Cameron’s denunciation of the Algerian In Amenas gas plant terrorist attack as a “large and existential threat…which is global and will require a global response that will last decades” totally misunderstands, or totally misportrays, what has happened. It is not an existential threat, though the 3,000-strong jihadist group in Syria and Islamic militancy in Yemen […]
Posts Tagged ‘al-Qaeda’
The meaning of 9/11
Sep 12th, 2011 by Michael Meacher.9/11 remains one of the most misunderstood events in modern history. The first myth is that it came out of the blue on an unsuspecting America. In fact it is known that 11 countries provided advance warnings to the US about the 9/11 attacks, including Russia and Israel which sent 2 senior Mossad experts to […]
The dangerously ignorant Tom Harris
Jul 25th, 2011 by Darrell Goodliffe.What happened in Oslo was horrific beyond belief. On that, there is agreement across all the political divides. However,when it comes to the cause and the consequences, there is little agreement. For many, Tom Harris MP has epitomised the crassness of the right-wing response to the tragedy. As the events unfolded, he waded in with a […]
Afghanistan: another step closer to the endgame
Jun 20th, 2011 by David Osler.Continuing the unwinnable struggle in Afghanistan is hardly a viable option, from either a military or political standpoint. So the revelation of president Hamid Karzai, confirmed over the weekend by US defence secretary Robert Gates, that contacts have been established with the Taliban hardly come as a major surprise. Indeed, even last year there were […]
Stand by Ken
May 5th, 2011 by Andy Newman.It is now revealed that Osama Bin Laden was unarmed when he was shot twice in the head by US Navy Seals, who it seems were operating without lawful authority from the Pakistani government within the jurisdiction of the sovereign state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Any political response to this needs to consider the […]
What Bin Laden’s death really means
May 3rd, 2011 by Michael Meacher.Osama Bin Laden’s killing is a huge symbolic victory for the US, but just that – symbolic. Al Qaeda always was, and remains, a quintessentially decentralised organisation and over the last decade Bin Laden has never been able to sustain any significant organisational capability because of the risk of electronic detection. To that extent his […]
Bin Laden’s death – no cause for jubilation
May 2nd, 2011 by Jon Lansman.Celebrations at the killing of Osama bin Laden in the streets of New York are as unjustified as they were in East Jerusalem and Nablus following the 9/11 attack on the twin towers. Vengeance does not bring peace or justice. Though the details of the US operation which resulted in Bin Laden’s death are not […]