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| jail_for_the_war_criminals [2021/04/11 20:45] – [Tony Blair and money] bab | jail_for_the_war_criminals [2021/04/14 12:00] (current) – [Related] bab | ||
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| ====== Why isn't Tony Blair in jail for the war crimes committed in Iraq? ====== | ====== Why isn't Tony Blair in jail for the war crimes committed in Iraq? ====== | ||
| - | < | + | < |
| {{ : | {{ : | ||
| - | Julian Assange is being wrongly punished for revealing war crimes, but to this day, no one has been held accountable for these crimes.. | + | Julian Assange is being wrongly punished for revealing war crimes, but to this day, no one has been held accountable for these crimes... |
| - | It is time to re-examine | + | It is time to re-examine |
| - | In 2003, the UK joins the US in the invasion of Iraq , based on lies. ((The Iraq War: In the beginning was the lie (DW) [[https:// | + | In 2003, the UK, under Tony Blair' |
| - | In 2016, after 7 years of inquiry, Sir John Chilcot delivers a scathing report | + | In 2016, after 7 years of inquiry, Sir John Chilcot delivers a scathing report. He recognises that the invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq was unnecessary, and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of individuals, |
| - | Despite all efforts to prosecute the ones in charge, the High Court of UK ruled in 2017 that there is no crime of aggression in English | + | Despite all efforts to prosecute the ones in charge, the UK High Court ruled in 2017 that there is no crime of aggression in British |
| - | But, in the 1940s, the international crime of a war of aggression | + | However, in the 1940s, the international crime of a war of aggression |
| The UK government has been given “de facto domestic immunity” because “as long as it fails to enact legislation which makes the crime of aggression a domestic criminal offense, any __leader__ can act as he/she chooses knowing that whatever action they take, it can be taken with complete impunity" | The UK government has been given “de facto domestic immunity” because “as long as it fails to enact legislation which makes the crime of aggression a domestic criminal offense, any __leader__ can act as he/she chooses knowing that whatever action they take, it can be taken with complete impunity" | ||
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| The UK government has received so many complaints from Iraqis who were unlawfully detained and allegedly mistreated by British troops that its defence ministry says it is unable to say how many millions of pounds have been paid to settle the claims. | The UK government has received so many complaints from Iraqis who were unlawfully detained and allegedly mistreated by British troops that its defence ministry says it is unable to say how many millions of pounds have been paid to settle the claims. | ||
| - | In late 2020, The International Criminal Court says it will take no action against the UK, despite finding evidence British troops committed war crimes in Iraq... | + | In late 2020, The International Criminal Court says it will take no action against the UK, despite finding evidence |
| - | + | ||
| - | In April 2021, UK government passed a Bill that decriminalises torture and war crimes. Innocuously titled 'The Overseas Operations Bill', the new piece of legislation makes it even harder to prosecute cases committed by British soldiers more than five years ago. (([[https:// | + | |
| - | So, will Tony Blair and his co-conspirators ever be held accountable for their lies and their consequences on the lives of millions of people ? | + | In April 2021, UK government passed a bill that decriminalises torture |
| - | ---- | + | Will Tony Blair and his co-conspirators ever be held accountable for their wrongdoings, |
| + | |||
| + | < | ||
| ===== Tony Blair ===== | ===== Tony Blair ===== | ||
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| | | ||
| === 2001 === | === 2001 === | ||
| - | * A note Blair sent to Bush one day after the September 11 attacks set the tone for everything to come, immediately | + | * A note Blair sent to George |
| * Blair went on to suggest that the sorrow engendered by September 11 should be leveraged in support of this goal.((“It is now that the world is in a __state of shock__; now that it feels maximum sympathy for the US; now that it can be co-opted most easily,” he wrote. “Locking in the international community sooner rather than later is therefore critical.” [[https:// | * Blair went on to suggest that the sorrow engendered by September 11 should be leveraged in support of this goal.((“It is now that the world is in a __state of shock__; now that it feels maximum sympathy for the US; now that it can be co-opted most easily,” he wrote. “Locking in the international community sooner rather than later is therefore critical.” [[https:// | ||
| === 2003 === | === 2003 === | ||
| - | * 6th Feb: "The oil conspiracy theory is honestly one of the most absurd when you analyse it." (([[http:// | + | * 6th Feb: "The oil conspiracy theory is honestly one of the most absurd when you analyse it." (([[http:// |
| * 2nd Mar: Katharine Gun, a young GCHQ translator, leaked a document which was subsequently passed to the British Newspaper The Observer, showing how the US had asked GCHQ to bug the phones of diplomats from the so-called UN “swing states” – countries believed to be open to persuasion to back an invasion of Iraq. ((https:// | * 2nd Mar: Katharine Gun, a young GCHQ translator, leaked a document which was subsequently passed to the British Newspaper The Observer, showing how the US had asked GCHQ to bug the phones of diplomats from the so-called UN “swing states” – countries believed to be open to persuasion to back an invasion of Iraq. ((https:// | ||
| - | * 20th Mar: The invasion of Iraq begins (Operation Telic). | + | * 20th Mar: the invasion of Iraq begins (Operation Telic)((see [[# |
| === 2005 === | === 2005 === | ||
| Line 47: | Line 47: | ||
| === 2007 === | === 2007 === | ||
| - | * 15th January: [[https:// | + | * 15th Jan: [[https:// |
| - | * 23th June: Tony Blair departure from 10 Downing St. | + | * 23rd Jun: Tony Blair' |
| === 2009 === | === 2009 === | ||
| - | * Mission | + | * [[https:// |
| - | * [[https:// | + | * [[https:// |
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| * [[https:// | * [[https:// | ||
| * [[https:// | * [[https:// | ||
| + | * Former Deputy PM John Prescott has turned on Tony Blair and says the Iraq War was illegal (("My first concern was the way Tony Blair ran Cabinet. We were given too little paper documentation to make decisions." | ||
| * [[https:// | * [[https:// | ||
| === 2017 === | === 2017 === | ||
| - | * [[https:// | + | * [[https:// |
| === 2018 === | === 2018 === | ||
| - | * New reports by the parliamentary | + | * New reports by the parliamentary |
| === 2020 === | === 2020 === | ||
| - | * MOD says compiling data about millions paid out to settle thousands of complaints against British soldiers since 2003 is [[https:// | + | * MOD says that compiling data about millions paid out to settle thousands of complaints against British soldiers since 2003 is [[https:// |
| - | * [[https:// | + | * [[https:// |
| ==== Related ==== | ==== Related ==== | ||
| * [[https:// | * [[https:// | ||
| + | * [[https:// | ||
| ===== Who is behind Tony Blair ? ===== | ===== Who is behind Tony Blair ? ===== | ||
| - | ==== British Companies Making a Fortune out of Iraq Conflict | + | ==== British Companies Making a Fortune out of the Iraq War ==== |
| - | * A total of 61 British companies are identified as benefiting | + | * A total of 61 British companies are identified as having benefited |
| * Declassified documents from the lead-up to war show oil, gas and other corporations scrambling to capitalize on Iraq. | * Declassified documents from the lead-up to war show oil, gas and other corporations scrambling to capitalize on Iraq. | ||
| * Facing pressure from an anxious business community keen to take advantage of the potential spoils of war, the Blair government successfully pushed to make sure British companies had a seat at the table. (([[https:// | * Facing pressure from an anxious business community keen to take advantage of the potential spoils of war, the Blair government successfully pushed to make sure British companies had a seat at the table. (([[https:// | ||
| Line 93: | Line 95: | ||
| '' | '' | ||
| * $154m contract to restore electrical power systems (2004) | * $154m contract to restore electrical power systems (2004) | ||
| - | * ' | + | * ' |
| - | * design-build construction services for water resource projects in the northern and southern regions of Iraq’ $500m and $600m from USAID | + | * design-build construction services for water resource projects in the northern and southern regions of Iraq’ |
| ---- | ---- | ||
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| === Erinys === | === Erinys === | ||
| '' | '' | ||
| - | |||
| * $50m from US Army Corps of Engineers. | * $50m from US Army Corps of Engineers. | ||
| * $100m to protect oil fields | * $100m to protect oil fields | ||
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| === HSBC === | === HSBC === | ||
| '' | '' | ||
| - | * has bought | + | * purchased |
| - | * HSBC profit from Middle East business rose 25% in 2004 | + | * HSBC profit from Middle East business rose by 25% in 2004 |
| ---- | ---- | ||
| === Cummins UK === | === Cummins UK === | ||
| '' | '' | ||
| - | * $45m from sale of power stations | + | * $45m from sales of power stations |
| ---- | ---- | ||
| === PB Power === | === PB Power === | ||
| '' | '' | ||
| - | * $43.4 ‘Provide program management office support for the electrical services sector’ (2004) | + | * $43.4 to ‘Provide program management office support for the electrical services sector’ (2004) |
| ---- | ---- | ||
| === Control Risks === | === Control Risks === | ||
| '' | '' | ||
| - | * Unknown | + | * unknown |
| - | * £23.5m from UK government for protection squads; (2004) | + | * £23.5m from UK government for protection squads (2004) |
| - | * one of the largest British private security | + | * one of the largest British private security |
| ---- | ---- | ||
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| '' | '' | ||
| * had 2,000 staff in Iraq | * had 2,000 staff in Iraq | ||
| - | * received $27m contract to distribute new Dinar (2004) | + | * received $27m contract to distribute |
| * guarded part of Baghdad airport (2004) | * guarded part of Baghdad airport (2004) | ||
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| * [[https:// | * [[https:// | ||
| + | ---- | ||
| + | {{ : | ||
| ===== Tony Blair and money ===== | ===== Tony Blair and money ===== | ||
| - | Although he denies it, Blair is estimated to have earned between £50 million and £100 million since quitting | + | ==== Personal Profit / Conflict of Interest |
| - | Tony Blair: " | + | Although he denies it, Blair is estimated to have earned between £50-100 million since stepping down as UK prime minister (( |
| + | Tony Blair: " | ||
| + | |||
| + | Since he left office at 10 Downing Street, he has been operating as a shadow ((Mr Blair insists on strict secrecy in his business dealings with no fewer than 10 clauses dealing with confidentiality. [[https:// | ||
| === 2007 === | === 2007 === | ||
| * criticism came after Mr Blair reportedly earned £300,000 in his first week of a North American speaking tour last month, during which he apparently recycled the same jokes on a number of occasions. | * criticism came after Mr Blair reportedly earned £300,000 in his first week of a North American speaking tour last month, during which he apparently recycled the same jokes on a number of occasions. | ||
| - | * Tony Blair has been panned by the Chinese media after he was allegedly paid $500,000 (£237,000) for a speech that revealed " | + | * Tony Blair is panned by the Chinese media after he was allegedly paid $500,000 (£237,000) for a speech that revealed " |
| * sponsor of Mr Blair' | * sponsor of Mr Blair' | ||
| - | * Tony Blair took up numerous roles after quitting | + | * He took up numerous roles after stepping down as prime minister in 2007, including Middle East envoy for the UN for eight years. |
| * He also set up Tony Blair Associates to give “strategic advice” to a range of clients, which included oil companies as well as governments in Kuwait, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. | * He also set up Tony Blair Associates to give “strategic advice” to a range of clients, which included oil companies as well as governments in Kuwait, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. | ||
| === 2008 === | === 2008 === | ||
| - | * TB takes a position with JP Morgan ((" | + | * Blair takes a position with JP Morgan ((" |
| === 2013 === | === 2013 === | ||
| - | * Tony gets a £30m Blair Force One ((estimated cost of £7,000 for every hour it is in the air [[https:// | + | * Tony acquires |
| - | * On Sept 2, Mr Blair gave a speech in Bangkok at a one-day conference on reconciliation | + | * 2nd Sept: Mr Blair gives a speech in Bangkok at a one-day conference on reconciliation, and gets paid £400,000 by the Thai government. |
| === 2015 === | === 2015 === | ||
| * [[https:// | * [[https:// | ||
| - | * his extensive business activities in the Middle East have led to repeated accusations of conflicts of interest | + | * his extensive business activities in the Middle East have led to repeated accusations of conflicts of interest. |
| - | * Tony Blair was being paid millions by the United Arab Emirates while also working as Middle East envoy.(([[https:// | + | * TB was being paid millions by the United Arab Emirates while also working as Middle East envoy.(([[https:// |
| * TB was also being paid by a Korean oil company seeking to do business with the UAE-owned International Petroleum Investment Company. | * TB was also being paid by a Korean oil company seeking to do business with the UAE-owned International Petroleum Investment Company. | ||
| * TB is being paid to advise the Colombian government on how it spends £2 billion earned from mining deals. ((Mr Blair is close friends with Colombia’s president Juan Manuel Santos, a multi-millionaire media tycoon, with whom Mr Blair co-wrote a political book in 1999 [[https:// | * TB is being paid to advise the Colombian government on how it spends £2 billion earned from mining deals. ((Mr Blair is close friends with Colombia’s president Juan Manuel Santos, a multi-millionaire media tycoon, with whom Mr Blair co-wrote a political book in 1999 [[https:// | ||
| - | * Mr Blair is also paid £2 million a year acting as a senior adviser to JP Morgan | + | * He is also paid £2 million a year acting as a senior adviser to JP Morgan |
| === 2016 === | === 2016 === | ||
| - | * Tony Blair Associates (TBA) asked for $35 million from an oil-rich Arab state to provide | + | * Tony Blair Associates (TBA) billed |
| - | + | The expenses cover a “contribution towards the transportation costs” for visits by Mr Blair and his team. In exchange, Mr Blair promised to fly to Abu Dhabi at least 12 times a year.[[https:// | |
| - | The expenses cover a “contribution towards the transportation costs” for visits by Mr Blair and his team. For the money, Mr Blair promised to fly to Abu Dhabi at least 12 times a year.[[https:// | + | * Tony Blair closes |
| - | * Tony Blair is closing | + | |
| | | ||
| - | * The Tony Blair Institute(TBI) | + | * The Tony Blair Institute (TBI) is set up in late 2016 after Mr Blair announced that he was wrapping up his controversial business empire in order to focus on philanthropy. |
| - | * £9m Saudi payment was mentioned in TBI’s first set of accounts published , alongside contributions from the US State Department, the Canadian government, some African governments and the Victor Pinchuk Foundation — a charity set up by a Ukrainian billionaire. (([[https:// | + | * a £9m Saudi payment was mentioned in TBI’s first set of accounts published, alongside contributions from the US State Department, the Canadian government, some African governments and the Victor Pinchuk Foundation — a charity set up by a Ukrainian billionaire. (([[https:// |
| * TBI said it was “committed to working for modernisation and reform” and that none of the money goes personally to the former British prime minister, who works for free. | * TBI said it was “committed to working for modernisation and reform” and that none of the money goes personally to the former British prime minister, who works for free. | ||
| * TBI said "its aim continued to be to help make globalisation work for the many, not the few." | * TBI said "its aim continued to be to help make globalisation work for the many, not the few." | ||
| - | * Tony Blair also retains several lucrative business roles including chairing the JPMorgan | + | * TB also retains several lucrative business roles including chairing the JP Morgan |
| * Blair has been opaque about his personal wealth. Asked by the FT in 2014 about his lack of disclosure, he said: “I read I’m supposed to be worth £100m . . . Cherie is asking where it is,” he said, referring to his wife. “I’m not worth half of that, a third, a quarter, a fifth of that, I could go on.” | * Blair has been opaque about his personal wealth. Asked by the FT in 2014 about his lack of disclosure, he said: “I read I’m supposed to be worth £100m . . . Cherie is asking where it is,” he said, referring to his wife. “I’m not worth half of that, a third, a quarter, a fifth of that, I could go on.” | ||
| + | |||
| + | ---- | ||
| + | |||
| + | {{ :lowkey.png |}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== What has WikiLeaks revealed about the Blair and Brown governments? | ||
| + | Document publications by Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks shed important light on the foreign policies of the Tony Blair and Gordon Brown Labour governments. They particularly reveal the closeness of the US-UK special relationship and the willingness of the UK to act in support of the US and to protect the latter’s interests, in addition to examples of the UK’s own duplicitous foreign policy decision-making. | ||
| + | |||
| + | For shining a light on the UK governments’ wrongdoings, | ||
| + | ==== Undermining the Iraq enquiry ==== | ||
| + | |||
| + | The Brown government undermined the Chilcot Inquiry it launched in 2009 by immediately making promises to the US. As the enquiry was just beginning, Jon Day, MOD Director for security policy, promised a senior US official that his government had “put measures in place to protect your interests” during the inquiry.(([[https:// | ||
| + | |||
| + | < | ||
| + | |||
| + | It is not known what this protection amounted to, but it appears to have been substantial. No US officials were called to give evidence to Chilcot in public. Evidence from some US officials was only heard in private during visits by inquiry members to the US. The inquiry was also refused permission to publish letters between George Bush and Tony Blair written in 2002 in the run-up to the war, even though they were referred to in evidence.(([[https:// | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==== The Iraq war ==== | ||
| + | WikiLeaks’ files highlight the legacy of Tony Blair in Iraq. In October 2010, WikiLeaks published the largest classified military leak in history – the “The Iraq War Logs”, which consist of 391,832 reports documenting the war and occupation in Iraq from 2004-09 as told by soldiers in the US Army on the ground in Iraq. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The reports detail 109,032 deaths in Iraq, comprised of | ||
| + | * 66,081 “civilians” | ||
| + | * 23,984 “enemy” (those labelled as insurgents) | ||
| + | * 15,196 “host nation” (Iraqi government forces) | ||
| + | * and 3,771 “friendly” (coalition forces) | ||
| + | |||
| + | The majority of the deaths (66,000, over 60%) of these are civilian deaths.(([[https:// | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==== The UK’s “Op Telic” ==== | ||
| + | A UK military report of 2006 on the war in Iraq published by WikiLeaks damns UK and US war planning, which, it says, “ran counter to potential Geneva Convention obligations” – and lead directly to the post invasion collapse of Iraqi society. It noted: “Leaders should not start an operation without thinking…it is not enough just to identify the desired end-state”. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The report also reveals that Whitehall had been secretly planning the war during 2002 and that the Blair government kept the pending invasion (“Telic”) secret from all but an inner circle of officers and officials until three months before the start of hostilities. It stated: | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | |||
| + | Although the UK wanted UN Security Council approval, the UK found itself tied to a US ideological agenda and timetable. The report states: | ||
| + | |||
| + | < | ||
| + | |||
| + | The combined secrecy and ideology was a planning disaster that directly lead to the collapse of the Iraqi society. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Not only was the military at large kept in the dark until the end of 2002, but contractors vital to the reconstruction and stabilisation of the country were not contacted until the end of the invasion in late April 2003: | ||
| + | |||
| + | < | ||
| + | |||
| + | The report argues the result was a breach of Geneva Convention obligations, | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==== Profiting from Iraq’s Oil ==== | ||
| + | The invasion of Iraq has long been criticised for being a war for oil and for years many commentators sought information on whether Britain would encourage its oil companies to profit from this widely-condemned war. | ||
| + | |||
| + | A US cable from April 2009 - six years after the invasion of Iraq - shows Peter Mandelson, a chief architect of Tony Blair’s election victory and then Trade Secretary in the Brown government, pushing British oil and other corporate interests in Iraq. Mandelson attended the Basrah Investment Conference which brought together 23 UK-based companies such as Shell, BP, Rolls Royce and HSBC. The region was significant to the UK since this was the principal area occupied by UK military forces after the 2003 invasion. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The US cable notes: “According to Basrah HMG officials, UK delegates were able to establish or strengthen relationships with key business figures in Basrah”. Attendees also included the directors of oil investment in Basrah and the commander of Iraqi security forces in the region alongside “UK Force Commander Tom Beckett and several Basrah-based UK military officials”. The cable added: | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==== Rigging the International Criminal Court ==== | ||
| + | Another WikiLeaks file shows how the US and Britain rigged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to stop it being able to hold Blair and Bush accountable for the crime of aggression over Iraq. | ||
| + | |||
| + | During the 1998 negotiations on the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding treaty, many of the 160 states attending argued for the Court to be given jurisdiction over the crime of aggression but the US and the UK, amongst other states, were to opposed it. A compromise was struck in which the crime of aggression was included in the Rome Statute but the Court would not exercise jurisdiction over this crime until a definition, along with the conditions under which the court could exercise jurisdiction, | ||
| + | |||
| + | According to a February 2010 cable from the US Embassy to the UN in New York, the Obama administration wanted decisions on the crime of aggression to be deferred yet again after discussions in Kampala. Failing that, the US wanted to ensure that the ICC’s jurisdiction over the crime would be subject to a “Security Council trigger”, that is, the Court would only be able to act after the Security Council had determined that an act of aggression had taken place.(([[https:// | ||
| + | The governments of France and the UK agreed, along with Russia and China. By keeping the power to determine aggression within the Security Council where they have veto power, the five permanent members can prevent cases of aggression being brought at the ICC against themselves or their allies.(([[https:// | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==== “A message from Tony” ==== | ||
| + | US files published by WikiLeaks show Tony Blair seeking Hillary Clinton’s help to become President of the European Council. | ||
| + | |||
| + | An October 2009 file reveals “a message from Tony” from Jonathan Powell, Blair’s chief of staff. Powell wrote to Clinton adviser Sidney Blumenthal, stating: | ||
| + | |||
| + | “If Hillary had a chance to say something about TB being a good President of the European Council if asked about it during her remaining time in Europe that would be v helpful, The Austrian Chancellor has said today he doesn’t want TB because he was for Bush rather than the new Democratic Administration”. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Blumenthal then recommended to Clinton that she say some “nice words… without an explicit endorsement” since “the rap against him is that he’s ‘Bush’s poodle’, and your positive comments would help erase that taint”.(([[https:// | ||
| + | ====sources==== | ||
| + | * [[https:// | ||
| + | * [[https:// | ||
| + | |||