Georgia's [recent] peaceful Rose Revolution set an example for others, including Ukraine, Iraq [sic] and [optatively] Lebanon, he said. ...

'Mr Bush called on other nations to respect Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and he reaffirmed Washington's support for Georgia to eventually join Nato. ...

'Mr Bush said he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about Georgia's demand for the closure of two Russian bases on its territory, expressing confidence that the two sides could agree a timetable. ...

'Georgia is one of the countries that best illustrates Mr Bush's central foreign policy theme — the need to spread freedom and democracy, days the BBC's James Coomarasamy in Tbilisi.

'But he says Mr Bush's visit has concerned the Kremlin, which fears the US agenda could undermine Moscow's traditional influence in the region. ...'

Georgia is one of the border countries of the Mideast oil region, which the US petro-junta strives to conquer. ...

An apparent false alarm in Washington DC after a light aircraft strayed into — well into — restricted airspace. People The White House and Congress, etc, were evacuated, but those in the Pentagon (Defense Secretary Rumsfeld) were not. Bush wasn't in the White House, but Cheney was.

The Cessna, apparently occupied by a student pilot and his trainer, apparently continued towards the centre of Washington even after Black Hawk helicopters fired warning flares. The occupants were subsequently arrested.

Police fired on anti-American demonstrators in Afghanistan, killing four and wounding hundreds, after a report in Newsweek magazine that at least one copy of the Koran had been flushed down a toilet by US troops in the Guantanamo Bay detention centre.

A bomber supposedly targeting US troops in a convoy killed Iraqi bystanders instead.

America's Goebbelistic propaganda machine swings into action on behalf of the reinstalled Blair ...

'[BRITISH ANTI-WAR MP] GALLOWAY NAMED IN [US SENATE] REPORT

'A US probe into alleged corruption in the UN oil-for-food programme in Iraq [how the oilniks are turning this into a weapon against their opponents] has released new evidence purporting to implicate anti-war MP George Galloway.

'The Senate inquiry cites contracts and interviews with Iraqis ['former Iraqi leaders'] to claim the MP accepted oil allocation.

'Mr Galloway said he asked to face the Senate inquiry [he said 'he wrote and emailed the committee "repeatedly", asking for the opportunity to appear'] to rebut the allegations, which he branded as "absurd", a claim the committee has denied [it said it had received no communication from Galloway].'

(ITV Teletext, p.306)

Senate accuses two in oil scandal
BBC News online, 12 May 05

'Saddam Hussein rewarded two veteran European politicians by allowing them to collect profits as middlemen in oil sales, a new US Senate report claims.

'The Senate names British MP George Galloway and former French minister Charles Pasqua, but gives no evidence any actually received money.

'Saddam Hussein "used the programme to reward his political allies like Pasqua and Galloway," a leading senator said.

"Mr Galloway and Mr Pasqua both deny being involved in Iraqi oil sales. ...'

'GALLOWAY DENOUNCES OIL COMMITTEE

'A report alleging George Galloway was granted oil allocations under Saddam Hussein was compiled by a "lickspittle Republican" committee, the MP has said.

'"I have never traded in a barrel of oil or any vouchers," the ex-Labour member said of allegations Baghdad had granted him the right to buy 20m barrels.

'Mr Galloway was elected MP last week after standing for Respect on an anti-war platform.'

(BBC Ceefax, 12 May 05, p.105. See the previous online reference.)

... The Senate committee consists of seven Republicans and six Democrats. The committee's chairman, the Republican Norm Coleman, said that Galloway laundered the money through [here's a great propaganda shot!, an Iraqi leukemia fund. He claims that Galloway and Pasqua definitely received the money.

Galloway won a libel case against the British Daily Telegraph over its claims that a document proved that he had received around £375,000 from Saddam Hussein's regime. After the Iraq invasion, a Telegraph reporter was led to the document, in the ruined Information Ministry building in Baghdad, by his translator. The building was wide open at the time, and anyone could have planted it.

In contrast to this, Norm Coleman said that a number of Iraqi oil ministry documents, backed up by contracts, and the statements of ex-Saddam government officials, showed that Galloway and Pasqua had received (in effect) oil profits from Saddam's regime.

(British Channel 4 News, 12 May 05)

Thus accusing their opponents of crimes that they themselves are committing on an altogether vaster scale. (The oil reserves of Iraq alone are worth perhaps $25 trillion.) They have now had plenty of time, and opportunity, to manufacture a structure of lies, by the production of fake documents and/or the extraction of falsified statements by bribery and blackmail in Iraq.

And of course, if their targets are not squeaky clean (and who is?) any fault, no matter how small, will be magnified a hundredfold by petro-cabal agitprop.

Francis Harris, "Galloway was part of Saddam's oil fraud, says Senate", Telegraph (UK), 13 May 05

... Galloway says he will go to America to confront the committee.

He'll be murdered! He'll be sent to Guantanamo! (Not necessarily in that order.)

'Tony Blair has warned Britain is ready to back moves to refer Iran to the United Nations Security Council over its controversial nuclear programme.

'In a marked toughening of diplomatic language, the PM said the UK would "certainly" support referral if Iran resumed uranium enrichment activities.

'Referral to the Security Council could lead to the imposition of costly international sanctions on Tehran.'

'... A review of the three high profile code orange terror alerts confirms in all three cases that the intelligence had been fabricated.

'1. February 7, 2003, two days after Colin Powell's Feb 5 presentation [of "Iraqi WMD evidence"] to the UN Security Council, in the month prior to the invasion of Iraq[;]

'[3.] July 29[,] 2004, on the same day as John Kerry's acceptance speech [for Presidential candidature] at the Democratic Convention. ...'

Edmonds was the FBI whistleblower on administrative blind-eye-turning to terrorism. In this article she says how she has been gagged anew by the US government.

'GUARDIAN[:] The [UK] Cabinet is to rush through its controversial identity cards legislation to try to take advantage of the Tories' post-election disarray.'

'INDEPENDENT[:] a ring of steel and armed roadblocks are insuring no-one gets in or out of the scene of Uzbekistan's bloodiest day in the post-Soviet era.'

'GALLOWAY HITS OUT AT SENATE

'[UK] Respect MP George Galloway has lashed out at a US senator, who had accused him of illegal Iraqi oil deals, insisting, "You have nothing on me".

'"All you have is my name on lists of names from Iraq, many of which were drawn up after the installation of your puppet government," he said.

'"I was an opponent of Saddam Hussein when British and US governments were selling him guns and gas," he added.'

(ITV Teletext, p.303)

'GALLOWAY QUERIES US JUSTICE

'George Galloway has told the chairman of a US Senate committee accusing him of illegal Iran oil profits that he has damaged his reputation in the world. [I'm sure that would have bothered Goebbels, too.]

'"I know standards have slipped over the last few years in Washington but for a lawyer you are remarkably cavalier with any idea of justice," he said.'

'"I am here today but last week you already found me guilty without having asked me a single question," he added.'

(Ibid, p.304)

... Galloway called documents supposedly incriminating him "crude forgeries". One of the documents had his name inserted at an angle to the rest of the text, in a different typeface. ...

Simon Assef et al, "How they forged the case against Galloway", Socialist Worker online, 21 May 05. Contains facsimile extract of the document in question, etc.

See also "An Iraqi reveals how he forged an oil for food list", Socialist Worker online, 21 May 05.

Statement of Galloway to the Senate Committee, on the Respect/Unity Coalition website

The Queen's speech outlined 45 pieces of legislation of the renewed Labour government, including ID cards and terror bills.

Contrast the treatment of George Galloway in the following two British TV teletext pieces, the first by the BBC, the second by ITV (Independent Television) ...

'GALLOWAY: I WILL BE ENEMY WITHIN

'UK MP George Galloway returned from his showdown with US senators to promise his fledgling Respect party would be an "enemy within" to Tony Blair.

'Mr Galloway received a rapturous reception as supporters celebrated his election victory in east London.

'But he could face a new inquiry into an appeal he set up for a sick Iraqi girl.

'The Charity Commission says it will contact US senators who alleged Mr Galloway was given oil credits by Saddam Hussein — a claim he denies.'

(BBC Ceefax, p.120)

'GALLOWAY HAILED AT RECEPTION

'George Galloway received a rapturous welcome at a packed rally a day after a ferocious showdown with US senators.

'Hundreds turned up at a meeting in London to celebrate the Respect MP's General Election victory over Labour's Oona King in Bethnal Green and Bow.

'Mr Galloway, who returned after facing a Senate sub committee over claims he profited from Iraq oil, repeated he had never owned or seen a barrel of oil.'

(ITV Teletext, 18 May 05, p.308)

"Galloway: I will be enemy within", BBC News online, 18 May 05;

"UK ovation for U.S. showdown MP", 20 May 05

Luis Posada Carriles: The Declassified Record
CIA and FBI Documents Detail Career in International Terrorism; Connection to U.S.
US National Security Archive, George Washington University, 10 May 05, with 18 May 05 update

'The [UK] Electoral Commission is to recommend new safeguards [unspecified in this article] in an attempt to stop postal voting fraud.

'The commission has already called for new ways of checking ballots, including the collection of signatures and dates of birth at registration for postal voting. ...

'The government is also proposing to tighten up the law on electoral fraud following widespread concern about postal voting ... The Electoral Administration Bill, announced in the Queen's Speech, will bring in new electoral fraud offences, introduce a marked register of received to prevent fraud and improve security markings on ballot papers. ...'

In other words the Government's response is, not to terminate things at the root of the problem (e.g, multiple postal ballot forms given to heads of households), but to increase police surveillance measures.

'Members of the World Health Organization {WHO) meeting in Geneva have approved recommendations for further research on the smallpox virus.

'Health officials say it is necessary in order to develop new and better vaccines and anti-viral treatments. [The "good side" of the US anthrax attacks — viz. the illustration of terrorism — was argued for, too.]

'Smallpox, which once killed millions, was eradicated worldwide in the later 1970s but stocks of the virus remain in laboratories in the US and Russia.

Since when US Bushite ultra-rightists have become influential in the organization, with their de-facto empire-via-terror strategy.

"Saddam Hussein", in the shape of his Jordan-based lawyer, has said he will sue the British rag The Sun after it published photos of him in captivity, in his underpants and doing his washing.

Afghan puppet-leader Hamid Karzai has condemned "alleged abuse of prisoners by US soldiers in Afghanistan [Bagram]" (BBC Ceefax), after The New York Times cited a 2000-page document leaked from a US army investigation. The US government has denied it.

BBC employees staged the first of a series of strikes, disrupting news programmes etc, against huge staff cuts by the new director-general et al, part of the Blairite onslaught on the corporation.

An "Islamist website" has posted a message from "al-Qaeda in Iraq" saying that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been injured.

'Oil is set to begin flowing from the Caspian Sea direct to the Mediterranean for the first time.

'A ceremony will be held in Azerbaijan to open the 1,600km (1,000 mile) pipeline which passes through Georgia to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.

'It has been more than 10 years in the making with much argument and controversy, but the pipeline's valves will finally be opened.'

''Four years after the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington, human rights are in retreat worldwide and the United States bears most responsibility, rights watchdog Amnesty International said [today].

'From Afghansistan to Zimbabwe the picture is bleak. Governments are increasingly rolling back the rule of law, taking their cue from the U.S.-led war on terror, it said.

'"The USA is as the unrivalled political, military and economic hyperpower sets the tone for government behaviour worldwide," Secretary General Irene Khan said in the forward to Amnesty International's 2005 annual report.

'"When the most powerful country in the world thumbs its nose at the rule of law and human rights, it grants a licence to others to commit abuse with impunity," she said.

'London-based Amnesty cited the pictures last year of abuse of detainees at Iraq's U.S.-run Abu Ghraib prison, which it said were never adequately investigated, and the detention without trial of "enemy combatants" at the U.S. naval base in Cuba.

'The detention facility at Guantanamo Bay has become the gulag of our times, entrenching the practice of arbitrary and indefinite detention in violation of international law," Khan said.

'She also noted Washington's attempts to circumvent its own ban on the use of torture. ...'

'ID cards are needed to stop the soaring costs of identity theft, Prime Minister Tony Blair has said as proposals for a national scheme were reintroduced.

'The plan is for cards to be phased in from 2008, and made compulsory later [c.2012].

'The Conservatives have now decided they will join the Lib Dems and some Labour in opposing the measures.

'Critics claim Mr Blair is highlighting ID theft [because] his other reasons for the cards have not won support. The cost of the scheme has risen since November.'

US military and intelligence officials say evidence is mounting that Zarqawi has been injured in Iraq.

US forces have launched a new operation, called "New Market", against insurgents in northern Iraq.

Iraqi forces are mounting a big operation, involving 40,000 troops, against terrorists in Baghdad.

'The United States wants Britain's proposed identity cards to have the same microchip and technology as the ones used on American documents.

'The aim of getting the same microchip is to ensure compatibility in screening terrorist suspects.But it will also mean that information contained in the British cards can be accessed across the Atlantic.

'Michael Chertoff, the newly appointed US Secretary for Homeland Security, has already had talks with the [British] Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, and the Transport Secretary, Alistair Darling, to discuss the matter. ...

'Britain is one of 27 countries whose citizens [at present] do not need visas to enter the US if they intend to stay less than 90 days. The American government has said it wants [the] 27 to issue new passports by 26 October this year containing a computer chip and a digital photograph. ...'