Archive for 'Intelligence' Category
Dannatt criticises Chilcot
by Chris Ames
Perhaps the most important criticism from former army chief Sir Richard Dannatt in the Sunday Telegraph’s extensive coverage of his book comes in the interview he has given the paper:
Sir John Chilcot’s inquiry into the Iraq war had done little to convey how “the pips were squeaking” in the Armed Forces.
“In front of [...]
Brian Jones caught on camera
Here is the video of Brian Jones’ talk on Wednesday
As Brian has explained, only the talk was on the record and not the questions afterwards.
Chilcot, Hutton and the dossier
by Chris Ames
Following this morning’s publication of a previously unseen draft of the September 2002 Iraq dossier, I have posted this piece on Comment is Free, arguing that Sir John Chilcot is very complacent in saying that:
“We have a very detailed account in the Hutton inquiry report of the construction of the dossier, almost line [...]
New Iraq Dossier draft published on the Digest
by Chris Ames
I am today publishing a previously unseen draft of the September 2002 Iraq dossier, which was produced in June 2002 by the CIC, the propaganda unit that wrote the February 2003 “dodgy dossier”.
This is another document that the Iraq Inquiry has concealed.
Read more on the website of Index on Censorship.
Failing Intelligence
By Brian Jones
Digesters may be interested to know that Dialogue have just published my book, FAILING INTELLIGENCE: The true story of how we were fooled into going to war in Iraq.
It is available online and should be in the book shops this week. It got a mention in this week’s Sunday Express and was [...]
Foreign Office still concealing Iraq dossier documents
by Chris Ames
I have had a response from the Foreign Office to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request I made three weeks ago. Firstly, well done to the FCO for giving a substantive response within the statutory timescale. And the response confirms that they have at least some of the material that I have asked [...]
The Way of the World
by Tony Simpson
This is a review of The Way of the World by Ron Suskind, originally published in The Spokesman, the journal of the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation.
The Way of the World is particularly interesting because it sheds just a little light on the activities of Sir Richard Dearlove, who was head of Britain’s [...]
Sorry not to have spotted this earlier
by Chris Ames
When Alastair Campbell appeared before the Inquiry, he was questioned extensively about his partially successful attempts to sex-up the nuclear timelines in the September 2002 Iraq dossier. He kept claiming that he was genuinely confused about one particular issue, although Sir Lawrence Freedman kept reminding him that “that wasn’t the only email you [...]
Cooking up the right answer, for the wrong reasons
by Brian Jones
Andrew Mason has drawn attention to David Clark’s article in the Guardian which caused me to look again at my extensively annotated copy of Robin Cook’s “The Point of Departure.” It has reminded me what a fascinating read it is and, as Clark writes, that so much of it chimes with [...]
Dossier was sexed-up – Omand
by Chris Ames
At the Inquiry yesterday, Sir David Omand, the Intelligence and Security Co-ordinator at the time of the September 2002 dossier, gave some very mixed views about both the document and the process of producing it. He hadn’t noticed the hardening-up that the Inquiry has clearly identified – and to which Lord Turnbull admitted [...]