There is a highly sensible article in today’s Times by Patrick Mercer MP about the possible death of Rashid Rauf (whose family are denying his demise).
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article5233272.ece
New Labour remains so bent on its simple minded pursuit of a foreign policy based on brute violence, that questions of legality are simply ignored. The Conservatives – in this case Mr Mercer – must again be congratulated for resisting simple populism and standing up for the fabric of legality that must underpin freedom.
To put it bluntly, if Rashid Rauf was indeed killed by US action in Pakistan. then he was murdered. He was killed on no legal authority. US attacks into Pakistan and Syria (which Obama supports) have no legal basis. Rauf was a UK citizen. We do not have the death penalty. Does New Labour accept as a matter of policy that the US can simply murder British citizens abroad at will? The government must be pressed hard on this question.
If Rauf has been killed, the question arises as to why. He was the primary source for information on the famous so-called liquid bomb plot to blow up airlines, which sparked the greatest over-reaction of government measures in the entire debacle of the War on Terror. Ultimately 80% of those arrested in connection with the “Liquid bomb plot” were released without charge, and the jury found that, while a small group did have terrorist intentions, there was no organised plan or airline bomb plot.
That is extraordinary, but even more extraordinary is that the prime informant, the alleged major al-Qaida terrorist, Rashid Rauf, “escaped” from the custody of the Pakistani intelligence services and MI6, apparently by simply walking out of his cell.
Let us add to this the further strangenesss that Rauf had originally left the UK after a warrant was issued for his arrest as a suspect in the murder of his uncle, a death with no apparent political or terrorist motive. Yet the UK authorities failed to request his extradition from Pakistan when he was in custody there, even though they were involved in his interrogation, and he was still wanted for murder in the UK.
So if Rauf was murdered (and his family are denying his death) was it because he was a terror suspect, or because the intelligence agencies were covering their tracks? Was the reason that the UK government did not want to extradite him to testify in the UK, the same reason he had to be silenced by his murder?
Firstly welcome back Craig – you've really been missed.
I read about this in The Independent on Monday and they report there is also a senior Labout MP on the case:
Andrew Dismore (chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights). He was quoted as saying "We can investigate whether British security services had involvement in providing intelligence concerning British nationals in Pakistan." This is yet another disgrace which will further tarnish our reputation as a nation.
Well said Craig.
Rauf case stinks to high heavens, and it is the case of SIS covering their tracks, whilst grumbling about the possible demise of one of their assets.
Enter the Mercer whose background in SIS has been blown, yet he tarries on "informing" us all, whilst denying any connections to the boys.
Fact that airline plot was in fact yet another cynical use of fear to bulldoze the passenger rights out of the way, by scaring the dickens out of everyone of them, in a bid to reduce the luggage size and weight, which was already in law from the June prior to the "discovery" of the plot (although unenforcible up until this point), as an attempt in making oodles of money from a terrible service at the expense to the users and benefit of the airport shareholders. This also helping Blair to introduce even more regulations for the masses, whilst consolidating his greater control over the same masses.
Blair formula of; a fear a day keeps the punters at bay, has proved to be far too successful, that has been forestalling any changes in the recipe.
Trouble is, the same bunch of mad as a hatter operatives, dreaming up the scenarios that they have, to counter the real problems they faced, have in fact singularly failed to understand the roots of the current crisis, that is knocking the stuffing out of any and all hopes of a prosperous present, and future.
It's nice to know you're OK. I thought that you had been bumped off, after writing the balding butt plug piece with some goon holding a gun to your head.
I was struck by the simplicity of your politics, as displayed in your last few blog entries. You assume that the New Labour Nabobs never even actually read Marx, but only pretended to ; you extol John Stuart Mill ; but then you rediscover the value of Marxism, via E.P. Thompson.
I share the view of William Blum, the historian of US covert action. Here is the general conclusion Blum draws, somewhere in his book, Killing Hope:
" … anti-communist liberal government was an impossible ideal; for any movement seeking genuine democracy and social reform would invariably attract individuals whom the US would invariably categorize as "communist"; the US would then feel driven to discredit, subvert and eventually overturn the movement. A Catch 22."