UK Moves to Block US Senate Report to Protect Blair, Straw and Dearlove 461

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From a British diplomatic source I learn that Britain has lobbied the United States against the publication of the Senate Intelligence Committee report on torture and extraordinary rendition.  The lobbying has been carried out “at all levels” – White House, State Department and CIA.  The British have argued that at the very least the report must be emasculated before publication.

The British argument is that in a number of court cases including the Belhadj case, the British government has successfully blocked legal action by victims on the grounds that this would weaken the US/UK intelligence relationship and thus vitally damage national security, by revealing facts the American intelligence service wish hidden.  [We will leave aside for the moment the utter shame of our servile groveling judges accepting such an argument].  The British Government are now pointing out to the Americans that this argument could be fatally weakened if major detail of the full horror and scope of torture and extraordinary rendition is revealed by the Senate Intelligence Committee.  The argument runs that this could in turn lead to further revelations in the courts and block the major defence against prosecutions of Blair, Straw and Dearlove, among others, potentially unleashing a transatlantic wave of judicial activism.

The unabashed collusion of two torturing security states in concealing the truth of their despicable acts – including complicity in the torture of women and minors – and blocking criminal prosecution of the guilty is a sign of how low public ethics have sunk.  Fortunately there are still a few people in the British Foreign Office disgusted enough to leak it.

 

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461 thoughts on “UK Moves to Block US Senate Report to Protect Blair, Straw and Dearlove”

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  • Mary

    Hague was warning British nationals not to go to Syria because it is dangerous! He was the one advocating war on Syria and sending in British nationals to put their boots on the ground.

    This followed a rant against Assad by the father of the teenager from Brighton who has been killed. His son is a martyr. More of that nonsense.

    British Teen Killed In Syria ‘No Danger’ To UK
    The family of Abdullah Deghayes, who died fighting alongside his brother in Syria, say the 18-year-old is a martyr.
    http://news.sky.com/story/1244929/british-teen-killed-in-syria-no-danger-to-uk

  • fred

    Sorry, that link doesn’t link to Forbs. Don’t know why it came top of a google search for “Putin wealth Forbs”.

  • Herbie

    “BLiar is in Spain”

    Local Twitter user says he’s staying at José María Aznar’s place in Benahavis:

    http://www.mettaestates.com/news/uncategorized/tony-blair-in-benahavis-marbella/

    Aznar, his father and grandfather were supporters of Franco’s fascists:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Mar%C3%ADa_Aznar

    Funny the way these fascists are on the rise all over Europe, with the blessing, connivance, encouragement and support of Western leaders.

    What can it all mean.

    Merkel needs to get her finger out and pivot away from the Atlanticists, and towards Eurasia, before they destroy the place. In which case of course, that choice will no longer be available.

    Here Putin outlines the choices, in front of an audience of neocons and non-alligned:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VokyM3YFo3Q

    For those who don’t like complicated political stuff, you can catch glimpses of his $70 billion dollar, solid gold, diamond encrusted, Patek Phillipe.

  • Sofia Kibo Noh

    Is there anyone in the US executive who can walk down thr street and chew gum at the same time.?

    How many times do they have to try to fix countries by stiring conflicts, arming bloodthirsty fanatics then blowing up lots of stuff before they come to see that it doesn’t work?

    Let’s fix Iraq. Oops we broke it!

    Afghanistan needs our help. Oh no. That one broke too!

    We’ll fix Libya now. Shit! It broke again!

    We’ll fix Syria now. Oh. Fancy that! I wonder why it’s broken?

    Ah here’s Ukraine. Looks like it needs fixing…

  • mark golding

    Just to get a flavor of Axelrod Mary @ 18 Apr, 2014 – 11:26 am and interpret that pretentious sideways grin, he wrote this last September:

    After Iraq, folks are justifiably weary and leery. But this isn’t Iraq. In plain sight, Assad’s committed mass murder with hideous weapons. No response would be a green light to Assad, Iran, Hezbollah and others that the U.S. and world will look the other way. Grave mistake. A targeted strike on their delivery systems is right, just and proportionate. Failure to act would be another tragic legacy of Iraq war.

    Axelrod weaves the oratory with overwhelming notes of hope and change, with soaring flights of rhetoric that are a continuum without the specifics of intention.

    Lurking within his recent NuLab post is a game plan, a contrivance to strengthen Anglo-American relations at community level, improve British grass-roots relations with Israel and prepare for a harsh relentless confrontation with Russia.

    Interestingly DA’s mother, Mrs Axelrod’s literary skills where used to prepare Izzy Stones’ account of travelling with the Haganah in his 1946 book ‘Underground to Palestine’ which describes the plight of Eastern European Jews trying to get to Israel.

    http://labourlist.org/2014/04/obama-veteran-david-axelrod-joins-labour-campaign-team/

  • Mary

    This follows on from the fiasco of the NHS Care Data flog off. Now HMRC. Outrageous.

    HMRC to sell taxpayers’ financial data
    • Firms could buy ‘anonymised’ financial details
    • Plan ‘borderline insane’ according to senior Tory MP

    Rowena Mason, political correspondent
    The Guardian, Friday 18 April 2014 19.04 BST

    The new legislation would allow HMRC to release anonymised tax data to third parties including companies, researchers and public bodies where there is a public benefit. Photograph: Michael Kemp/Alamy

    The personal financial data of millions of taxpayers could be sold to private firms under laws being drawn up by HM Revenue & Customs in a move branded “dangerous” by tax professionals and “borderline insane” by a senior Conservative MP.

    Despite fears that it could jeopardise the principle of taxpayer confidentiality, the legislation would allow HMRC to release anonymised tax data to third parties including companies, researchers and public bodies where there is a public benefit. According to HMRC documents, officials are examining “charging options”.

    /..

    http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/apr/18/hmrc-to-sell-taxpayers-data

  • Mary

    CIA torture architect breaks silence to defend ‘enhanced interrogation’

    • James Mitchell ‘highly skeptical’ of Senate report on CIA torture
    • ‘It was not illegal based on the law at the time’
    • Mitchell said to have waterboarded Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
    • Interview: ‘I’m just a guy who got asked to do something for his country’
    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/18/cia-torture-architect-enhanced-interrogation

    ‘In an uncompromising and wide-ranging interview with the Guardian,
    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/18/james-mitchell-cia-torture-interview
    his first public remarks since he was linked to the program in 2007, James Mitchell was dismissive of a Senate intelligence committee report on CIA torture in which he features, and which is currently at the heart of an intense row between legislators and the agency.

    The committee’s report found that the interrogation techniques devised by Mitchell, a retired air force psychologist, were far more brutal than disclosed at the time, and did not yield useful intelligence. These included waterboarding, stress positions, sleep deprivation for days at a time, confinement in a box and being slammed into walls.’

  • Peacewisher

    @Herbie: Looks like the 1930s all over again. Hitler’s expansionist policies weren’t exactly criticised by European & US heads of state, and of course they turned a blind eye to atrocities like Guernica. US didn’t seem to bother too much about invasion of Poland.

    There is a difference this time, however. People have a voice too… and they are breaking down language barriers.

  • Peacewisher

    @Mary

    Why are we not surprised about profiting from personal data. It’s logical next step beyond reality TV. There are so many outrageous things being done to our once decent society.

    This will carry on until the people stop them Labour=Conservative=Libdem
    voting for any of these is just condoning it.

    Not sure whether UKIP have turned into a wildcard, but the greens look an increasingly good bet for the Euro elections.

  • Peacewisher

    @Macky Perhaps future generations won’t have the freedom to even know about it.

  • babushka

    Mary @12.25pm
    Thank you for the links which I will read later

    This is my first post at Craig Murray’s blog, which I have followed now for a few years.

    I am fascinated by the recent revelations by Australian ex foreign minister Bob Carr, who was on the Board of Macquarie Bank when it bought Sydney Airport.

    Mr Carr was also Premier of NSW, which he ditched without warning, citing ‘family reasons’.

    While his latest revelations, especially the influence of the Israeli lobby on Australian politicians have me intrigued, I now feel more courageous about disseminating articles and comments to the latest NSW Premier, who has openly stated his intention to closely scrutinise ‘donations and gifts and lobbyists’.

    For those who don’t yet know, Premier of NSW Brian O’Farrell fell on his sword the day of Kate and Will’s arrival in Oz, due not only to his failure to declare a $3000 bottle of Grange Hermitage plonk, (gifted by someone who was after a favour re Water Holdings) but then vehemently denying such a thing to ICAC: until his hand-written Thank YOu note was presented as evidence.

    I have always hoped and prayed that Australia being ‘young and free’, we might learn from the mistakes and lessons of others.
    But over the past few years, once I recovered from SHOCK, I have come to accept that the PTB want it eternally their way-just like Frank Sinatra’s song.

  • Sofia Kibo Noh

    The Geneva agreement on Ukraine, translated,

    “…The talks in Geneva resulted in an agreement that is in favor of all that is good and opposed to all that is bad. That’s the basic gist of it; but what does that mean? Let’s translate this memorandum from the language of high diplomacy into the language of the Ukrainian crisis.

    Kiev’s government representative was invited to participate in his role as a potted plant—because there is nothing to discuss with him. On this all the participants were in complete agreement. That is, there is no government in Kiev, in the sense of an entity that exercises sovereign authority over the territory of Ukraine. This is understood equally well in Moscow, in Brussels and even in Washington. Thus, the actual talks were between USA+EU and Russia.

    Russia’s position is that Kiev doesn’t have a government, it has a God-only-knows-what. It makes no difference what they are called or who they are. They have no power and they control nothing. They do not control the economy, or energy, or the army, or the police, or even their supporters who are running around waving machine guns.

    The position of USA+EU: “That’s not true! There’s a perfectly nice government in Kiev, we made it ourselves, and we hold discussions and even sign agreements with them.”

    In view of the difference between these two positions, further discussion is pointless. Therefore, it is necessary to run an experiment and to establish a simple fact: are the dramatis personae in Kiev a government, or aren’t they?

    The authorities in Kiev have to prove themselves. To do that, they have to disarm and reign in their freaky supporters, grant amnesty to their opponents, and begin to exercise control over the army and the police. If they prove that they are in control, then it will possible to move to the next phase in resolving the crisis…”

    From, http://cluborlov.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/the-geneva-agreement-on-ukraine.html#more

  • Sofia Kibo Noh

    Fresh from their famous Afghanistan project the US administration is kindly helping Ukraine in its fight against corruption and repatriation of stolen assets according to National Security Council spokesperson Caitlin Hayden. To that end, the US has sent a group of experts from the Treasury Department and the FBI to Ukraine. Their role is to consult the Ukrainian government on how to conduct an investigation and collect evidence.

    It seems they’ve got off to a flying start. Ukrainiane gold treasures repatriated to the US and EU nuclear wastre on it’s way to Ukraine.

    https://futuristrendcast.wordpress.com/

  • Mary

    Public meeting in Norwich with Ian Sinclair speaking about the politics of the Eastern Daily Press

    Is the media biased?

    19:00 on Tuesday 29 April 2014

    Vauxhall Centre, Johnson Place, Vauxhall Street, Norwich

    Speakers: Ian Sinclair, Journalist and Ian Gibson, former Norwich MP

    Ian Sinclair has carried out research into the politics of the local press. His pamphlet ‘The politics of the EDP’ will be available at the meeting.

    Public Meeting All welcome

    http://www.norwichstopwar.org.uk/index.php?title=Norwich_Stop_the_War_Coalition#IS_THE_MEDIA_BIASED.3F_Tue_29th_April.2C_7.00pm.2C_Vauxhall_Centre

    ~~~~~

    One for you there Nevermind?

    Reminder – Craig stood for election in 2009 in Ian Gibson’s former seat of Norwich North, now occupied by the white mark on a white wall Chloe Smith. The local press blanked Craig like the BBC.
    http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2009/06/i_am_standing_i/
    http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2009/07/bbc_prioritises/

    Poor old Craig. He’s been shafted so many times its a wonder he’s still staying strong.

  • Mary

    What was the point of this little exercise apart from showing off her nice legs?

    Humanizing a killing machine?
    Publicity for Boeing who make the Super Hornet?
    Promotion of the military industrial complex?

    William and Kate visit air force base in Queensland
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27086364

    I seem to remember he’s been seen in a cockpit on this tour too.

    What a lot of nonsense but good PR for her dress designers and the makers of royal baby clothes. The babe is being used like a trophy and a reminder to the Aussies that there are now three kings in waiting for them and us!

  • doug scorgie

    Ffred
    18 Apr, 2014 – 8:22 pm

    “more bullshit – grudgingly debunked by, surprisingly, Forbes:”
    “What do Forbes say about Putin then?”

    Fred, you’re in denial open your eyes.

    There’s non so blind as those who will not see.

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