Gabriel Carlyle
While the war in Afghanistan continues to escalate, a British diplomat and a British military commander have made headlines with their outspoken realism about the conflict.
The leaked draft US National Intelligence Estimate on Afghanistan describes the country as in a “downward spiral”.
A French diplomat’s secret report of his meeting with British ambassador to Afghanistan Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles has been leaked, causing embarrassment.
Cowper-Coles is alleged to…
At the end of September, the Observer revealed that Britain has been supporting Afghan peace negotiations with the leadership of the Taliban, despite official denials – opening up the prospect of division with the US.
Though ordinary Afghans overwhelmingly back a negotiated settlement, Britain officially rejects talks except with “those within the Taliban who are genuinely prepared to leave the path of violence and engage in the legitimate political process” (Foreign Office…
On 13 October, at a meeting in London, Iraq’s oil minister, Hussein Shahristani, put eight oil and gas fields, representing about 40% of Iraq’s known oil reserves, up for grabs.
According to press reports, foreign oil companies were told they will be allowed to access up to 49% of each field; and, rather than receiving a flat fee for pumping the oil, they can bid for a share of the extra revenue they generate.
The oil ministry has reportedly said that contracts could run…
Britain’s military presence in Basra is “not necessary for maintaining security and control”, Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, told The Times in an interview that appeared on 13 October. “There might be a need for their experience in training and some technological issues,” he added, “but as a fighting force, I don’t think that is necessary.”
Al-Maliki, a leading figure in Dawa, the Shia party, also noted that the status of Britain’s non-combat forces is also in doubt, as…
As suggested in last month’s PN, the US-UK war in Afghanistan is spreading to Pakistan, as US troops and drones mount attacks on border areas – against the express wishes of the Pakistani government. While Washington is banking on the acquiescence of the government, polls show Pakistani public opinion is outraged and the semi-autonomous Pakistani military appears set on confrontation.
As we mark the seventh anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan on 7 October, Professor Paul…
At the end of August, Philip Alston, United Nations special rapporteur on illegal government killings, said his chief concern was the policy of night raids by foreign intelligence agencies.
These raids took place without accountability to the Afghan government, and left those subjected to them with three choices; “They can either stay in their home and run the risk of being shot in their bed. Secondly, they could try and run, in which they would be shot, or thirdly, they fire back in…
More details have emerged concerning the 21-22 August US airstrike on the village of Nawabad, the Azizabad area of Shindand district, reported in last month’s PN.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) human rights team visited the area immediately after the massacre, resulting in a statement by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Afghanistan on 26 August: “Investigations by UNAMA found convincing evidence, based on testimony of eyewitnesses, and…
Iraqi architect and blogger Raed Jarrar has translated a leaked copy of the interim US-Iraq agreement for American Friends Service Committee.
The text promises full immunity for US forces operating in Iraq, sets no deadline for the withdrawal of “non-combat” troops (not defined).
The agreement also raises the possibility that the US and Iraqi governments may try to ratify the agreement without gaining the approval of the Iraqi parliamentary (the text says it comes into…
On 26 July, over a hundred environmental activists and local residents met in a small church on the edge of Heathrow to discuss future action against the proposed third runway.
Predictably, the Evening Standard, reported that “hardcore activists” were preparing “a new wave of non-violent ‘attacks’ on the airport which could culminate in an invasion of Heathrow’s runways”, while the Hounslow Chronicle claimed that a “new breed of ‘grey haired, middle-aged’ protesters are gearing up…
While much attention has been paid to the risk of a US attack on Iran, little notice has been taken of the escalating war in Afghanistan and the increasing danger of deeper US intervention in Pakistan. Britain is signalling the possible doubling of troop levels in Afghanistan, and is escalating aerial attacks, including with thermobaric weapons.
In mid-August the Taliban mounted “their most serious attacks in six years of fighting”, the New York Times noted, “including a coordinated…
At the beginning of August the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU) succeeded in winning the return of eight oil union activists from the south of Iraq, who had been forcibly transferred to a dangerous part of Baghdad in June.
Britain’s Trades Union Congress, the AFL-CIO (US), and global union federations including the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions all exerted pressure, notably at an International Labour Organisation conference in…
July saw a major victory for opponents of the Iraq occupation. US plans to consolidate its long-term presence in Iraq were derailed by popular pressure within Iraq.
Instead of a semi-permanent “Status of Forces Agreement” (SOFA) granting US forces authority to establish more than 50 long-term bases and to conduct unilateral operations and detentions without fear of prosecution in the Iraqi justice system, the US has been forced to try to secure a scaled-down accord.
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On 22 August, Robin Long, an Iraq war resister deported from Canada into US military custody in July, was sentenced to 15 months in prison and a dishonourable discharge – for desertion “with intent to remain away permanently”.
Robin Long went absent without official leave in 2005 on grounds of conscience, after being ordered to Iraq. He sought sanctuary in Canada, home to an estimated 200 US soldiers refusing to serve in the Iraq war.
A month earlier, on 16 July, US war…
Kate Evans’ Thank you Greenham (Laughing Moon Press; 2008;ISBN 978-0956006103; 100pp; £7) is an account of her visits to Greenham in the early ’80s, with a particular stress on “how difficult it was to be a part-time activist”.
Interesting, it’s often hard to read: it’s a very honest account, brutally so at times. The experience seems to have damaged the author emotionally, yet she still manages to make the book a positive read, looking at Greenham as part of a wider struggle against…
The Iraqi government’s military assault on the southern Iraqi city of Basra at the end of March – which drew in both US and British forces, and sparked fighting in Baghdad and the south that claimed an estimated 600 lives – appears to have been as much an attempt to disrupt British plans for the area as a blow against the powerful Shia leader Moqtada al-Sadr.
Noting the key role envisioned for Iraqi lieutenant-general Mohan al-Furayji in British plans for Basra, the Independent…
