War, war, war or jaw, jaw, jaw? By William Bowles

14 July 2008

It’s amazing isn’t it how the media, given the appropriate cues from the state, so readily slips into a warring state of mind. I’m talking of course about Iran.

(Yet More) Rumours of War and other tales from Psy-Ops Central by William Bowles

7 September 2007

“Reports that the Bush administration will put Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the terrorism list can be read in one of two ways: It’s either more bluster or, ominously, a wind-up for a strike on Iran. Officials I talk to in Washington vote for a hit on the IRGC, maybe within the next six months.” — Robert Baer, a former high-ranking CIA field officer in the Middle East. [1]

A beginner’s guide to creating a ‘crisis’ By William Bowles

15 October 2006

“Each party shall in exercising its national sovereignty have the right to withdraw from the Treaty if it decides that extraordinary events, related to the subject matter of the Treaty, have jeopardized the supreme interests of its country.” — Article X of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Poor old North Korea, the latest bogeyman, its leader variously described as a tyrant, psychopath etc, etc. is once more the focus of Western ire. Now in all likelihood the reason is because things ain’t going too well in Iraq or Afghanistan and the Iranians have told the West to shove it, so isn’t it real convenient to have North Korea, waiting in the wings as it were, to frighten the kids with.

Blair into Blah doesn’t go: anatomy of a con By William Bowles

16 July 2003

Well will Cheney resign? Who cares. Compare the situation in the US with that in the UK, where exactly the same (faked) information has been doing the rounds for the past couple of years, yet the Blair talk is increasingly blah talk and defiant blah at that. But Tony Blair can protest til the cows come home, it won’t change a thing.

Iraq: Desperate measures for desperate times

30 June 2003

It’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that the Commons Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, will clear ‘Ali’ Campbell and the government of ‘exaggerating’ or deceiving the country over the reasons for the invasion of Iraq. After all, the committee is ‘stacked’ in favour of the government, 4 to 3.

Spinning out of control By William Bowles

26 June 2003

Wonderful! Alistair Campbell accuses the BBC of ‘lying’ because, he asserts, the BBC accused the government of lying over the ’45 minute’ scenario. Is this a desert storm in a teacup? Whilst the two monopolies go at each other, the essential issues simply don’t enter into the discussion at all, from either side. Whilst they squabble over whether or not one of the other lied, the real issue, why we went to war, disappears from sight.

Instant Replay By William Bowles

19 June 2003

WMDs Iranian style? Let me quote from the UN press release on the issue of Iran’s supposed nuclear weapons programme:

‘‘Mr. ElBaradei noted that the report points out that corrective actions are being taken in cooperation with the Iranian authorities. But he added: ‘I continue to call on Iran, as with all States with significant nuclear programmes, to conclude and bring into force an additional protocol at an early date, in order to enhance the Agency’s ability to provide credible assurances regarding the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities.’

The un-United Nations and the world as ‘victim’ By William Bowles

6 June 2003

Every day, a dozen or so un-UN press releases pile up in my inbox which I scan for some nugget of news, some insight that might be of use to me, but it’s largely self-serving stuff. Hans Blix’s last report on Iraq’s ‘weapons of mass destruction’ is as vague and non-committal as all the others have been and therein lies the rub as they say.

We know what they knew and we know when they knew it By William Bowles

5 June 2003

The London Independent today (05/06/03) has the headline:

‘The Niger Connection: Tony Blair. Bogus documents and the case for war’