Owen Bowcott, Ireland correspondent
Friday July 27, 2007
The Guardian
The Archbishop of Dublin, John Neill, has accused the Irish government of "moral compromise" in allowing hundreds of thousands of US troops to use Shannon airport while on transit flights to Iraq.
The comments by the archbishop, the most senior Church of Ireland cleric in the republic, follows debates during the election over the use of the Limerick airport.
The issue was a key negotiating demand of the Green party in coalition negotiations with Fianna Fáil over forming a new government last month. But the party failed to get the US troop flight banned.
Archbishop Neill told Dublin's Hot Press magazine: "I feel very strongly that economic links to America have made us very blind to the moral issues ... I think as a nation there has not been sufficient questioning of these [alleged CIA] rendition flights and the link of Ireland with the war in Iraq."
The Fianna Fáil-led government in Dublin has shown nervousness about Shannon, summoning the US ambassador when airport cleaners found a manacled US prisoner - a soldier on disciplinary charges - aboard a hired troop transporter. US authorities had failed to notify the Irish government of his presence.
The Irish government has defended cooperation with the US on the grounds that troops travelling to Iraq and Afghanistan are operating under UN mandate.
vendredi 27 juillet 2007
EXTREMIST CHRISTIAN ZIONISTS IN THE U.S. (VIDEO)
Rapture Ready: The Unauthorized Christians United for Israel Tour
July 26, 2007
July 26, 2007
Max Blumenthal
On July 16, I attended Christians United for Israel's annual Washington-Israel Summit. Founded by San Antonio-based megachurch pastor John Hagee, CUFI has added the grassroots muscle of the Christian right to the already potent Israel lobby. Hagee and his minions have forged close ties with the Bush White House and members of Congress from Sen. Joseph Lieberman to Sen. John McCain. In its call for a unilateral military attack on Iran and the expansion of Israeli territory, CUFI has found unwavering encouragement from traditional pro-Israel groups like AIPAC and elements of the Israeli government.
But CUFI has an ulterior agenda: its support for Israel derives from the belief of Hagee and his flock that Jesus will return to Jerusalem after the battle of Armageddon and cleanse the earth of evil. In the end, all the non-believers - Jews, Muslims, Hindus, mainline Christians, etc. - must convert or suffer the torture of eternal damnation.
Over a dozen CUFI members eagerly revealed to me their excitement at the prospect of Armageddon occurring tomorrow. Among the rapture ready was Republican Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. None of this seemed to matter to Lieberman, who delivered a long sermon hailing Hagee as nothing less than a modern-day Moses. Lieberman went on to describe Hagee's flock as "even greater than the multitude Moses commanded."
Throughout CUFI's Israel Summit, videographer Thomas Shomaker and I were hounded by PR agents seeking to prevent us from interviewing attendees about the End Times. The conference, we were told, was about "one message" - evangelical Christians supporting Israel.
We were instructed to only interview CUFI leaders capable of sticking to the talking point that their support for Israel has, as Hagee declared, "nothing to do with the End Times." But I was forbidden from asking Hagee about statements he made in his book, "Jerusalem Countdown," that appeared to blame Jews for their own persecution. After doing just that during a press conference, I was removed from the conference by off-duty DC cops summoned by members of Hagee's family.
I have covered the Christian right intensely for over four years. During this time, I attended dozens of Christian right conferences, regularly monitored movement publications and radio shows, and interviewed scores of its key leaders. I have never witnessed any spectacle as politically extreme, outrageous, or bizarre as the one Christians United for Israel produced last week in Washington. See for yourself.
To watch video click on :
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/max-blumenthal/rapture-ready-the-unauth_b_57826.html
Resistance on the rise by Nermeen Al-Mufti
Over 5,000 attacks are being staged monthly on US forces as the Bush "surge" continues to try to forcibly pacify Iraq, writes Nermeen Al-Mufti
In a rare moment of jubilation, thousands of Iraqis took to the streets in various parts of the country, waving Iraqi flags and firing in the air, to celebrate the win of their national team in the Asian Cup games. But even that moment turned sour when stray bullets killed two bystanders in Baghdad.
Pentagon figures say that resistance attacks in June were among the highest since May 2003. A total of 5,335 attacks were mounted against the occupation forces and the Iraqi security forces in June, a figure that is 2.5 per cent lower than the record of 5,472 seen in October 2006.
The Bush administration deployed 28,000 additional troops last month as part of its controversial plan to "stabilise" the country. Attacks against Iraqi civilians dropped by 18 per cent last month, from 932 in May to 763 in June. Attacks on coalition forces rose by seven per cent, from 3,423 to 3,671, during the same period.
The (Sunni) Accordance Front and the (Shia) Sadr Group ended their boycott of the parliament. The Sadr Group resumed its attendance of parliamentary sessions after five weeks of boycott, thanks to the intervention of parliamentary mediators. The Accordance Front (AF) said that it ended its boycott in response to pleas from other parliamentary groups and from President Jalal Talabani. The AF boycott was in protest against the suspension of speaker Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani, who is one of its members.
A statement released by the office of Tareq Al-Hashemi, vice president and AF member, says that Mashhadani was reinstated in his position as parliamentary speaker. AF leader Adnan Al-Duleimi said that his group was urging its ministers to resume attending cabinet meetings.
AF ministers boycotted cabinet sessions after an arrest warrant was served on Culture Minister Asaad Al-Hashimi on 28 June. In statements to the media, Al-Duleimi said that talks with the prime minister concerning the culture minister were "positive", and that a mutually satisfactory solution was expected.
Meanwhile, parliament postponed its summer recess, but it has no plans to discuss thorny issues for the moment. The oil and de-Baathification laws will be debated after the recess, now scheduled for August. Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki has urged the cabinet to cancel, or at least shorten, the recess so as to "help the government resolve outstanding issues", according to a statement from his office.
President Bush and his administration are still pushing for a speedy promulgation of the controversial oil law. Former oil minister Essam Shalabi denounced the oil law as an attempt to partition Iraq. The Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS) issued an edict prohibiting the implementation of that law. The edict, claimed AMS spokesman, prompted the Americans to raid Um Al-Qura Mosque, the AMS headquarters in Baghdad, early this week. US troops arrested 18 AMS officials and wrecked AMS offices during the raid.
The US administration says that violence is likely to escalate in August. But Operation Imposing Law in Baghdad and Operation Arrowhead Ripper in Diali, 75 kilometres northeast of Baghdad, are still in full swing. US statements speak of the arrest and death of dozens of "terrorists". Resistance forces claim in Internet statements that they are inflicting significant losses on occupation forces. Baquba inhabitants say that relative calm has been restored in their city, but they complain of food and fuel shortages.
In separate news, US helicopters strafed Al-Huseiniya in north Baghdad, believed to be a stronghold of the Mahdi army, killing 18 civilians and wounding dozens. Nassar Al-Rubiei, spokesman for the Sadr Group, called on parliament to denounce the US shelling. US forces searched Al-Adhamiyah neighbourhood of Baghdad following an attack on a US patrol. Al-Adhamiyah has for the past few months been surrounded by a five-metre high cement barrier.
In Kirkuk, 100 civilians were killed in a suicide attack mounted by a truck laden with explosives. The attack comes one week after the bombings in Amirli, considered to be the worst since April 2003. US Ambassador Ryan Crocker visited Kirkuk for talks with local officials following the attack. Once the ambassador left, the northern Kurdish administration announced plans to deploy 6,000 peshmerga, or Kurdish fighters, around vital institutions to pre-empt acts of "terror".
Oil-rich Kirkuk is a multi-ethnic city that has a strong Turkomen presence, but Kurdish political forces have been trying to incorporate it into their region. Their decision to deploy peshmerga in Kirkuk angered local Arab and Turkomen communities.
Aydin Aksu, a key figure in the Iraqi Turkomen Front, told Al-Ahram Weekly that, "the presence of 6,000 peshmerga would increase tension and deepen the rift in this town. It would generate resentment among other communities in the city, for it is unconscionable for one community to have all the power. The protection of vital institutions is just an excuse."
News reports have spoken of a meeting of the Baath Party (Ezzat Al-Duri wing) and other Iraqi resistance factions to form a united front. A source close to resistance factions told the Weekly that Ansar Al-Sunna, Iraq Hamas and the Ishrin Brigades have formed a front but "the Baath was not part of that front."
The second round of Iranian-US talks is expected to be held soon in Baghdad. Janan Ali, a specialist in domestic Iraqi affairs, says that the talks underline the importance of the Iranian role in Iraq. "No stability in Iraq is possible unless Iran and the US reach agreement," she said.
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/855/re102.htm
In a rare moment of jubilation, thousands of Iraqis took to the streets in various parts of the country, waving Iraqi flags and firing in the air, to celebrate the win of their national team in the Asian Cup games. But even that moment turned sour when stray bullets killed two bystanders in Baghdad.
Pentagon figures say that resistance attacks in June were among the highest since May 2003. A total of 5,335 attacks were mounted against the occupation forces and the Iraqi security forces in June, a figure that is 2.5 per cent lower than the record of 5,472 seen in October 2006.
The Bush administration deployed 28,000 additional troops last month as part of its controversial plan to "stabilise" the country. Attacks against Iraqi civilians dropped by 18 per cent last month, from 932 in May to 763 in June. Attacks on coalition forces rose by seven per cent, from 3,423 to 3,671, during the same period.
The (Sunni) Accordance Front and the (Shia) Sadr Group ended their boycott of the parliament. The Sadr Group resumed its attendance of parliamentary sessions after five weeks of boycott, thanks to the intervention of parliamentary mediators. The Accordance Front (AF) said that it ended its boycott in response to pleas from other parliamentary groups and from President Jalal Talabani. The AF boycott was in protest against the suspension of speaker Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani, who is one of its members.
A statement released by the office of Tareq Al-Hashemi, vice president and AF member, says that Mashhadani was reinstated in his position as parliamentary speaker. AF leader Adnan Al-Duleimi said that his group was urging its ministers to resume attending cabinet meetings.
AF ministers boycotted cabinet sessions after an arrest warrant was served on Culture Minister Asaad Al-Hashimi on 28 June. In statements to the media, Al-Duleimi said that talks with the prime minister concerning the culture minister were "positive", and that a mutually satisfactory solution was expected.
Meanwhile, parliament postponed its summer recess, but it has no plans to discuss thorny issues for the moment. The oil and de-Baathification laws will be debated after the recess, now scheduled for August. Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki has urged the cabinet to cancel, or at least shorten, the recess so as to "help the government resolve outstanding issues", according to a statement from his office.
President Bush and his administration are still pushing for a speedy promulgation of the controversial oil law. Former oil minister Essam Shalabi denounced the oil law as an attempt to partition Iraq. The Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS) issued an edict prohibiting the implementation of that law. The edict, claimed AMS spokesman, prompted the Americans to raid Um Al-Qura Mosque, the AMS headquarters in Baghdad, early this week. US troops arrested 18 AMS officials and wrecked AMS offices during the raid.
The US administration says that violence is likely to escalate in August. But Operation Imposing Law in Baghdad and Operation Arrowhead Ripper in Diali, 75 kilometres northeast of Baghdad, are still in full swing. US statements speak of the arrest and death of dozens of "terrorists". Resistance forces claim in Internet statements that they are inflicting significant losses on occupation forces. Baquba inhabitants say that relative calm has been restored in their city, but they complain of food and fuel shortages.
In separate news, US helicopters strafed Al-Huseiniya in north Baghdad, believed to be a stronghold of the Mahdi army, killing 18 civilians and wounding dozens. Nassar Al-Rubiei, spokesman for the Sadr Group, called on parliament to denounce the US shelling. US forces searched Al-Adhamiyah neighbourhood of Baghdad following an attack on a US patrol. Al-Adhamiyah has for the past few months been surrounded by a five-metre high cement barrier.
In Kirkuk, 100 civilians were killed in a suicide attack mounted by a truck laden with explosives. The attack comes one week after the bombings in Amirli, considered to be the worst since April 2003. US Ambassador Ryan Crocker visited Kirkuk for talks with local officials following the attack. Once the ambassador left, the northern Kurdish administration announced plans to deploy 6,000 peshmerga, or Kurdish fighters, around vital institutions to pre-empt acts of "terror".
Oil-rich Kirkuk is a multi-ethnic city that has a strong Turkomen presence, but Kurdish political forces have been trying to incorporate it into their region. Their decision to deploy peshmerga in Kirkuk angered local Arab and Turkomen communities.
Aydin Aksu, a key figure in the Iraqi Turkomen Front, told Al-Ahram Weekly that, "the presence of 6,000 peshmerga would increase tension and deepen the rift in this town. It would generate resentment among other communities in the city, for it is unconscionable for one community to have all the power. The protection of vital institutions is just an excuse."
News reports have spoken of a meeting of the Baath Party (Ezzat Al-Duri wing) and other Iraqi resistance factions to form a united front. A source close to resistance factions told the Weekly that Ansar Al-Sunna, Iraq Hamas and the Ishrin Brigades have formed a front but "the Baath was not part of that front."
The second round of Iranian-US talks is expected to be held soon in Baghdad. Janan Ali, a specialist in domestic Iraqi affairs, says that the talks underline the importance of the Iranian role in Iraq. "No stability in Iraq is possible unless Iran and the US reach agreement," she said.
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/855/re102.htm
jeudi 26 juillet 2007
IRAQ
click to enlarge
War and Occupation in Iraq
Report prepared by Global Policy Forum
http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/occupation/report/full.pdf
War and Occupation in Iraq
Report prepared by Global Policy Forum
http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/occupation/report/full.pdf
Venture capitalists with guns: private contractors in Iraq
Susie Curtiss, Party for Socialism and Liberation
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Mercenaries outnumber U.S. troops
The number of private contractors in Iraq outnumbers the number of U.S. military troops by at least 20,000.There are more than 180,000 civilians now working in Iraq under U.S. contracts, according to U.S. State and DefenseDepartment figures. After the recent "surge," U.S. troops number 160,000. (Los Angeles Times, July 4)
Corporations are earning tens of millions of dollars by enforcing the brutal U.S. occupation of Iraq. Peter Singer of the right-wing Brookings Institute commented: "This is not the coalition of the willing. It’s the coalition of the billing."
No single government agency keeps track of the number or location of contractors. In 2006, the U.S. Central Command conducted a census to count the number of contractors in Iraq. It counted approximately 130,000. The total was a gross underestimate. The census did not include private contactors working for the U.S. Agency for International Development or the State Department.
In June 2007, USAID—a CIA front—reported that 53,000 Iraqis and several hundred Americans were contracted to do jobs like collect garbage and "teach democracy." Private security contractors hired to protect government officials and buildings also were not counted in the survey. According to State Department officials, of the 5,000 people "affiliated with the U.S. Embassy in Iraq," only 300 are government employees. The rest are contractors and mercenaries. They are building and protecting the largest embassy in the world.
KBR, the Houston-based oil services company that was once a subsidiary of Halliburton, holds the single largest contract in Iraq. Its mission is to "provide logistics support to troops." Nearly 14,000 Americans work for KBR in Iraq.The most controversial contractors work for private security companies, like Blackwater USA, Triple Canopy, DynCorp and Erinys. They guard "sensitive" sites and provide protection to U.S. and Iraqi puppet government officials and businessmen.
Blackwater alone has received $1 billion in contracts.Blackwater has 2,300 employees deployed in nine countries. Its largest contract is to provide security to U.S. diplomats and facilities in Iraq.The company’s mission began in 2003 when it received a $21 million no-bid contract to protect Iraq proconsul Paul Bremer. Heavily armed Blackwater goons have also protected Bremer’s successors, John Negroponte and Zalmay Khalizad, along with over 90 Congressional delegations.
'Make profits, hide the truth’
The shift to a private mercenary army is part of a massive Pentagon policy overhaul initiated by former Defense Department head, Donald Rumsfeld. It entails increasing the use of private contractors in every aspect of war, including combat. Speaking on behalf of the well-oiled military-industrial complex, Rumsfeld opined, "We must promote a more entrepreneurial approach, one that encourages people to be proactive, not reactive, and to behave less like bureaucrats and more like venture capitalists." (Foreign Affairs, May/June 2002).
Private contractors allow the Bush administration to deploy private forces, while hiding from the public the actual number of combat injuries and deaths and the crimes committed by these forces.
Contractors have been involved in battle against the Iraqi resistance. Yet, they are not subject to military law.
Militarism and military spending are central features of U.S. imperialism.
Between 2001 and 2008, the U.S. government will have spent $3.2 trillion dollars on military goods and services. All of this goes to private corporations, much of it to private contractors in Iraq. Unending military buildup is a crucial part of Washington’s drive to achieve global hegemony. Private contractors are new foot soldiers in the imperialists’ attempts to smash resistance to their anti-worker aims.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Mercenaries outnumber U.S. troops
The number of private contractors in Iraq outnumbers the number of U.S. military troops by at least 20,000.There are more than 180,000 civilians now working in Iraq under U.S. contracts, according to U.S. State and DefenseDepartment figures. After the recent "surge," U.S. troops number 160,000. (Los Angeles Times, July 4)
Corporations are earning tens of millions of dollars by enforcing the brutal U.S. occupation of Iraq. Peter Singer of the right-wing Brookings Institute commented: "This is not the coalition of the willing. It’s the coalition of the billing."
No single government agency keeps track of the number or location of contractors. In 2006, the U.S. Central Command conducted a census to count the number of contractors in Iraq. It counted approximately 130,000. The total was a gross underestimate. The census did not include private contactors working for the U.S. Agency for International Development or the State Department.
In June 2007, USAID—a CIA front—reported that 53,000 Iraqis and several hundred Americans were contracted to do jobs like collect garbage and "teach democracy." Private security contractors hired to protect government officials and buildings also were not counted in the survey. According to State Department officials, of the 5,000 people "affiliated with the U.S. Embassy in Iraq," only 300 are government employees. The rest are contractors and mercenaries. They are building and protecting the largest embassy in the world.
KBR, the Houston-based oil services company that was once a subsidiary of Halliburton, holds the single largest contract in Iraq. Its mission is to "provide logistics support to troops." Nearly 14,000 Americans work for KBR in Iraq.The most controversial contractors work for private security companies, like Blackwater USA, Triple Canopy, DynCorp and Erinys. They guard "sensitive" sites and provide protection to U.S. and Iraqi puppet government officials and businessmen.
Blackwater alone has received $1 billion in contracts.Blackwater has 2,300 employees deployed in nine countries. Its largest contract is to provide security to U.S. diplomats and facilities in Iraq.The company’s mission began in 2003 when it received a $21 million no-bid contract to protect Iraq proconsul Paul Bremer. Heavily armed Blackwater goons have also protected Bremer’s successors, John Negroponte and Zalmay Khalizad, along with over 90 Congressional delegations.
'Make profits, hide the truth’
The shift to a private mercenary army is part of a massive Pentagon policy overhaul initiated by former Defense Department head, Donald Rumsfeld. It entails increasing the use of private contractors in every aspect of war, including combat. Speaking on behalf of the well-oiled military-industrial complex, Rumsfeld opined, "We must promote a more entrepreneurial approach, one that encourages people to be proactive, not reactive, and to behave less like bureaucrats and more like venture capitalists." (Foreign Affairs, May/June 2002).
Private contractors allow the Bush administration to deploy private forces, while hiding from the public the actual number of combat injuries and deaths and the crimes committed by these forces.
Contractors have been involved in battle against the Iraqi resistance. Yet, they are not subject to military law.
Militarism and military spending are central features of U.S. imperialism.
Between 2001 and 2008, the U.S. government will have spent $3.2 trillion dollars on military goods and services. All of this goes to private corporations, much of it to private contractors in Iraq. Unending military buildup is a crucial part of Washington’s drive to achieve global hegemony. Private contractors are new foot soldiers in the imperialists’ attempts to smash resistance to their anti-worker aims.
mercredi 25 juillet 2007
U.S. Soldiers continue to kill innocent, unarmed civilians in Iraq
Um Raed has received several poignant e-mails from Iraq, read what the Americans are doing to the Iraqi people.
Some stupid brainwashed people in the west still believe that Americans are not capable of killing innocent Iraqi civilians, they tell me: "it is Iraqis killing each other, you know, those sunnis and shiites ..."
This is what Um Raed writes:
http://afamilyinbaghdad.blogspot.com/
Emails I have received from Iraq .....
Peace be upon you…
These are samples of the Iraqi's suffering in their own country, recorded here for history, so we can remember what the occupation did to us.
These are live testimonies from inside Iraq, now.............
***************************************
Email No. 1 ,from Baghdad:
Good morning, my dear lady:
At last I managed to get out of the house. In the last four days there were daily clashes in Al-Adamiyah, causing most secondary streets to close down, as for the main streets, they are almost always closed, and most people who work outside get to their houses around 5 pm, through one outlet (in and out of Al-Adamiyah) subjected to a slow search procedure.
Yesterday they targeted and hit a humvee vehicle on the main street, around 11 am, so the Americans put a post at the street's end and started shooting every passer by in our smaller streets. They hit five pedestrians, who all died, including an old man who was out shopping and a young boy on a bicycle. They kept bleeding till death under the watchful eyes of people who gathered around the corner, and they shot at everyone who tried to get to them. We opened the doors of our houses and brought in the people who couldn't get to their homes, until the afternoon. Things remained like this until around 6.30 pm, then the shooting resumed, they hit two more people and one of them died. Then the ambulance arrived, and they shot at it too.
After about half an hour, they permitted the ambulance and the morgue car to enter.
Today Al-Adamiyah as a whole is closed to the outside, and traffic through "Anter Square" is not allowed, under orders of direct shooting, (as the soldiers who stood guard there said). So, everybody went back home, and God knows how long it will last this time.
I take God as my aid, for there is no power, no might, and no hope, but by Him.
Some stupid brainwashed people in the west still believe that Americans are not capable of killing innocent Iraqi civilians, they tell me: "it is Iraqis killing each other, you know, those sunnis and shiites ..."
This is what Um Raed writes:
http://afamilyinbaghdad.blogspot.com/
Emails I have received from Iraq .....
Peace be upon you…
These are samples of the Iraqi's suffering in their own country, recorded here for history, so we can remember what the occupation did to us.
These are live testimonies from inside Iraq, now.............
***************************************
Email No. 1 ,from Baghdad:
Good morning, my dear lady:
At last I managed to get out of the house. In the last four days there were daily clashes in Al-Adamiyah, causing most secondary streets to close down, as for the main streets, they are almost always closed, and most people who work outside get to their houses around 5 pm, through one outlet (in and out of Al-Adamiyah) subjected to a slow search procedure.
Yesterday they targeted and hit a humvee vehicle on the main street, around 11 am, so the Americans put a post at the street's end and started shooting every passer by in our smaller streets. They hit five pedestrians, who all died, including an old man who was out shopping and a young boy on a bicycle. They kept bleeding till death under the watchful eyes of people who gathered around the corner, and they shot at everyone who tried to get to them. We opened the doors of our houses and brought in the people who couldn't get to their homes, until the afternoon. Things remained like this until around 6.30 pm, then the shooting resumed, they hit two more people and one of them died. Then the ambulance arrived, and they shot at it too.
After about half an hour, they permitted the ambulance and the morgue car to enter.
Today Al-Adamiyah as a whole is closed to the outside, and traffic through "Anter Square" is not allowed, under orders of direct shooting, (as the soldiers who stood guard there said). So, everybody went back home, and God knows how long it will last this time.
I take God as my aid, for there is no power, no might, and no hope, but by Him.
mardi 24 juillet 2007
Shameful vendetta against MP George GALLOWAY
George Galloway in Washington giving the US Committee a resounding ticking off for going to war on a pack of liesLinda S. Heard, Special to Gulf News
July 23, 2007
They're at it again. The British anti-war MP George Galloway is once again being targeted by the establishment on both sides of the pond. Both the British Parliament's watchdog and the US Justice Department are behaving like dogs salivating over the same juicy bone labelled "Get Galloway". You've got to feel sorry for the man. How many times is he going to be investigated for the same "crime" when until now there's not a shred of proof against him?
How many more times will the right-wing press seek to libel him and subsequently have to shell out huge sums in damages? How many more fake or unsubstantiated documents are going to turn up? Galloway faces an 18-day suspension from the House of Commons following his vigorous defence when faced with a report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.
The report suggests that Galloway had failed to investigate the source of funds donated by a Jordanian businessman to his Mariam Appeal anti-Iraq sanctions charity and alleges that some money was derived from Saddam Hussain's dodgy oil-for-food dealings. Galloway admits this may be true since his wealthy Jordanian friend conducted regular business with Saddam's Iraq but says he has no knowledge as to whether monies paid to his charity were originally derived from Iraqi oil sales. He says he was grateful for all donations and it was no business of his to question donors whether or not the cash was kosher.
Moreover, the Charity Commissioners have already delved into the matter and found that no money was ever diverted into Galloway's personal accounts.
When Galloway was accused by a Senate Sub-Committee of receiving under the table Iraqi oil allocations, he volunteered to fly to Washington for the purposes of clearing his name. It transpired that the committee had nothing of substance. Galloway trashed their flimsy "evidence" and gave the US a resounding ticking off for going to war on a pack of lies.
Let's be realistic. They're not after him because they think oil for food money took a circuitous route into Galloway's appeal. If that were the case they would have to go after every charity on earth. Who knows how many murderers, thieves, rapists and mafia bosses have salvaged their consciences by giving to Oxfam? Who can assure us that the Red Cross or the Red Crescent has never received a cent from nasty dictators or unscrupulous oligarchs?
If every recipient of charity monies were duty bound to check on their source there would be a lot more hungry and homeless people in the world. First of all most of the money would go on administration costs and secondly privacy-conscious donors would head for the hills rather than have their bank accounts scrutinised.
Galloway says he should be honoured not hounded. And he's absolutely right.
The Mariam Appeal was set-up to get treatment for a little Iraqi girl suffering from cancer and to fight for the end of US-led sanctions against Iraq, responsible for the deaths of millions of Iraqi children. Moreover, the colourful MP was the first to speak up loudly against the invasion of Iraq and was booted out of the Labour Party for calling George W. Bush and Tony Blair "wolves" while urging British troops not to obey illegal orders.
As Galloway says himself, he was right and they were wrong.
If they had listened to Galloway there would have been no limbless victims of cluster bombs or babies born with deformities due to depleted uranium tank shells. If they had listened to Galloway, Iraqis would still be Iraqis not Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds. There would be no civil war. There would be no millions of displaced persons. There would be no stateless Palestinian refugees from Iraq subsisting behind barbed wire near the Jordanian border. And there would be no Turkish threats to invade the north and no Sunni concerns about a growing so-called Shiite crescent.
Skewed intelligence
Let's talk guilt. Ask yourself just who are the guilty ones? Those people who skewed intelligence and rapped up the fear factor in order to persuade their publics to accept their ruthless, self-interested agendas or Galloway who cared enough about Iraqi children to risk his career; perhaps even his life?
"I have the most powerful enemies of all," he recently declared. No one could argue with that.
It's shameful that the British establishment saw fit to gloss over the whitewashing of the strange death of Dr David Kelly, another man whose words didn't support their warmongering fabrications. And now it has seen fit to exonerate all those in the cash for honours scandal because of lack of evidence, they say, although just a few weeks ago the police were confident someone would be charged. But when it comes to their nemesis Galloway it's a different story.
There may be no meat on the bone of their allegations but they're determined to chew on it until it breaks, while the Senate Committee hopes to be able to gloat over a shard.
If anyone should be investigated it should be Blair for manipulating and hyping intelligence so as to take his country to war without a UN mandate, against the wishes of many of his cabinet colleagues (as we recently learned) and 80 per cent of his people.
You're a better man than the lot of them Galloway. Keep fighting! Keep safe and God bless you!
Linda S. Heard is a specialist writer on Middle East affairs. She can be contacted at mailto:lheard@gulfnews.com%3C/i%3E.
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