Arms, Bases and Training
"The provision of military assistance and training plays a very important role in the development of bilateral defence relations, the promotion of British influence and standing overseas, and in support to wider British interests including defence sales" Select Committee on Defence, Sixteenth special report, annex, Para 16
"some care must be taken to avoid giving the impression that our relationship is purely based on defence export marketing opportunities" Select Committee on Defence, Sixteenth special report, annex, Para 18
"Nearly 4,000 military personnel from over one hundred countries are currently being trained in Britain. These include such well-known defenders of democracy and human rights as Bahrain, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Israel, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. British armed forces are also serving in around one hundred countries, including all those just mentioned" Web Of Deceit Mark Curtis Page 206, House of Commons, Hansard, 7 May 2002, Col. 42, and 10 June 1998, Col. 610
"In 1997, British forces were serving in 71 countries, including such regimes as those in Bahrain, Brunei, Colombia, Indonesia, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia" Hansard , House of Lords, 21 July 1997, WA145–7
"In 1995–96 over 90 countries received police or military training from Britain, including the regimes in China, Guatemala, Indonesia and Kenya" Web Of Deceit By Mark Curtis, Hansard , House of Lords, 31 July 1997, WA78–80
PAKISTAN
"No conditions as to the use of British defence suppliers were stipulated in the contract for the sale of six--not four--ex -RN type 21 frigates to Pakistan" House Of Commons, Hansard 29 November 1994, Col 618
"Discussions with the Pakistani Government on the possible sale of a number of upgraded Chieftain tanks are at an early stage." House Of Commons, Hansard, 22 March 1993, Col 517
"Pakistan has our third largest aid programme in Asia" House Of Commons, Hansard, 9 June 1995, Col. 474
IRAQ
Scott Report - British Arms deals to Iraq in 1980s, Britain's Arming and backing of Saddam - Financial Times 2011 December 30th, 27th of Guardian 2003, Discussion of the Scott report in parliament
TURKEY
"The figures show that Britain delivered more weapons (£68 million worth) to Turkey in 1994 – the year Ankara began major offensive operations against the Kurds – than in previous years. Exports trailed off the following year and reached a new peak of £107 million in 1996" Mark Curtis Web Of Deceit Page 39, House of Commons, Hansard, 15 January 1998, Col. 272
"Britain also provided export credits for arms and military equipment in this period, reaching £265 million worth in 1995." Mark Curtis Web Of Deceit Page 39, House of Commons, Hansard, 27 April 1988, Col. 27
"The Independent has learnt that a group of British and Turkish businessmen are negotiating with the Azeri authorities for the supply of arms and a large number of mercenaries, mainly from Britain." Tim Kelsey, ‘British mercenaries for Azeri war’, Independent, 24 January
SAUDIA ARABIA
"At the present moment agitation is intense in all Mohammedan countries … The reports of agents and others confirm … the extreme vitality of the movement [panIslamism] … It is … essential that the country to whom Mohammedans look should not be Afghanistan. We should therefore create a state more convenient for ourselves, to whom the attention of Islam should be turned. We have an opportunity in Arabia" Captain Bray, ‘A Note on the Mohammedan Question’, March 1917, in J. Priestland (ed.), Islam: Political Impact, 1908–1972, British Documentary Sources ,Vol.2, Cambridge Archives
Former SAS officer, Peter de la Billiere, the commander of British forces in the 1991 Gulf War to eject Iraq from Kuwait, makes an extraordinary comment in his personal account of the war. He notes Saudi Prince Khalid telling him of his need to ensure that the Saudi ruling family remained in power after the war, to which de la Billiere replied: "I fully understood the Prince's difficulties and sympathised with him, but my understanding attitude was not entirely altruistic. As we, the British, had backed the system of sheikhly rule ever since our own withdrawal from the Gulf in the early 1970s, and seen it prosper, we were keen that it should continue. Saudi Arabia was an old and proven friend of ours, and had deployed its immense oil wealth in a benign and thoughtful way, with the result that standards of living had become very high. It was thus very much in our interests that the country and its regime should remain stable after the war." Peter de la Billiere, Storm Command: A personal account of the Gulf war, Harper Collins, London, 1993, Page 116 (The first bit written by the author)
British Military Training to Saudia Arabian National Guard - Para 65 and MoD memorandum to House of Commons Defence Committee, Thirteenth report
"[the British] have discovered that betting on strategic relations with the [Saudi] regime is dangerous. It is better to have relations with the people and I assume they know how much public support we have" Interview: Dr Saad al-Faqih’, Middle East Intelligence Bulletin , November 2003
INDONESIA
"Hawks killed so many people in bombing attacks in 1978 and 1979 that today, whenever people hear the noise of the Hawks flying, they are scared and the authorities know they will not dare leave their homes." Sue Lloyd-Roberts,' British arms help Jakarta fight war against its own people', Independent, 23 October 2011
UNITED STATES
"We would not wish it to become general knowledge that some of the inhabitants have lived on Diego Garcia for at least two generations and could, therefore, be regarded as "belongers". We shall therefore advise Ministers in handling supplementary questions about whether Diego Garcia is inhabited to say that there is only a small number of contract labourers from the Seychelles and Mauritius engaged to work on the copra plantations on the Island… Should a Member ask about what would happen to these contract labourers in the event of a base being set up on the Island, we hope that, for the present, this can be brushed aside as a hypothetical question at least until any decision to go ahead with the Diego Garcia facility becomes public" House of Commons, Hansard, 9 January 2001, Cols. 182-3, cited by Tarn Dalyell MP
JORDAN
“In response to Jordanian pleas and a monumental 'shopping list' we flew out in
early October two RAF Hercules plane-loads of ammunition of types specifically
requested, ie, 25-pounder shells and Saladin (76 mm) ammunition” S. Egerton to Private Secretary, 3 November 1970, PRO, FCO17/1075 (currently suspended), Documents via Mark Curtis
"Nasser's death had created a vacuum in the Middle East, and Jordan with British and American help could play a constructive part in bringing to power reasonable governments in both Iraq and Syria” Billy McLean to A. Douglas-Home, 3 November 1970, PRO, FCO17/1067, Documents via Mark Curtis
“carry out urgent contacts with the British authorities regarding the grant to Jordan of a sum of 300 thousand dinars in order to coordinate the military cooperation with the Lebanese authorities for encouraging the Syrian officers to expedite their armed revolution against the Baathist rule in Syria” British Embassy, Kuwait to FCO, 5 October 1970, PRO, FCO17/1067, Documents via Mark Curtis
Qatar
"UK support to the Qatari Armed Forces through training and exercises both in Qatar, providing Loan Service Officers and Training Teams to the Emiri Guard, Qatar Military Academy and the Infantry School; and in the UK with many Qatari officers graduating each year from Sandhurst, Dartmouth, the Joint Command and Staff College Shrivenham, and the Royal College of Defence Studies. The Prime Minister welcomed the historical ties between Qatar and Sandhurst." Joint statement between the Prime Minister of the UK and the Emir of Qatar’, 26 October 2010
Coups, Backed Coups And Preventing Coups
"on two occasions while I was in office British residents had to arrange for the deposition of unpopular rulers ... On both occasions, it was done without bloodshed and the results were beneficial; but Britain could not carry out this responsibility indefinitely." Michael Stewart, Life and Labour: An Autobiography , Sidgwick & Jackson, London, 1980, Page 232–233
IRAN 1953 MI6 AND CIA
"CIA agents gave serious attention to alarming the religious leaders at Tehran by issuing black propaganda in the name of the Tudeh Party, threatening these leaders with savage punishment if they opposed Mossadeq. Threatening phone calls were made to some of them, in the name of the Tudeh, and one of several planned sham bombings of the houses of these leaders was carried out" CIA Declassified Documents Page 37
"campaign of alleged Tudeh terrorism… which involved organising gangs of alleged Tudehites on the streets with orders to loot and smash shops … and to make it clear that this was the Tudeh in action." CIA Declassified Documents Page 63
"I would have loved nothing better than to have served under your command in this great venture" Kermit Roosevelt quotes Winston Churchill as stating about the 1953 Iran Coup, Kermit Roosevelt, Countercoup: The struggle for the control of Iran Page 207
INDONESIA 1965-66
"I have never concealed from you my belief that a little shooting in Indonesia would be an essential preliminary to effective change" Sir Andrew Gilchrist, the British ambassador in Jakarta, informed the Foreign Office on October 5 1965, The Guardian, Wiki (couldn't find primary source), A. Gilchrist to E. Peck, 5 October 1965, PRO, FO 371/180318, DH1015/187
SYRIA 1957
"CIA is prepared and SIS [Secret Intelligence Service or MI6] will attempt to mount minor sabotage and coup de main incidents within Syria, working through contacts with individuals." Ben Fenton, ‘Macmillan backed Syria assassination plot’, Guardian , 27 September 2003
"CIA and SIS should use their capabilities in both the psychological and action fields to augment tension.. (That meant operations in Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon, taking the form of) sabotage, national conspiracies and various strong-arm activities" (to be blamed on Damascus) Ben Fenton, ‘Macmillan backed Syria assassination plot’, Guardian , 27 September 2003
Funding/Backing Conflicts Through Proxies
MUJAHIDEEN IN THE AFGHAN SOVIET 1980s WAR ( More info about this operation on War on Terror Cheat Sheet)
British Training of the Mujahedeen in Scotland and other bases in the UK in the 1980s. Ken Connor (Ex SAS) The Ghost Force; The Secret History Of The SAS, Page 278
"They were well-armed and ferocious fighters, but they lacked battlefield organisation" Ken Connor (Ex SAS) The Ghost Force; The Secret History Of The SAS, Page 312
"planning of operations, the use of explosives and the fire control of heavy weapons – mortars and artillery" Ken Connor (Ex SAS) The Ghost Force; The Secret History Of The SAS, Page 312
"They were very grateful for the help and relations between the two groups were very friendly on a personal level but that did not translate into a corresponding warmth between the British government and the leaders of the Mujahideen. It was strictly an anti-Communist marriage of convenience between two organisations that had nothing else in common." Ken Connor (Ex SAS) The Ghost Force; The Secret History Of The SAS, Page 313
"explore with the Pakistanis and British the possibility of improving the financing, arming and communications of the rebel forces to make it as expensive as possible for the Soviets to continue their efforts" SCC Meeting on Afghanistan (CIA appreciation of Soviet Intentions)’, 17 December 1979
"Bin Laden was, though, a product of a monumental miscalculation by western security agencies. Throughout the 80s he was armed by the CIA and funded by the Saudis to wage jihad against the Russian occupation of Afghanistan. Al-Qaida, literally "the database", was originally the computer file of the thousands of mujahideen who were recruited and trained with help from the CIA to defeat the Russians" Robin Cook, ‘The struggle against terrorism cannot be won by military means’, Guardian , 8 July 2005 (Extended quote), Mar Curtis remarks "and, he forgot to say, MI6"
"The intelligence agencies of the US and the UK went along with Zia's policy of Arabising/Wahabising the Muslims of Pakistan because this contributed to an increase in the flow of jihadi terrorists to fight against the Soviet troops in Afghanistan." B. Raman, ‘Home-Grown Jihadis (Jundullah) in UK and US’, 6 May 2007,
"We trained in all types of guerrilla warfare. We trained on weapons, tactics, enemy engagement techniques and survival in hostile environments. All weapons training was with live ammunition, which was available everywhere. Indeed, there were a number of casualties during these training sessions. There were ex-military people amongst the Mujahideen, but no formal state forces participated. We were also trained by the elite units of the Mujahideen who had themselves been trained by Pakistani Special Forces, the CIA and the SAS … We had our own specially designed manuals, but we also made extensive use of manuals from the American and British military" From Mujahid to Activist: An Interview with a Libyan Veteran of the Afghan Jihad’, 25 March 2005, Jamestown Foundation
Wars And Bombings
"War crimes will stop when human nature changes." Douglas Hogg Hansard , House of Commons, 2 November 1994, Col. 1558.
IRAQ 1991-Present
Air strikes on Iraq rise sharply, Julian Borger in Washington Fri 6 Sep 2002, Blair says UK must pay US ‘blood price’, Patrick Wintour, Nicholas Watt and Kevin Maguire Fri 6 Sep 2002, Richard Norton-Taylor, 'Britain and US step up bombing in Iraq', Guardian, 4 December 2002
"Since patrolling of the northern and southern Iraqi No-Fly-Zones began (in 1991 and 1992 respectively), the RAF have flown a total of some 15,500 sorties in the zones" Mr. George Robertson, House of Commons, Hansard, 17 December 1998, Col. 652
KOSOVO 1998-99
"Opponents of this line criticise the humanitarian consequences of NATO's action, both because of the direct impact of air strikes on Serb civilians, and also because in their view air strikes provoked a humanitarian catastrophe rather than preventing one" Foreign Affairs - Fourth Report, Kosovo: The Military Campaign, 1999/2000, para 71 (Quote not in book, but a similar one).
"It is clear that, as some predicted, there was an escalation in the violence against the Kosovo Albanians after the bombing began. The OSCE monitors in Kosovo reported that "the level of incidence of summary and arbitrary killing escalated dramatically immediately after the OSCE-KVM withdrew on 20 March." They go on to report that "summary and arbitrary killing became a generalised phenomenon throughout Kosovo with the beginning of the NATO air campaign against the FRY on the night of 24/25 March" Foreign Affairs - Fourth Report, Kosovo: The Military Campaign, 1999/2000, para 86 (Quote not in book, but a similar one).
It is likely that the NATO bombing did cause a change in the character of the assault upon the Kosovo Albanians. What had been an anti-insurgency campaign – albeit a brutal and counter-productive one – became a mass, organised campaign to kill Kosovo Albanians or drive them from the country ... The withdrawal of the OSCE monitors combined with the Serbs' inability to inflict casualties upon NATO during the bombing campaign led to an intensification of the assault on the Kosovo Albanians.." Foreign Affairs - Fourth Report, Kosovo: The Military Campaign, 1999/2000, Para 87-88 (Quote not in book, but a similar one).
"Whilst the strategy did in the end result in Milosevic withdrawing his forces from Kosovo, it did not achieve its aim of averting a humanitarian disaster" Defence Committee, Fourteenth report, session 1999/2000, 24th of October 2000, para. 299,
"The air strikes erased in one night the results of ten years of hard work of groups of courageous people in the non-governmental organisations and in the democratic opposition, who have not tried to 'topple' anyone but to develop the institutions of civil society, to promote liberal and civil values, to teach non-violent conflict resolution ... The Kosovo problem will remain unresolved and the future of democracy and human rights in Serbia uncertain for many years." The Belgrade Centre For Human Rights
"One interpretation of the oral evidence given to us by FCO officials is that they never really believed that Milosevic would sign at Rambouillet, but that . . . 'we had to go through a process', presumably with the aim of promoting unity among the international community in favour of military action by showing that Milosevic was unwilling to negotiate... Unless Milosevic could be blamed for the collapse of the talks, it would be difficult to justify the use of force against him." FAC, Fourth report, session 1999/2000, Para 66
Media reports have revealed that as early as 1998, the central intelligence agency assisted by the British Special Armed Services were arming and training Kosovo Liberation Army members in Albania to foment armed rebellion in Kosovo. The KLA terrorists were sent back into Kosovo to assassinate Serbian mayors, ambush Serbian policemen and intimidate hesitant Kosovo Albanians" James Bissett (Former Canadian Diplomat and ambassador to Yugoslavia and Albania), ‘We created a monster’, Toronto Star , 31 July 2001, published on Deltax
"The hope was that with Kosovo in flames NATO could intervene and in so doing, not only overthrow Milosevic the Serbian strongman, but, more importantly, provide the aging and increasingly irrelevant military organisation [NATO] with a reason for its continued existence" James Bissett,(Former Canadian Diplomat and ambassador to Yugoslavia and Albania), ‘We created a monster’, Toronto Star, 31 July 2001, published on Deltax
"In five months of investigation and exhumation of the dead in Kosovo, war crimes investigators have found 2,108 bodies in grave sites throughout the province, the chief prosecutor announced today. While there are several hundred more reported sites to be examined in the spring, the number of the dead found so far seems significantly lower than the estimate of 10,000 ethnic Albanians killed by the Serbs, issued by Western officials, or the suggestion by American and allied officials during the war that up to 100,000 were being killed." Stephen Erlanger, Early Count Hints at Fewer Kosovo Deaths, The New York Times, November 11, 1999 A6
"After bombing Yugoslavia into submission, NATO then stood by and submissively allowed the KLA to murder, pillage and burn. The KLA was given a free hand to do as they wished. Almost all of the non-Albanian population was ethnically cleansed from Kosovo under the watchful eyes of 40,000 NATO troops. Moreover, in defiance of United Nations resolution 1244 which brought an end to the fighting, NATO adamantly refused to disarm the KLA fighters. Instead, NATO converted this ragtag band of terrorists into the Kosovo Protection Force - allegedly to maintain peace and order in Kosovo." James Bissett (Canadian Ambassador), WE CREATED A MONSTER, Toronto Star, July 31, 2001, Deltax, archive
"Kosovo's prime minister is the head of a "mafia-like" Albanian group responsible for smuggling weapons, drugs and human organs through eastern Europe, according to a Council of Europe inquiry report on organised crime."
Paul Lewis, Kosovo PM is head of human organ and arms ring Council of Europe reports, London Guardian, 14 December, 2010
LIBYA 2011
"British planes and attack helicopters have flown some 3,000 sorties across Libya and have damaged or destroyed some 1,000 former regime targets." Foreign Secretary updates Parliament on the Middle East and North Africa’, 13 October 2011
SYRIA 2014 - Present
“I am going to tell you something. I was in England two years before the violence in Syria on other business. I met with top British officials, who confessed to me, that they were preparing something in Syria… This was in Britain not in America. Britain was organizing an invasion of rebels into Syria. They even asked me, although I was no longer Minister of Foreign Affairs, if I would like to participate. Naturally, I refused, I said I am French, that does not interest me… This operation goes way back. It was prepared, preconceived and planned… in the region it is important to know that this Syrian regime has a very anti-Israeli stance” Roland Dumas (Ex French Minister), “Top British Officials Confessed to Syria War Plans Two Years before Arab Spring”’,16 June 2013, video
"The West does not actually hand the weapons to al Qaeda, let alone ISIS, but the system that they have constructed leads precisely to that end … The weapons conduit that the West directly has been giving to groups such as the Syrian Free Army [sic] have been understood to be a sort of ‘Walmart’ from which the more radical groups would be able to take their weapons and pursue the jihad." The Report: Al Qaeda in Syria’, BBC Radio 4, 17 December 2015, Alastair Crooke (Ex MI6) Min 3:30
"use jihadists to weaken the government in Damascus and to drive it to its knees at the negotiating table" The Report: Al Qaeda in Syria’, BBC Radio 4, 17 December 2015, Alastair Crooke (Ex MI6) Min 4:15
"I know where those weapons are coming from. They are the weapons left over from the Bosnian war. They are being shipped out in large measure through Croatian ports and airports and I can tell you they are making vast sums for corrupt forces in the Balkans" Robert Winnett, ‘Syria: 3,500 tons of weapons already sent to rebels, says Lord Ashdown’, 1 July 2013
"Peter Ford, the former UK Ambassador to Syria went further. He described the
existence of moderate opposition groups in Syria as “largely a figment of the imagination" House of Commons, Defence Committee, UK Military Operations in Syria and Iraq , 13 September 2016, para 90
Ian Cobain et al, ‘How Britain funds the “propaganda war” against Isis in Syria’, 3 May 2016, David Blair, ‘Britain sends 85 troops to train Syria rebels’, 16 May 2015,Syria air strikes conducted by UK military pilots’, 17 July 2015, Dropped bombs after Parliament voted no to military action in Syria in 2013
"The UK has conducted the 2nd highest number of strikes - 1,318 in Iraq and 196 in Syria" Ministry of Defence, UK Defence in Numbers, 2017
Divide And Conquer
INDIA
"should so plan the educational textbooks that the differences between community and community are further strengthened … If we could break educated Indians into two sections holding widely different views, we should, by such a division, strengthen our position against the subtle and continuous attack which the spread of education must make upon our system of government" George Francis Hamilton, the secretary of state for India, once wrote to Lord Curzon, B. Pande, ‘History in the Service of Imperialism' (Couldn't Find Primary Sources)
"we have maintained our power in India by playing off one part against the other and we must continue to do so. Do all you can, therefore, to prevent all having a common feeling" Secretary of State Wood wrote in a letter to Lord Elgin, B. Pande, ‘History in the Service of Imperialism’ (Couldn't Find Primary Sources)
Terrorism
"Bin Laden had his advice and reform committee in Britain in 1994 and lived here before he gained notoriety" House of Common, Hansard Debates 19 November 2001, Col 97
" al-Fawwaz would tell his handlers, one of whom he names, what he was up to. The meetings often lasted three hours or more, he says. MI5 would have made its own discreet checks. Al-Fawwaz's phone was probably tapped, his correspondence intercepted." Nick Hopkins and Richard Norton-Taylor, ‘Faulty intelligence’, Guardian, 29 November 2001
"We know them in detail,' said one Sudanese source. 'We know their leaders, how they implement their policies, how they plan for the future. We have tried to feed this information to American and British intelligence so they can learn how this thing can be tackled." David Rose, ‘Resentful west spurned Sudan’s key terror files’, Observer, 30 September 2001
"Indian claims, and Pakistani denials, that Kashmiri extremists are receiving support from Pakistan with training and supply of weapons" House of Commons Hansard, 25 July 1991, Col.1354
"They have however been disguised under the cover of dozens of "humanitarian" agencies spread throughout Bosnia, Kosovo and Albania. Funding has come from now-defunct banks such as the Albanian-Arab Islamic Bank and from bin Laden's so-called Advisory and Reformation Committee. One of his largest Islamist front agencies, it was established in London in 1994" Marcia Kurop, ‘Al Qaeda’s Balkan links’, Wall Street Journal Europe, 1 November 2001
"I told them [MI5] Hamza was brainwashing people and sending them to al-Qaeda terrorist training camps in Afghanistan, that he was preaching jihad and murder and that he was involved in the provision of false passports. I told them he was a chief terrorist… His MI5 handler did not appear unduly worried "
Richard Woods and David Leppard, ‘Focus: How liberal Britain let hate flourish’, Sunday Times , 12 February 2006, Reda Hassaine ( Ex MI5)
"the honourable gentleman will recall, of course, that this parliament has some history of engaging in secret talks with terrorist organisations, such as the IRA" DR Howells House of Commons, Hansard , 23rd of May 2006, Col 1326
Oil
"Our petroleum policy toward the United Kingdom is predicated upon a mutual recognition of a very extensive joint interest and upon a control, at least for the moment, of the great bulk of the free petroleum resources of the world ... Recognising these realities, it is the view of the United States government that US–UK agreement upon a broad, forward-looking pattern for the development and utilization of petroleum resources under the control of nationals of the two countries is of the highest strategic and commercial importance" Diplomatic Papers By United States, 1945 Vol VIII, The Near East and Africa Department of State, Memorandum by the Acting Chief of the Petroleum Division ( Loftus ) to the Assistant Chief of the Division of British Commonwealth Affairs ( Pool )
Brown said: "We hope to sign an agreement with the Iraqi government about the future role that we can play in training and in protecting the oil supplies of Iraq." Richard Norton-Taylor and Matthew Taylor, ‘British troops officially end combat operation in southern Iraq’, Guardian, 30 April 2009
"Documents obtained by the Observer show ministers and senior civil servants met Shell to discuss the company's oil interests in Libya on at least 11 occasions and perhaps as many as 26 times in less than four years." Terry Macalister, ‘Secret documents uncover UK’s interest in Libyan oil’, Observer, 30 August 2009
"Qatar is now a major supplier of energy to the UK, and supplied fuel last year in what was the UK’s coldest winter in 30 years - Qatari Liquid Natural Gas imported through South Hook supplied 11% of the UK’s gas demand" Joint statement between the Prime Minister of the UK and the Emir of Qatar’, 26 October 2010
Military
"The implications of an open-ended war on terrorism – particularly one that will address the problems of collapsing and failed states which create the political space for terror and crime networks to operate – suggest that operations in central Asia, East Africa, perhaps the Indian subcontinent and elsewhere, will become necessary as part of an integrated political and military strategy to address terrorism and the basis on which it flourishes." SDR, para. 129; Defence Committee, Second report, session 2001-02, 12 December 2001
"In the post Cold-War world we must be prepared to go to the crisis, rather than having the crisis come to us" Strategic Defence Review: Modern Forces for the Modern World , July 1998, Page 378
"The UK will remain actively engaged
in potential areas of instability in and around Europe, the Near East, North Africa and the Gulf. But we must extend our ability to project force further afield than the SDR envisaged. In particular, the potential for instability and crises occurring across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, and the wider threat from international terrorism" Delivering Security in a Changing World, Defence White Paper, December 2003, Page 11 3.1
"the need to confront international terrorism
abroad rather than waiting for attacks
within the UK" Delivering Security in a Changing World, Defence White Paper, December 2003, Page 7 1.5
"Fourth, we need to make clear to Syria and Iran that there is a choice: come in to the international community and play by the same rules as the rest of us; or be confronted" Tony Blair Speech to the World Affairs Council in Los Angeles 1 August 2006
Treaties, Secret Treaties and Carvings
PALESTINE/ISRAEL
"Dear Lord Rothschild, I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of His Majesty’s Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet: ‘His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours for the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.’ I should be grateful if you woul d bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation. Yours sincerely, Arthur James Balfour " The Balfour Declaration To Lord Walter Rothschild November 2nd 1917
ARABIA
"I risked the fraud on my conviction that Arab help was necessary to our cheap and speedy victory in the East, and that better we win and break our word, than lose" T E Lawrence The Seven of Wisdom
"The Arab inspiration was our main tool for winning the Eastern war. So I assured them that England kept her word in letter and spirit. In this comfort they performed their fine things; but of course, instead of being proud of what we did together, I was continually and bitterly ashamed" T E Lawrence The Seven of Wisdom
"I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's note of the 9th instant, stating that the French Government accept the limits of a future Arab State, or Confederation of States, and of those parts of Syria where French interests predominate, together with certain conditions attached thereto, such as they result from recent discussions in London and Petrograd on the subject." Sykes-Picot Agreement - Britain and Frances Agreement to Carve up the World. Russia and Italy also were awarded concessions. Original Document, Lord Grey To Paul Cambon May 1916
"That in the blue area France, and in the red area Great Britain, shall be allowed to establish such direct or indirect admini stration or control as they desire and as they may think fit to arrange with the Arab State or Confederation of Arab State" Sykes-Picot Agreement - Britain and Frances Agreement to Carve up the World. Russia and Italy also were awarded concessions. Original Document, Lord Grey To Paul Cambon May 1916
United Nations
IRAQ 1991-Present
"Leslie Stahl: "We have heard that a half million children have died (as a result of sanctions against Iraq). I mean, that is more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it?"
Madeleine Albright: "I think this is a very hard choice, but the price, we think the price is worth it." 60 minutes Interview with Madeline Albright 1996 Clinton's secretary of state, commenting on the sanctions on Iraq
"this policy constitutes genocide and Washington and London are responsible ... It... is a deliberate policy to destroy the people of Iraq . . . We are in the process of destroying an entire society. It is illegal and immoral." Dennis Halliday, Cornell Chronicle, October 1st 1999, other sources, Gandhi peace award 2003 acceptance speech
"The UK and the US, as permanent members of the [UN security] council, are fully aware that the UN embargo operates in breach of the UN covenants on human rights, the Geneva and Hague conventions and other international laws . . . The two governments have consistently opposed allowing the UN security council to carry out its mandated responsibilities to assess the impact of sanctions policies on civilians. We know about this first hand because the governments repeatedly tried to prevent us from briefing the security council about it" Hans von Sponeck and Dennis Halliday, 'The hostage nation', Guardian, 29 November 2001
"The most recent report of the UN secretary-general, in October 2001, says that the US and UK governments' blocking of $4bn of humanitarian supplies is by far the greatest constraint on the implementation of the oil-for-food programme. The report says that, in contrast, the Iraqi government's distribution of humanitarian supplies is fully satisfactory (as it was when we headed this programme). The death of some 5-6,000 children a month is mostly due to contaminated water, lack of medicines and malnutrition. The US and UK governments' delayed clearance of equipment and materials is responsible for this tragedy, not Baghdad." Hans von Sponeck and Dennis Halliday, 'The hostage nation', Guardian, 29 November 2001
Economic Policies
"The reason why the ITO never saw the light of day is that in its conception it was too universalist in scope, too democratic in outlook, to serve the needs of the elitist mentality which could not contemplate an institutional setting in which the rich countries might mingle on equal terms with the poor." Nasser Adams( Ex UN) World's Apart The North-South Divide and the International System
"between 1982 and 1991 the agencies procured about £1.20 of UK goods and services for every £1 contributed by the UK to the agencies" House of Commons, Hansard , 13 June 1995, Col. 502.
"Increasing reliance on and liberalization of markets has profoundly altered the
economic and political context for social integration. It has contributed to major
changes in the configuration of power relations among different social groups and countries. For instance, it seems clear that the organized working class has been greatly weakened, while transnational enterprises, owners of capital, and some managerial and professional groups have been significantly strengthened." Dharam Ghai and Cynthia Hewitt de Alcantara, ‘Globalisation and social integration: Patterns and processes’, Occasional Paper No. 2 , UN Research Institute for Social Development, Geneva, July 1994. (Type in a download PDF)
Page 4
"it has also driven down wages and
contributed to increases in unemployment, poverty and inequalities, and thus to
accentuation of economic insecurity" Dharam Ghai and Cynthia Hewitt de Alcantara, ‘Globalisation and social integration: Patterns and processes’, Occasional Paper No. 2 , UN Research Institute for Social Development, Geneva, July 1994. (Type in a download PDF)
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"Recent years have been marked by a clear trend toward intensification of poverty
and inequality in most regions of the world."Dharam Ghai and Cynthia Hewitt de Alcantara, ‘Globalisation and social integration: Patterns and processes’, Occasional Paper No. 2 , UN Research Institute for Social Development, Geneva, July 1994. (Type in a download PDF) Page 8
"Ironically, the impoverishment of increasing numbers of people throughout the world — and often their growing inability to meet even the most basic requirements for food, water, shelter, education, medical attention — occurs during a period when the incomes of the very rich have risen markedly." Dharam Ghai and Cynthia Hewitt de Alcantara, ‘Globalisation and social integration: Patterns and processes’, Occasional Paper No. 2 , UN Research Institute for Social Development, Geneva, July 1994. (Type in a download PDF) Page 9
"Transnational enterprises are the predominant actors in the continuing process of global economic integration, controlling almost 75 percent of all world trade in commodities, manufactured goods and services" Dharam Ghai and Cynthia Hewitt de Alcantara, ‘Globalisation and social integration: Patterns and processes’, Occasional Paper No. 2 , UN Research Institute for Social Development, Geneva, July 1994. (Type in a download PDF)
Page 5
"It has already been noted that national governments — North or South, East or
West — forced by liberalization and deregulation to strengthen the competitive
position of their economies in the global arena, must (like local governments) increasingly adopt measures which attract foreign capital and which furthermore cheapen production for export." Dharam Ghai and Cynthia Hewitt de Alcantara, ‘Globalisation and social integration: Patterns and processes’, Occasional Paper No. 2 , UN Research Institute for Social Development, Geneva, July 1994. (Type in a download PDF) Page 15
"This development is reflected in a growing inability to protect the national industrial sector, to sustain wages at levels considered adequate by organized labour, and to maintain social security provisions which symbolize the hard-won gains of working people" Dharam Ghai and Cynthia Hewitt de Alcantara, ‘Globalisation and social integration: Patterns and processes’, Occasional Paper No. 2 , UN Research Institute for Social Development, Geneva, July 1994. (Type in a download PDF)
Page 16
"At present, there is thus a worldwide tendency for national governments to lose their authority to regulate some of the most important variables in the national economy… governments are often perceived as having abdicated their responsibility to defend national projects, preferring to ally themselves with powerful foreign patrons than with their own political supporters." Dharam Ghai and Cynthia Hewitt de Alcantara, ‘Globalisation and social integration: Patterns and processes’, Occasional Paper No. 2 , UN Research Institute for Social Development, Geneva, July 1994. (Type in a download PDF) Page 16-17
"The dramatic increase in the level of discipline accepted by developing countries through their acceptance of all the multilateral trade agreements resulting from the Uruguay Round and the binding of their tariff schedules has significantly reduced the flexibility of governments in the use of trade and domestic policy instruments. Consequently, many WTO members will not be able to emulate the development strategies pursued successfully by many countries in the past and will need to adapt to the constraints and opportunities of the new system" UNCTAD, Trade and Development Report 1994 , UN, New York, 1994, Page XII. (Type in and download PDF)
Media
"of course we want to use the media, but the media will be our tools, our servants; we are no longer content to let them be our persecutors" The Spectator 25 Feb 2006 Peter Osbourne, Quoting Peter Mandelson, minister without portfolio under Blair
"The UK's main contribution (In the Kosovo campaign) was in terms of media operations." House of Commons, Defence Committee, Fourteenth report, session 1999/2000 Col. 238
"During the campaign, the UK played a leading role in 'rescuing' the NATO media operation" House of Commons, Defence Committee, Fourteenth report, session 1999/2000 Col. 254
"If people knew the truth, the war would be stopped tomorrow. But they don't know and can't know." David Lloyd George confided to Scott in December 1917, according to the Guardian. (I couldn't find a primary source)
" Third, we will attempt to increase our propaganda campaign on the Soviets worldwide. We will recommend to our European allies that they encourage their press to pay more attention to the subject... to cast the Soviets as opposing Moslem religious and nationalist expressions" SCC Meeting on Afghanistan (CIA appreciation of Soviet Intentions)’, 17 December 1979
Party's
"Well, first of all, I think that in foreign policy, the differences are not easily
discernible by party" President Clinton commenting on the British parties, Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton, 1995, book I Page 453
Diplomatic Backing
"At dinners at embassies around the world I have suddenly discovered that somebody happens to be sitting next to me who is from the respectable end of a death squad from somewhere. The ambassador has, with the best will in the world, invited that person along because he thinks that, under the new democracy, they will become the new government" House of Commons, Foreign Affairs Committee, Global Security: The Middle East , Eighth report, Session 2006/07, 25 July 2007, Q179, Dr Howells
"It is not for me, or for governments outside the region, to pontificate about how each country meets the aspirations of its people. It is not for us to tell you how to do it, or precisely what shape your future should take. There is no single formula for success, and there are many ways to ensure greater, popular participation in Government. We respect your right to take your own decisions, while offering our goodwill and support." Prime Minister’s speech to the National Assembly’, 22 February 2011
SAUDI ARABIA
"as a leader of the wider Islamic family of nations; and as a strong force for moderation and stability on the world stage…. I am a great admirer of Saudi Arabia and the leadership of King Fahd." 1993 Oct 4 Mo Margaret Thatcher Speech to Chatham House Conference on Saudi Arabia
"One of Al Yamamah's achievements has been the training and equipping of the Royal Saudi Air Force by Britain. Both training and aircraft were put to the test of wartime combat far sooner than anyone expected. As we now know, both the aircraft and their RSAF pilots performed superbly in Operation Desert Storm. The Al Yamamah programme has continued steadily since the conflict. When this year's new order of a further 48 Tornado aircraft for the RSAF has been executed it will be safe to say that Saudi Arabia will have one of the strongest and most effective Air Forces in the world." 1993 Oct 4 Mo Margaret Thatcher Speech to Chatham House Conference on Saudi Arabia
"Equally, we in Britain are right to continue our policy of supporting our friends the Saudis with responsible programmes of military training, advice, and equipment. We have never exported arms indiscriminately and Saudi Arabia has never used its arms irresponsibly. So I see every good reason for the continuation of the Al Yamamah programme, which may well extend into the fields of naval and anti-submarine warfare" 1993 Oct 4 Mo
Margaret Thatcher Speech to Chatham House Conference on Saudi Arabia
"I have no intention of meddling in that country's internal affairs. It is one of my firmest beliefs that although there are certain basic standards and goals we should expect from every member of the international community, the precise pace and approach must reflect different societies' cultural, social, economic and historical backgrounds" 1993 Oct 4 Mo
Margaret Thatcher Speech to Chatham House Conference on Saudi Arabia
"Inspite of the threat which Islamic fundamentalism seems to pose in some countries, I have no doubt that Islam itself is one of the key forces for stability in modern Saudi Arabia. Another such stabilising force is the solid rock of a well established and respected monarchy" 1993 Oct 4 Mo
Margaret Thatcher Speech to Chatham House Conference on Saudi Arabia
KUWAIT
"Every country has the right to develop its political structure in accordance with its culture, heritage and traditions. The ruling family, government and people have an impressive record. We are encouraged by the democratically elected National Assembly in Kuwait since the election in 1992." Jeremy Hanley, Hansard , House of Commons, 23 October 1995, Col. 803
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