Table Of Contentblood brothers | gary indiana
when size really did matter | nate robert
chocolate wars | Luke Mcdonough
ColdT ype
Writing Worth reading | photos W orth seeing issue 106
WiLL
justice
ever
catch up
With
tony
bLair?
Felicity arbuthnot on the latest
evidence implicating the former
british pM in the lies that led
to disaster in the Middle east
cover art: antony jenkins
BLOOD BROTHERS | GARY INDIANA – from , “a Fine Line: the caricatures of antony jenkins,”
WHEN SIZE REALLY DID MATTER | NATE ROBERT
CoCHOCOlLATdE WARST | LUKEy McDONpOUGHe published by nestlings press, toronto
WRITING WORTH READING | PHOTOS WORTH SEEING ISSUE 106
WILL
JUSTICE ColdType
EVER
CATCH UP
WITH
TONY
BLAIR?
Felicity Arbuthnot on the latest
evidence that implicates the former
British PM in the lies that led to
disaster in the Middle East issue 106 / november 2015
3. Will justice ever catch up With tony blair? FeLicity arbuthnot
6. hoW the Western media lost the plot tara MccorMack
‘8. ‘i Would have reFused such an order’ david edWards & david croMWeLL
12. ambushed deLL FrankLin
15. lost passport blues Fred reed
18. blood brothers gary indiana
26. behind the Walls oF death roW LiLLy hughes
29. the World is a traFFic jam phiLip kraske
30. When size really did matter nate robert
36. chocolate Wars Luke Mcdonough
38. dark side oF the Free market george a. akerLoF & robert L. schiLLer
40. death by Fracking chris hedges
46. rebel Flags Fall, but columbus stands tall MichaeL i. niMan
50. dr strangelove is naked pepe escobar
52. building armies and Watching them Fail andreW j. bacevic
57. Fear oF the Walking dead john W. Whitehead
60. jerusalem chaos Warns oF bleak Future MichaeL i. niMan
62. home ground george Monbiot
editor: tony sutton – [email protected]
2 ColdType November 2015 | www.coldtype.net
closing in
Will
ColdType
justice
ever
catch up
with
tony blair?
Felicity arbuthnot on the latest evidence
implicating the former british prime Minister in
the lies that led to disaster in the Middle east
In what Britain’s Mail on Sunday newspa- “to act as spin doctor for Bush,” states the paper reveals
per has described as a “bombshell White Mail, which also reveals Powell’s confirma- tony blair’s
House memo,” leaked classified cor- tion that “the UK will follow our lead.” “deal in blood”
respondence from former US Secretary Despite this, Blair continued to say he with george W.
of State General Colin Powell to President had made no decision regarding military bush to support
George W. Bush, from March 28, 2002, al- action for most of 2002, but claimed a dip- him, come what
leges that former British Prime Minister lomatic solution was being pursued. Now may, in the attack
Tony Blair had done what the newspaper Powell’s memo proves the lie. Headed: on iraq – a full
called “a deal in blood” with Bush to sup- “Memorandum to the President. Subject: year before the
port him, come what may, in the attack on Your Meeting with United Kingdom Prime invasion
Iraq – a full year before the invasion. Minister Tony Blair, April 5-7, 2002, Craw-
Blair was, at the same time, claiming ford, Texas,” Powell wrote:
to be seeking a diplomatic solution in the “Blair continues to stand by you and
Iraq crisis. “We’re not proposing military the US as we move forward on the war on
action,” he told the public as he prepared terrorism and on Iraq. He will present to
www.coldtype.net | November 2015 | ColdType 3
closing in
the bush and you the strategic, tactical and public affairs minutes,” a claim Colin Powell used in his
blair regimes lines that he believes will strengthen glob- notorious Iraq war speech to the UN the
were totally aware al support for our common cause.” following February.
of the lawlessness That paragraph confirms Blair’s integral Powell’s communication also states
of attacking a part in the planning and strategy of the il- falsely that Blair would “demonstrate
sovereign nation legal invasion, while he was telling Parlia- that we have thought through ‘the day
that posed no ment an entirely different tale after.’” Not only had “the day after” not
threat, and whose While Blair was telling Parliament and been “thought through,” but nor had the
“sovereignty the British public that Saddam’s govern- weeks, months, or years as shown by the
and territorial ment was involved in the World Trade bloody fact that Iraq continues to implode
integrity” was Center attack on September 11, 2001, “the and Iraqis are dying in their uncounted
guaranteed war on terrorism and on Iraq” seem to be thousands. (Even Iraq Body Count, whose
by the un entirely separated in the Powell-Bush-Blair estimates of Iraqi deaths are so sanguine
discussions, which didn’t mention Blair’s and understated that they are used by the
numerous public allegations that Iraq was US and UK governments, released a report
linked to international terrorism. early this year stating Iraqi deaths from
Confirming that, “On violence are doubling year
Iraq, Blair will be with on year).
us should military ac- Blair, wrote Powell, “is
tions be necessary,” sharply criticized by the me-
Powell pointed out that dia for being too pro-US, too
Blair did not enjoy uni- arrogant and ‘presidential’
versal support from his (not a compliment in the
government colleagues, British context) and too in-
writing, “Aside from his attentive on issues of con-
foreign and defence sec- cern to voters.
retaries, however, Blair’s “Blair knows he may have
Cabinet shows signs of to pay a political price for
division, and the Labour supporting us on Iraq and
Party and the British wants to minimize it. None-
public are unconvinced theless he will stick with us
that military action is smoking gun: how the daily mail on the big issues. His voters
warranted now.” reported the powell memo. will look for signs that Britain
He added, “Blair may and America are truly equal
suggest ideas on how to make a credible partners in the special relationship.”
public case on current Iraqi threats to in- It seems Powell had not been paying
ternational peace, and how to handle de- attention. The majority of British voters
mands for any action to be sanctioned by wanted no “equal partnership” and noth-
the UN Security Council.” ing to do with the Iraq assault or general
Thus the Bush and Blair regimes were US global belligerence.
totally aware of the lawlessness of attack- The Mail on Sunday’s revelations have
ing a sovereign nation that posed no threat, not come at a good time for Blair, whose
and whose “sovereignty and territorial in- involvement in Iraq’s tragedy has become
tegrity” was guaranteed by the UN. increasing criticised over the years. A peti-
In September that same year, Blair an- tion is circulating demanding that Britain’s
nounced that Saddam Hussein’s govern- Parliament impeach him, and in a poll
ment could release weapons of mass de- asking, “Should Tony Blair Stand Trial for
struction on the West “within forty five War Crimes?,” the vote in support ranges
4 ColdType November 2015 | www.coldtype.net
closing in
between 95 and 96% in favour. integral part, “We saw the catastrophic blair and bush
It also seems Mr Blair was not entirely so-called ‘de-Baathification’ of Iraq, with had decided to
truthful with his words to the £10-million, the country’s entire civil and military attack iraq come
six-year long Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq structure dismantled, leading to years of what may and
invasion, the publication of which is still bloodshed and chaos. It has infected sur- “intelligence”
awaited. Sir John Chilcot has given varying rounding countries to this day and created – in both
reasons for the delay, including 2002 corre- the vacuum into which Islamic State has meanings of the
spondence between Bush and Blair, which stepped. word, had nothing
has been withheld from the Inquiry. “This may well be the Iraq ‘smoking to do with it
The Mail on Sunday says, “During his gun’ we have all been looking for.”
appearance before the Chilcot inquiry in How wrong, devious and duplicitous
January 2010, Blair denied that he had can one man be? For how long can he now
struck a secret deal with Bush at Crawford avoid justice? When will this man be ar-
to overthrow Saddam. Blair said the two rested?
men had agreed on the need to confront
afterword
the Iraqi dictator, but insisted they did not
get into ‘specifics.’” Just after this piece was finished, Tony Blair,
British MP David Davis, a former Shad- in an interview with his friend, US political
ow Home Secretary, is clearly stunned at broadcaster Fareed Zakaria, on CNN, made
the memo, saying, “This is one of the most what has been described as “an apology”
astonishing documents I have ever read. for the disaster that Iraq has become as a
It proves in explicit terms what many of result of the invasion, the tragedy that is
us have believed all along: Tony Blair ef- engulfing Syria and threatening the region
fectively agreed to act as a front man for in the form of ISIS – and for acting on in-
American foreign policy in advance of any telligence that was “wrong.”
decision by the House of Commons or the The invasion was, he admitted oblique-
British Cabinet. He was happy to launder ly, responsible for the rise of ISIS. But, as
George Bush’s policy on Iraq and sub- ever, Blair was spinning. He and Bush had
contract British foreign policy to another decided to attack Iraq come what may
country without having the remotest abil- and “intelligence” – in both meanings of
ity to have any real influence over it.” the word, had nothing to do with it. There
Davis adds, “Judging from this memo- was a “… mistake in our understanding
randum, Blair signed up for the Iraq War of what would happen once you removed
even before the Americans themselves the regime.” No, there was not. They had Felicity Arbuthnot
did. Blair was telling MPs and voters back been warned and warned by experts on is a London-
home that he was still pursuing a diplo- Iraq and the region. But they didn’t listen. based political
matic solution while Colin Powell was tell- Blair found it “hard to apologise for commentator
ing President Bush: ‘Don’t worry, George, removing Saddam.” The fact that he was specialising in the
Tony is signed up for the war come what lynched and the entire Iraq exercise at ev- Middle East and
may – he’ll handle the PR for you, just ery level from Moment 1 was illegal was the environment.
make him look big in return.’ ignored, his friendly interviewer omitting She was senior
“What is truly shocking is the casual- to broach the subject. researcher for John
ness of it all, such as the reference in the It was not an apology, but a damage lim- Pilger’s “Paying the
memo to ‘the day after’ – meaning the day itation exercise while pressure mounts just Price: Killing the
after Saddam would be toppled.” as Sir John Chilcot gave a June 2016 date for Children of Iraq”
Davis concludes by linking the terrorism the release of his Inquiry’s findings. and “Denis Halliday
scourging Iraq and the Middle East directly Oh, and Blair still wants to invade Returns” the latter
to the actions in which Blair had such an Syria! CT for RTE (Ireland)
www.coldtype.net | November 2015 | ColdType 5
communication errors
how the Western media
lost the plot
Which countries’ foreign policies are out of control and crazy? try looking
not at russia, but a little closer to home, urges tara mccormack
since the It is extraordinary to look back at West- now controlled in Brussels and Washing-
ukrainian crisis, ern Cold War propaganda: the scare- ton.
the british media mongering posters and films in which Putin has been presented as a cross
seem to have America is under attack from a vast between Professor Moriarty, Fu Manchu
killed off their alien force abroad and undercover agents and Joseph Goebbels – a master strategist
critical faculties at home. Very few intelligent people to- and evil genius using smoke and mirrors
and burned the day would accept this propaganda as an to befuddle the West as he carries out his
remains for good accurate representation of reality. It is inscrutable campaign. “What is he up
measure easy to see in hindsight that much Cold to in Syria?” is the constant refrain. Re-
War propaganda was designed to create a cently, I debated journalist and former US
climate of fear domestically and drum up diplomat James Rubin at the Cheltenham
support for overseas militarism. Literature Festival, and he kept remarking
Nevertheless, one of the most pro- on how inscrutable Putin was. No wonder
foundly depressing things about the a kind of grudging admiration for Putin
British press today is how uncritically it occasionally creeps into the commen-
parrots the official line when it comes to tary.
foreign policy. Since the Ukrainian crisis, The problem is that this is utter non-
the British media seem to have killed off sense. First of all, consider the claim that
their critical faculties and burned the re- we have no idea what Russia is up to.
mains for good measure. Even intelligent This has been a running theme since the
analysts and commentators have forgot- Ukraine crisis, but this is an outright lie.
ten the lessons of the Cold War and have Russia’s motives in Ukraine and in Syria
so easily slipped back into a pale imita- are well known. They are well known not
tion of a Cold War narrative. because we’ve got a team of Kremlinolo-
When it comes to the coverage of Rus- gists scrutinising Russia’s obscure state-
sian bombing in Syria, however, the Brit- ments and mysterious behaviour, but be-
ish media have surpassed themselves. The cause, as a representative of his govern-
reporting on Russian airstrikes in Syria ment, President Putin has consistently
has ranged from the idiotic to the dishon- told the West his intentions.
est to the frankly astonishing. A headline Now, we may not agree with Russia’s
in the Times a few weeks ago read “Putin motives, but that is an entirely different
defies the West!.” Clearly, Putin didn’t get point. The fact of the matter is that Putin
the memo that Russian foreign policy is is not hiding his intentions. And yet the
6 ColdType November 2015 | www.coldtype.net
communication errors
you get this impression from the media the british media
discussion of the British government’s present russian
desire to join in on the Western bomb- political elites
ing. The British media have completely as out of control
ignored the disastrous effects of Western and crazy, but
intervention in Syria. The West has been anyone looking at
attempting to bomb Islamic State posi- Western foreign
tions while, at the same time, supporting policy over the
jihadi groups such as the al-Nusra Front. past 20 years
Our new “allies” in Syria have links to al- would see that
Qaeda. Have we totally taken leave of our the West has been
senses? More to the point, why isn’t this the single most
front page news? And let’s not forget the destabilising force
US’s $500-million plan to train up fight- in world affairs
ers – of whom about four or five remain. since the cold War
The Free Syrian Army is more or less a fic-
tion, with little existence outside of the
imagination of the State Department and
vladimir putin: not quite as inscrutable as the Foreign Office. At the same time, the
the media claims. West is allowing one of the most disgust-
ing and shameful acts of this crisis to go on
media have never reported on it. Noam unchallenged – that is, Turkey’s bombing
Chomsky once argued that, in a democ- of the truly heroic Kurdish forces, the only
racy, things are often hidden in plain sight coherent, pro-West political and military
– this is a very good example. force in Syria and Iraq that is attacking IS.
Similarly, it is simply not true that we Where is all the coverage of the ut-
do not know what Russia’s aims are in terly useless, dishonest and misguided
Syria. Russia is a long-term supporter of Western campaign in Syria? If this had
Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, but is by a 10th of the coverage given to Russian
no means averse to a post-Assad Syria; its bombing I think the public and political
main aim is to stop Syria from collapsing. discussion in Britain would be very dif-
This has all been openly stated by Putin – ferent. The British media present Russian
at the UN, for example, that little known political elites as out of control and crazy,
secret forum, in an interview with CBS. but anyone looking at Western foreign
We may not agree with it, but to pres- policy over the past 20 years would see
ent Russian intervention as some kind that the West has been the single most
of fiendish, unfathomable plot is simply destabilising force in world affairs since
laughable. the Cold War. We hear an awful lot about
the biases of Russian state media, but the
ignored
Western media have little self-awareness
What’s more, consider the heated debate of their own failings. CT
about the impact of Russia’s intervention
on Syria. Who knew the British media Tara McCormack is a lecturer in
were so concerned about the malign ef- international politics at the University of
fects of bombing a foreign country? You Leicester. She is author of “Critique, Security
certainly wouldn’t have guessed it from and Power: The Political Limits to Critical
the coverage of the US and its allies’ own and Emancipatory Approaches to Security,”
year-long bombardment of Syria. Nor do published by Routledge
www.coldtype.net | November 2015 | ColdType 7
hospital attack
‘i would have refused
such an order’
british pilot tells david edwards and david cromwell what
he thinks about us bombing of the afghan hospital at kunduz
“the fact that On October 24, Médecins Sans Fron- ticles about the event, we were contacted
the hospital tières announced that 30 people by a former RAF pilot with 20 years’ mili-
was targeted had now tragically died after the tary experience in several countries, in-
on five separate deliberate US bombing of a hospi- cluding Afghanistan. He had discovered
occasions with tal in Kunduz, Afghanistan, on October 3, our articles by following a link in a com-
unerring accuracy up from the initial toll of 22. The humani- ment posted underneath a recent Guard-
simply underlines tarian organisation, also known as Doctors ian piece mentioning the attack.
how deliberate Without Borders, continued to call for an The former pilot gave us his name but,
this attack was” independent international investigation for obvious reasons, wishes to remain
into what it has called a “war crime.” As- anonymous. He told us that he has ex-
sociated Press has just reported new evi- perience flying fast jets and multi-engine
dence “that US forces destroyed what they aircraft, and that he served operationally
knew was a functioning hospital.” in the Balkans, Kosovo, Afghanistan and
The report comments: elsewhere. As far as we can tell, he appears
“The Army Green Berets who requested to be genuine. He wrote to Media Lens in a
the Oct. 3 airstrike on the Doctors with- series of emails (October 21-24):
out Borders trauma center in Afghanistan “It has been my firm opinion from the
were aware it was a functioning hospital very beginning that Kunduz hospital was
but believed it was under Taliban control, indeed deliberately targeted. I slightly di-
The Associated Press has learned.” gress from the Lindorff article in that the
Damningly, AP adds: AC-130 Gunship is a pinpoint platform
“A day before an American AC-130 gun- with a choice of munitions. The fact that
ship attacked the hospital, a senior officer the hospital was targeted on five separate
in the Green Beret unit wrote in a report occasions with unerring accuracy simply
that US forces had discussed the hospital underlines how deliberate this attack was.
with the country director of the medical The Gunship itself is a revered weapon on
charity group, presumably in Kabul, ac- the battlefield, manned by elite crews who
cording to two people who have seen the are very highly trained. I was involved in
document.” the Afghan campaign almost from the be-
Meanwhile, there has still been no lead- ginning when things were pretty hairy. The
ing article in any UK newspaper backing aircraft of choice for UK Special Forces on
MSF’s call for an independent inquiry. the ground was the Gunship and they lob-
In response to an earlier media lens ar- bied for a UK version. It is expensive and
8 ColdType November 2015 | www.coldtype.net
hospital attack
murder machine: the hospital at kunduz was attacked by a monster ac-130 gunship. Photo: Wikipedia
due to the side-mounted howitzer limited accurate I can say without hesitancy that “american
to one role and so their requests were de- I would have refused such an order for it military
nied. The Gunship gives unsurpassed sup- is an obvious war crime. During the Ko- personnel give
port to troops on the ground because of its sovo war it was fairly routine for RAF Har- up many rights
multi-hour endurance and loiter capabil- rier pilots to return home with bombs still when they join
ity and the accuracy of its smaller calibre loaded because they had been unable to up, but i am still
cannon and capability of its enormous confirm visual acquisition of targets. RAF disappointed
105mm howitzer.” pilots are probably more inclined to think that this crew did
He continued: for themselves than American crews who not appear to do
“I do not accept that the target could are extremely tightly controlled. American more to challenge
have been mistakenly targeted. The crew military personnel give up many rights their orders”
and command centre would have been when they join up, but I am still disap-
fully aware they were attacking a hospi- pointed that this crew did not appear to
tal. I followed one of your links suggesting do more to challenge their orders. Back
that the C130 crew challenged their orders in the UK, we lost crown immunity many
to target the hospital. This is the very least years ago and it is essential to challenge
that I’d have expected to happen. I have every questionable act carried out on the
extensive operational experience flying battlefield (our emphasis).
in Afghanistan. I am struggling to com- “Given that we agree that the hospi-
prehend in what circumstance I would tal was deliberately targeted it would be
blindly follow an order to attack a fully useful to try and understand why. It is
manned civilian hospital. If the descrip- my opinion that whilst possible, it is un-
tion provided by MSF’s director-general is likely that this was a mistake, intentional
www.coldtype.net | November 2015 | ColdType 9
hospital attack
“unfortunately,
the us military
changed their
version several
times which
weakened
their case
immediately”
aftermath: the bombed hospital at kunduz in afghanistan.
or otherwise, by Afghan commanders on My own experience of BBC journalists is
the ground. I saw an unconfirmed report positive but when it comes to describing
stating that US Special Forces were on the a major news event there is an immedi-
ground in Kunduz so it is unlikely that ate suspicion of editorial control from on
Afghans alone would have called in the high. I think it is extremely valuable that
attack. So the alternative is that the crew you target both individual journalists and
were given their mission from US Cen- the reporting of such events in general. I
tral Command or it was called in on the absolutely commend this approach, which
ground by their own people. This is why is why I am happy to support you in your
I doubt we’ll see an independent inquiry. endeavours.”
Very senior military officers would be on Readers may be shocked that even the
the hook for what happened in Kunduz deliberate bombing of a hospital may
because they would have authorised the be regarded as an operational “success”
sustained attack. It is still possible that the There is no doubt that, were the full truth
Kunduz hospital is seen as an operational to emerge, the attack on the MSF hospital
‘success’; the world of special operations is would be even more deeply embarrassing
opaque. It is also a vague possibility that and damaging to Western interests than it
this was an act of gross incompetence, but already is. After all, “we” do not commit
that would still constitute a war crime. In war crimes; only “our” enemies do that.
any case, I simply do not believe it to be Long-time readers of Media Lens may
incompetence because of the sustained recall that, in 2007, a serving British army
nature of the attack.” officer in Iraq responded to an exchange
He also commented on media cover- we’d had with Mark Urban, the diplomat-
age: ic editor of BBC Newsnight. The officer
“The response in the mainstream media strongly rejected Urban’s contention that
mainly consisted of repeating what came the central US aim was that of “forcing a
off the wires. Unfortunately, the US mili- democracy into the heart of the Middle
tary changed their version several times East” (Newsnight, BBC2, April 12, 2005),
which weakened their case immediately. commenting:
10 ColdType November 2015 | www.coldtype.net
Description:29. the World is a traFFic jam. phiLip kraske . will look for signs that Britain broadcaster Fareed Zakaria, on CNN, made republic where Tamer-.
