"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)
"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 there fore 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
"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
Operation Straggle, and The preferred plan
Ben Fenton, ‘Macmillan backed Syria assassination plot’, Guardian , 27 September 2003
"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
"A document from the German foreign intelligence service, known by its initials BND, says the U.S. had helped persuade Jordan to issue Mr. Ramadan a passport and that "his expenditures are financed by the American side." Ian Johnson, ‘The beachhead’, Wall Street Journal , 12 July 2005
“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
"Question: The former director of the CIA, Robert Gates, stated in his memoirs that the American intelligence services began to aid the Mujahiddin in Afghanistan six months before the Soviet intervention. Is this period, you were the national securty advisor to President Carter. You therefore played a key role in this affair. Is this correct?
Brzezinski: Yes. According to the official version of history, CIA aid to the Mujahiddin began during 1980, that is to say, after the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan on December 24, 1979. But the reality, closely guarded until now, is completely otherwise: Indeed, it was July 3, 1979 that President Carter signed the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul. And that very day, I wrote a note to the president in which I explained to him that in my opinion this aid was going to induce a Soviet military intervention [emphasis added throughout].
Q: Despite this risk, you were an advocate of this covert action. But perhaps you yourself desired this Soviet entry into the war and looked for a way to provoke it?
B: It wasn’t quite like that. We didn’t push the Russians to intervene, but we knowingly increased the probability that they would.
Q : When the Soviets justified their intervention by asserting that they intended to fight against secret US involvement in Afghanistan , nobody believed them . However, there was an element of truth in this. You don’t regret any of this today?
B: Regret what? That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Russians into the Afghan trap and you want me to regret it? The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter, essentially: “We now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam war." Indeed, for almost 10 years, Moscow had to carry on a war that was unsustainable for the regime , a conflict that bought about the demoralization and finally the breakup of the Soviet empire.
Q: And neither do you regret having supported Islamic fundamentalism, which has given arms and advice to future terrorists?
B : What is more important in world history? The Taliban or the collapse of the Soviet empire? Some agitated Moslems or the liberation of Central Europe and the end of the cold war?
Q : “Some agitated Moslems”? But it has been said and repeated: Islamic fundamentalism represents a world menace today...
B: Nonsense! It is said that the West has a global policy in regard to Islam. That is stupid: There isn’t a global Islam. Look at Islam in a rational manner, without demagoguery or emotionalism. It is the leading religion of the world with 1.5 billion followers. But what is t h ere in com m on among fundamentalist Saudi Arabia , moderate Morocco, militarist Pakistan, pro-Western Egypt, or secularist Central Asia? Nothing more than what unites the Christian countries…" The Brzezinski Interview with Le Nouvel Observateur (1998), University Of Arizona (Quote not in book, similar reference)
"A Soviet Vietnam?
However, we should not be too sanguine about Afghanistan becoming a Soviet Vietnam" Memo from Z. Brzezinski to President Carter, 26 December 1979, Type in and download from national archives
"We should concert with Islamic countries both in a propaganda campaign and in a covert action campaign to help the rebels" Memo from Z. Brzezinski to President Carter, 26 December 1979, Type in and download from national archives
"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
" 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 (Extended quote)
"We helped create the mujahideen, fired them with religious zeal in seminaries, armed them, paid them, fed them, and sent them to a jihad against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan" Pervez Musharraf, In the Line of Fire: A Memoir Page 208, Ex SSG and Pakistani President
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 Mujahedeen. 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
"These cross-border strikes were at their peak during 1986. Scores of attacks were made across the Amu from Jozjan to Badakshan Provinces. Sometimes Soviet citizens joined in these operations, or came back into Afghanistan to join the Mujahideen" Afghanistan The Bear Trap: The Defeat of a Superpower By Mohammed Yousaf, Mark Adkin Page 230 (extended quote)
"Thus it was the US that put in train a major escalation of the war which, over the next three years, culminated in numerous cross-border raids and sabotage missions north of the Amu. During this period we were specifically to train and despatch hundreds of Mujahideen up to 25 kilometres deep inside the Soviet Union. They were probably the most secret and sensitive operations of the war. They only occurred during my time with ISI as in 1987" Afghanistan The Bear Trap: The Defeat of a Superpower By Mohammed Yousaf, Mark Adkin Page 216-17 (extended quote)
Moscow's specific worry was the spread of fundamentalism and its influence on
Soviet Central Asian Muslims' Afghanistan The Bear Trap: The Defeat of a Superpower By Mohammed Yousaf, Mark Adkin Page 217
"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
David Leigh and Rob Evans, ‘BAE accused of secretly paying £1bn to Saudi prince’, Guardian ,7 June 2007
Michael Herman, ‘BAE sued over alleged Saudi bribes’, Times , 20 September 2007
Sued for Corruption - The independent, NYT, wiki
"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
Advance and Reformation Committee - Bin Laden's London from organisation
UK-based Saudi ‘acted as key aide to Bin Laden’ Law lords told of accused man's terror links, Nick Hopkins, Tue 23 Oct 2001, UK Reuters
Extended quotes below and quotes not included in the book but from the source 1993 Oct 4 Mo Margaret Thatcher Speech to Chatham House Conference on Saudi Arabia cited.
"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
"designed both to publicise Bin Laden’s statements and to provide cover for activity in support for Al Qaeda’s “military” activities, including the recruitment of trainees, the disbursement of funds and the procurement of equipment and services." US Vs Bin Laden, Usama et al. S7 indictment Page 8
"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 (similar to in book different source)
" 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
"Perhaps MI5 thought it was better to monitor al-Fawwaz and the two others for intelligence." Nick Hopkins and Richard Norton-Taylor, ‘Faulty intelligence’, Guardian, 29 November 2001
"The U.S Department of the Treasury today announced the designation of Adel Abdul Jalil Batterjee and Saad Rashed Mohammad al-Faqih for providing financial and material support to al Qaida and Usama bin Laden" US Treasury Designates Two Individuals with Ties to al-Qaida, UBL’, 21 December 2004
"[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
"On two separate occasions, they were given an opportunity to extradite or interview key bin Laden operatives who had been arrested in Africa because they appeared to be planning terrorist atrocities." David Rose, ‘Resentful west spurned Sudan’s key terror files’, Observer, 30 September 2001
"He said the blame for the failure lay in the 'irrational hatred' the Clinton administration felt for the source of the proffered intelligence - Sudan" David Rose, ‘Resentful west spurned Sudan’s key terror files’, Observer, 30 September 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
CIA, ‘Usama bin Ladin: Islamic Extremist Financier’, 1996, National Security Archive,
"[It described the HUA as an] Islamic extremist organisation that Pakistan supports in its proxy war against Indian forces in Kashmir’, and was ‘increasingly … using terrorist tactics against Westerners and random attacks on civilians" CIA, ‘Harkat ul-Ansar: Increasing Threat to Western and Pakistani Interests’, August 1996
"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
"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
Nick Fielding, ‘The British jackal’, Sunday Times , 21 April 2002
Mega Oil set up in Azerbaijan by retired officers and arming afghans - Thomas Goltz, ‘Soldier, oilman, thief, spy’, Forbes , 25 September 1997, Richard Secord, Chicago Tribune
"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
"Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network was able to expand under the safe sanctuary extended by Taliban following Pakistan Directives" Defence Intelligence Agency, ‘Veteran Afghanistan Traveler’s Analysis of Al Qaeda and Taliban Exploitable Weaknesses’, 2 October 2001, National Security Archive, ‘The September 11th Sourcebooks – Volume VII: The Taliban File
"The Tadjik commander from southern Afghantstan), Pakistan also encouraged, facilitated and often escorted arabs from the middle east into Afghanistan. Eventually A special facility was constructed in Zarwa (CRA), in Paktia province, with Pakistan Inter-services Intelligence directorate (ISI) Funding." Defence Intelligence Agency, ‘Veteran Afghanistan Traveler’s Analysis of Al Qaeda and Taliban Exploitable Weaknesses’, 2 October 2001, National Security Archive, ‘The September 11th Sourcebooks – Volume VII: The Taliban File
"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
"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
"(Mr. Fatchett) has met representatives of the following Iraqi organisations...Islamic Movement of Iraqi Kurdistan" House of Commons, Hansard ,2 March 1998
NATO comments about how the bombing could be seen to of worsened the situation in Kosovo - Foreign Affairs - Fourth Report, Kosovo: The Military Campaign, 1999/2000, Para 86, 87, 88
"We strongly condemn the use of violence for political objectives, including the terrorism of the self-styled Kosovo Liberation Army" Robin Cook, House of Commons, Hansard ,10 March 1998, Col.317
AP, ‘Bin Laden operated terrorist network based in Albania’, 29 November 1998
"an initial meeting between an official in the British embassy in Belgrade and KLA leaders was held on 30 July 1998" House of Commons, Hansard ,10 May 1999
The Independent War in Europe: SAS teams `fighting behind Serb lines' 15 May 1999, BBC
"sending them 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
"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
War in the Balkans: Torture: Albanian doctors singled out for Serbian brutality Richard Lloyd Parry, 12 April 1999
Albanian rebels, trained by the SAS are gaining ground in Macedonia, aiming for the key city of Tetevo’, Sunday Times ,18 March 2001
Rebuilding America's Defences, A project for a new American century
"Long-range air-attack will continue to be
important both as an integral part of warfighting and as a coercive instrument to support
political objectives (as demonstrated in the Gulf earlier this year)." Strategic Defence Review: Modern Forces for the Modern World , July 1998, Page 31
"a new generation of military equipment. This includes attack helicopters, long range precision munitions, digitised command and control systems, a new generation of aircraft carriers, submarines and escorts, the Eurofighter multi-role fighter and the development of a successor to the Tornado bomber" Strategic Defence Review: Modern Forces for the Modern World , July 1998, Page 70
"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 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." Defence Committee, Second Report , Session 2001–02, 12 December 2001, Col 100
"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
100,000 wiring to 911 attacker Mohammed Atta through British Omar Sheila - Manoj Joshi, ‘India helped FBI trace ISI-terrorist links’, Times of India , 9 October 2001, Muhammed Ahmed Ex ISI leader
Paul Watson and Sidhartha Barua, ‘Worlds of extremism and crime collide in an Indian jail’, Los Angeles Times, 8 February 2002
Militant free to return to UK’, BBC News, 3 January 2000
Profile: Omar Saeed Sheikh’, BBC News, 16 July 2002
Adam Nathan, ‘AlQaeda London network exposed’, Sunday Times, 4 January 2004
Allies point the finger at Britain as al-Qaida’s “revolving door”’, Guardian, 14 February 2002
The contract with Muslims must not be torn up’, Guardian, 26 August 2005
"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
"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)
Daniel McGrory and Richard Ford, ‘AlQaeda cleric exposed as an MI5 double agent’, Times , 25 March 2004
"told The Observer that MI5 approached intermediaries to offer him a passport and an Iranian visa so he could leave the country."
Antony Barnett, Martin Bright and Nick Paton-Walsh, ‘MI5 wanted me to escape, claims cleric’, Observer, 21 October 2001
Profile: General Pervez Musharraf, 24 September 2001,
"there is still far too much evidence… over the past year to 18 months … that cross-border terrorism is actively encouraged and, indeed, at times sponsored by agencies and elements closely aligned with the Pakistani authorities" House of Commons, Hansard , 12 December 2000
"A number of terrorist organisations – including Laskhare-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Harkat Mujahideen … have been at the forefront of violent activity in the region [Kashmir] … Her Majesty’s government accept that there is a clear link between the ISID [ISI] and those groups … The fact cannot be avoided that over a period of years, successive governments of Pakistan have, through their Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, encouraged and funded terrorists – otherwise known as freedom fighters – to make incursions across the line of control as outsiders in that dispute, and to engage in mayhem and terrorism" House of Commons, Hansard, 10 June 2002, Cols .595–6, 605
"There is a clear consensus within the UK extremist community that Iraq is a legitimate jihad and should be supported. Iraq has re-energised and refocused a wide range of networks in the UK … The conflict in Iraq has exacerbated the threat from international terrorism and will continue to have an impact in the long term. It has reinforced the determination of terrorists who were already committed to attacking the West and motivated others who were not" David Leppard, ‘Iraq terror backlash in UK “for years”, Times, 2 April 2006
Ian Cobain et al, ‘MI5 decided to stop watching two suicide bombers’, Guardian, 1 May 2007, David Leppard, ‘MI5 knew of bomber’s plan for holy war’, Sunday Times, 22 January 2006
"The extent to which the 7 July attacks were externally planned, directed or controlled by contacts in Pakistan or elsewhere remains unclear. The Agencies believe that some form of operational training is likely to have taken place while Khan and Tanweer were in Pakistan. Contacts in the run-up to the attacks suggest they may have had advice or direction from individuals there" Intelligence and Security Committee, Report into the London Terrorist Attacks on 7 July 2005, Page 12, 38
"Between April and July 2005, the group was in contact with an individual or individuals in Pakistan… it is not clear when the group decided on a UK attack but they appear to
have begun planning it shortly after their return from Pakistan in February 2005;" Home Office, Report of the Official Account of the Bombings in London on 7th July 2005, Pages 21, 27
Musharraf doing excellent job in terror fight: Rumsfeld’, Hindu Times
The secret war against Iran’, ABC news, 3 April 2007, William Lowther, ‘US funds terror groups to sow chaos in Iran’, Telegraph , 25 February 2007, Did British bomb attacks in Iran provoke hostage crisis?’, Independent, 1 August 2009, Tim Shipman, ‘Bush sanctions “black ops” against Iran’, Telegraph, 27 May 2007, Eli Lake, ‘Israel waging “secret war with Iran”’, New York Sun, 15 September 2008
"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
"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
Saudia Citizens funding Iraq Insurgency CNN December 8th 2006
"Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials are in regular contact with Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), both in London and Tehran. SCIRI have also met FCO ministers as part of an Iraqi opposition delegation. We have no contact with the militia forces attached to SCIRI." House of Commons, Hansard , 18 March 2003, Mike O Brien (Source cited but not quoted in book)
Michael Evans, ‘Army tells its soldiers to “bribe” the Taleban’, Times, 16 November 2009, Ian Black, Ewen Macaskill, ‘MoD denies deal over withdrawal from Basra’, Guardian , 31 August 2007
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
John Burns and Alissa Rubin, ‘US arming Sunnis in Iraq to battle old Qaeda allies’, New York Times, 11 June 2007, Jon Boone, ‘US pours millions into anti-Taliban militias in Afghanistan’, Guardian, 22 November 2009, Richard Norton-Taylor, ‘Money talks in Afghanistan, says army counterinsurgency manual’, Guardian, 17 November 2009
"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
Western troops on the ground” in Libya’, Guardian, 30 May 2011
Charles Levison and Matthew Rosenberg, ‘Egypt Said to Arm Libya Rebels’, Wall Street Journal , 17 March 2011, Robert Fisk, ‘Libya in turmoil: America’s secret plan to arm Libya’s rebels’, Independent, 7 March 2011
Ian Birrell, ‘MI6 role in Libyan rebels’ rendition “helped to strengthen al-Qaida’, Guardian , 24 October 2011, Martin Chulov, ‘Libyan commander demands apology over MI6 and CIA plot’, Guardian, 4 September 2011
"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." T erry Macalister, ‘Secret documents uncover UK’s interest in Libyan oil’, Observer, 30 August 2009
Growth of Resource Nationalism in Libya’, Daily Telegraph, 31 January 2011
"Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for al-Qa'ida, the Taliban, LeT, and other terrorist groups, including Hamas, which probably raise millions of dollars annually from Saudi sources, often during Hajj and Ramadan" US embassy cables: Hillary Clinton says Saudi Arabia “a critical source of terrorist funding”’, Guardian, 5 December 2010, WIKI Leaks
"While the GOK has demonstrated a willingness to take action when attacks target Kuwait, it has been less inclined to take action against Kuwait-based financiers and facilitators plotting attacks outside of Kuwait. Al-Qa'ida and other groups continue to exploit Kuwait both as a source of funds and as a key transit point." US embassy cables: Hillary Clinton says Saudi Arabia “a critical source of terrorist funding”’, Guardian, 5 December 2010, WIKI Leaks
"Qatar has adopted a largely passive approach to cooperating with the U.S. against terrorist financing. Qatar's overall level of CT cooperation with the U.S. is considered the worst in the region." a critical source of terrorist funding”’, Guardian, 5 December 2010, WIKI Leaks
Qatar and the UK enjoy a special defence relationship underpinned by our Defence Cooperation Arrangement (DCA) signed in May 2006. The spirit of the DCA is to recognise
"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
"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
"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
Jamie Doward and Philippa Stewart, ‘UK training Saudi forces used to crush Arab spring’, Guardian, 28 May 2011
"Two things: one is, Isis is a direct outgrowth of al-Qaeda in Iraq that grew out of our invasion. Which is an example of unintended consequences" Heather Saul, ‘President Obama claims rise of Isis is “unintended consequence” of George W. Bush’s invasion in Iraq’, 18 March 2015,
"Daesh [i.e., Islamic State] was threatening the possibility of going to Damascus and so forth … We were watching. We saw that Daesh was growing in strength, and we thought Assad was threatened. We thought, however, we could probably manage, that Assad would then negotiate. Instead of negotiating, he got Putin to support him." John Kerry Leaked meeting with Syrian revolutionaries, Min 26:30
"assets to bring pressure on the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which are providing clandestine financial and logistic support to ISIL and other radical Sunni groups in the region." Wiki Leaks, From:john.podesta@gmail.com To: hrod17@clintonemail.com, 2014-09-27
Steve Clemons, ‘“Thank God for the Saudis”: ISIS, Iraq, and the Lessons of Blowback’, 23 June 2014, , Souad Mekhennet, ‘The terrorists fighting us now? We just finished training them’, 18 August 2014,
"While having little real sympathy for ISIS, Erdoğan (Turkish President) has nonetheless tolerated it. In the end, he preferred strengthening ISIS against Damascus than deepening Turkish ties with the Kurds" Graham Fuller (Ex CIA) , ‘Here’s What’s Behind Erdoğan’s New Airstrikes — And Why They Could Backfire 07/28/ 2015
"Saudi Arabia has been a major source of financing to rebel and terrorist organisations since the 1970s." European Parliament, The Involvement of Salafism/Wahhabism in the Support and Supply of Arms to Rebel Groups Around the World , 2013, Page 5
Colin Freeman, ‘Qatar “playing with fire” as it funds Syrian Islamists in quest for global influence’, 27 April 2013
"Shortly after 9/11, the Pentagon adopted a plan to topple the governments of seven countries Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Iran) within five years, according to a memorandum disclosed by US General Wesley Clark." General Wesley Clark, not exact quote
“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 weapons, including automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, ammunition and some antitank weapons, are being funneled mostly across the Turkish border by way of a shadowy network of intermediaries including Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood and paid for by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the officials said." C.I.A. Said to Aid in Steering Arms to Syrian Opposition, Eric Schmitt June 21, 2012
Seymour Hersh, ‘The Red Line and the Rat Line’, 17 April 2014, Nick Hopkins, ‘Syria conflict: UK planned to train and equip 100,000 rebels’,3 July 2014, John Follain and David Leppard, ‘Syria rebels aided by UK intelligence’, 19 August 2012, The Times
"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
But in practice, as Murphy states bluntly: “distinguishing between the FSA and al-Nusra is impossible, because they are virtually the same organization. As early as 2013, FSA commanders were defecting with their entire units to join al-Nusra. There, they still retain the FSA monicker, but it is merely for show, to give the appearance of secularism so they can maintain access to weaponry provided by the CIA and Saudi intelligence services. The reality is that the FSA is little more than a cover for the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra" Alastair Crooke (Ex MI6), ‘How the US Armed-up Syrian Jihadists’, 29 September 2016
"A good 95 percent of them were either working in terrorist organizations or were sympathetic to them,’ a Green Beret associated with the program said" Alastair Crooke (Ex MI6), ‘How the US Armed-up Syrian Jihadists’, 29 September 2016
"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
Alex Spillius, ‘Britain takes the lead in talks over arming Syrian rebels’, 11 December 2012, Richard Spencer, ‘US and Europe in “major airlift of arms to Syrian rebels through Zagreb”’, 8 March 2013
"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,
Tom Whitehead, ‘Old Bailey trial of terror suspect collapses after security services refuse to say who they helped in Syria’, 1 June 2015, Duncan Gardham and John Simpson, ‘Terrorism trial collapses after MI6 role revealed’, 2 June 2015
"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
Ian Sinclair, ‘The West and Syria: the corporate media vs. reality’, 4 March 2016,
"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
Unverified Sources
Due to many references being FO 371 documents, I could not obtain them due to the national archives suspending the service due to the Covid-19 restrictions. Hopefully I will be able to get them eventually...
"One of [the government’s] fundamental traditions is to be a friend of Islam and Muslums [sic] and to defend the Islamic Khalifate even if it was a Khalifate of conquest and necessity as the Turkish Khalifate which England had defended with money and men and influence several times …There is no nation amongst Muslums who is now capable of upholding the Islamic Khalifate except the Arab nation and no country is more fitted for its seat than the Arab countries" An Official Proclamation from the Government of Great Britain to the Natives of Arabia and the Arab Provinces’, 4 December 1914, Public Record Office (PRO), FO141/710/9
"What we want’, it stated, ‘is not a United Arabia, but a weak and disunited Arabia, split up into little principalities so far as possible under our suzerainty – but incapable of coordinated action against us, forming a buffer against the Powers in the West"
"In so far as a modern Panislamic movement is designed to create a common front against Communism it is evident that we should do everything in our power to assist it … I suggest … that a Panislamic movement if properly guided into channels of social reform … can be a boon to the peoples themselves and should offer no threat to the Western world. The fact that such movements in the recent past have had their foundations in xenophobia should not alarm us. If its aims are simply political it will inevitably fail: if it takes the form of a religious revival we must do all we can to direct and help it into the channel of social service; under such conditions it would transcend nationalism and dynastic and other rivalries." Foreign Office (signature illegible) to J. Troutbeck, 14 October 1949, PRO, FO371/75120
"It is so important to prevent the Persians from destroying their main source of revenue … by trying to run it themselves …The need for Persia is not to run the oil industry for hers elf (which she cannot do) but to profit from the technical ability of the West." F. Shepherd to O. Franks, 2 October 1951, PRO, FO371/91464
"were to seize control of Tehran, preferably with the support of the shah but if necessary without it, and to arrest Musaddiq and his ministers." C.M Woodhouse Something Ventured
"The British wanted to keep up their empire and the best way to do that was to divide and rule … The British were playing all sides. They were dealing with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the mullahs in Iran, but at the same time they were dealing with the army and the royal families … They had financial deals with the mullahs. They would find the most important ones and would help them … The British would bring suitcases of cash and give it to these people. For example, people in the bazaar, the wealthy merchants, would each have their own ayatollah that they would finance. And that’s what the British were doing."
"A fundamental factor in the problem is the growing ambition of Nasser, the sense of power he has gained out of his association with the Soviets, his belief that he can emerge as a true leader of the entire Arab world … to check any movement in this direction we wanted to explore the possibilities of building up King Saud as a counterweight to Nasser … [Saud was] the man we had hoped might eventually rival Nasser as an Arab leader … Arabia is a country that contains the Holy Places of the Moslem world, and the Saudi Arabians are considered to be the most deeply religious of all the Arab groups. Consequently the King could be built up, possibly as a spiritual leader. Once this was accomplished, we might begin to urge his right to political leadership" Dwight Eisenhower
"I suggest that our interest is better suited by an authoritarian regime which maintains stability and the Western connection than by an untrammeled democracy which rushes downhill towards communism and chaos. There is also something to be said for an honestly authoritarian regime such as now exists in Jordan, in comparison with the odious hypocrisy perpetrated in Colonel Nasser’s ‘parliamentary elections" C. Johnston to S. Lloyd, 3 July 1957, PRO, FO371/127880
"the main threat to the regime from the outside’, and noted that ‘the one force apart from the armed services, of which Nasser is really afraid, is traditional Islam" P. Unwin, minute, 31 August 1966; H. Fletcher to P. Unwin, 8 September 1966, PRO, FO371/190187
"their negative capacity for plot and assassination makes them a force which all of us (and Nasser) should keep a careful eye on"
D. Speares to J. Richmond, 12 January 1967, PRO, FO371/190189
"dominated by a sect of Islam of a farouche and intolerant Puritanism, but ruled by a royal family whose extravagance and dissipation are only rivaled by its numbers. It has no modern code of laws and its criminal justice is of mediaeval barbarity. There is not even a pretence of democratic institutions and though slavery has been abolished slaves are still to be found. Corruption is widespread. The country sits on top of some of the richest oil resources in the world and enjoys a vast unearned income which has dissipated in pleasure, palaces and Cadillacs." C. Crowe to Earl Home, 30 June 1963, PRO, FO371/168869
In early October 1970, Britain flew out two RAF Hercules plane-loads of arms specially requested by Jordan, including 25-pounder shells and 76mm ammunition; these helped replenish Jordan’s Centurion tanks fighting the Syrians
"Afghanistan is strategically located and the Afghan government often have interesting sidelights on the affairs of their neighbours" D. Slater, minute, 2 February 1973, PRO, FCO37/1215
"The Brits were eventually able to buy things that we couldn’t because it infringed on murder, assassination and indiscriminate bombings. They could issue guns with silencers. We couldn’t do that because a silencer immediately implied assassination – and heaven forbid car bombs! No way I could even suggest it, but I could say to the Brits, ‘Fadlallah in Beirut was really effective last week. They had a car bomb that killed three hundred people.’ I gave MI6 stuff in good faith. What they did with it was always their business." Gust Avrakotos
"A particularly strong cause of disillusionment amongst Muslims … is a perceived ‘double standard’ in the foreign policy of Western governments (and often those of Muslim governments), in particular Britain and the US … This perception seems to have become more acute post 9/11. The perception is that passive ‘oppression’, as demonstrated in British foreign policy, e.g. non-action on Kashmir and Chechnya, has given way to ‘active oppression’ – the War on Terror, and in Iraq and Afghanistan are all seen by a section of British Muslims as having been acts against Islam" Home Office and Foreign Office, ‘Young Muslims and Extremism’, April 2004, pp. 4–5, leaked on Times online website
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