Post script

On reflection it occurs that my comments on Loggie officers could be offensive.
Some of them are good people and some are friends but the point I was making was that I have never heard of anybody going to Sandhurst with the intention of getting a commission in the RLC. And commissions in the combat arms fill first with those highest up the list (or, sadly, still to those with good connections) so...

Deepcut.

Some very odd things are being said in the media.

Things you should know.

After a private soldier does his 10 weeks basic training - ‘The Common Military Syllabus’– how to march, polish boots, shoot etc. he then goes on to ‘Specific to Arm’ training. Thus if one is going to armour he might lean how to drive a tank – or actually in practice learn how to load a tank gun. If joining the airborne he will learn how to throw himself out of a perfectly good aeroplane, etc.

If a young soldier is joining one of the non-combat arms, such as the Royal Logistic Corps, he or she goes to Deepcut for his or her Specific to Arm training, so lots of very new soldiers are passing through, who generally speaking, aren’t quite elite troops.

And although there is no problem in recruiting privates to hte RLC - you can do your HGV at 18 instead of 21 and army cooks are in great demand when they leave - the officers are the dregs who couldn't get in any other regiment or corps.

Question: Which Corps does the most combat training in their ‘specific to arm’ training?

Answer: Surely the Paras or the infantry? Nope. The Loggies. One could suggest this is either because there is not much to learn about stacking boxes or some sort of attempt to convince them they are more 'real' as soldiers than the combat arms.

Question: Is the army racist?

Answer: Extremely, in parts. Racism is unheard of in the Paras and the other serious combat arms and endemic in the loggies. Ditto sexism.

So, at Deepcut, you have the less confident, less fit, young, new members of the army, in a part of the army that is very racist and ‘macho’ with very poor officers. An obvious problem waiting to happen?

Although I can’t see any external enquiry even getting the information it needs, let alone any answers…

Poor Blunkett - It must be terrible for him, what with having his privacy invaded so much. how long before a lovesick Blunkett joins Fathers 4 Justice?

So, he's started an inquiry. One that is so tighly drafted that the standards watchdog has already complained. Remember this is a tame watchdog, after 'Trust Me Tony' had undermined and plotted against Elizabeth Filkin, untill she had no choice than to quit. Her crime? Investigating Labour sleaze.

A visa form.... Blunkett's cry of 'I only checked the application was dilled in correctly' is nonsense. There are a host of people who could have done this, from solicitors to the Citizen's Advice Bureau. i'd be interested to learn how he did check the form, I can't see how he could have done this alone, unless it was in braille.....

An Idea - anyonebutblair.org - We've thinking about setting a site up to argue against the authoritarian right wing labour government, and to try to advocate tactical voting to bring about a hung parliament. Politics in Britain is broken and it needs fixing. Although a hung parliament is not ideal, it would force Labour to rethink it's values and perhaps encourage the conservatives to actually try to win elections.

It's not that well thought out atm, but it's something for us to think about.

or a UK moveon.org? argues Mark Seddon.

Thoughts? ideas?

Whiter than White - That's what that nice Mr Blair told us his administration would be.

Let's see how they're getting on. David is about to join Fathers 4 Justice, but must be relieved at how poorly the CSA performs, Jack was told about an African coup, and pretended he didn't know, Peter H says that only they can keep Britain safe from terrorism, despite starting needless wars and generally cocking everything up, Peter M has lost all his friends in his new home, and is a close friend of the attempted coup leader.

Have I missed anything?

Buried in the western media, the story of what has happened in Fallujah is starting to emerge.

BAGHDAD, 26 Nov 2004 (IRIN) - After more than two weeks of conflict inside Fallujah, 60km from the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, the Iraq Red Crescent Society (IRCS) delivered aid to the heart of the city on Thursday.
Thousands of families are said to be in a critical humanitarian situation after the Iraqi government and US forces prohibited NGOs from delivering supplies, due to safety concerns...

..."Bodies can be seen everywhere and people were crying when receiving the food parcels. It is very sad, it is a human disaster," Muhammad al-Nuri, a spokesman for the IRCS, told IRIN in Baghdad.
Al-Nuri added that according to their information, they believe there could be more than 6,000 dead in Fallujah and that it is difficult to move around inside the city due to dead bodies in the streets.

The same story seems to be emerging across the media, from both the BBC and Al Jazeera.

I don't think there is anything left to say.

It looks like Andrew Neil was right about the decision to disband the Black Watch being taken, but wrong in suggesting the decision was to be announced today.
It was only to be 'leaked' today.

Authoritative reports in Whitehall said that, despite the Black Watch's losses in Iraq and a vociferous campaign to save it and other historic Scottish regiments from amalgamation, they could expect no leniency.
A formal anouncement is expected next month that the Army will go ahead with plans for a single "super regiment" for the whole of Scotland as a result of the Government's decision to cut the number of infantry battalions from 40 to 36.

As I said before, I don't know enough of army politics to know if it is the right or wrong decision. But the insensitive. venal, uncaring way it is being handled, while guys are taking hits for our politicians foul ups, and their families are waiting back home, disgusts me.

Last night, there was fierce political reaction. Pete Wishart, SNP MP for Tayside North, said:
"This is a particularly shame-faced and sleekit way in which to break the news over the regiments. Behind-the-scenes briefings to journalists is no way to announce the abolition of hundreds of years of tradition and service.
"It is a slap in the face to the soldiers, their families, the veterans and the communities they serve and have served with such distinction."
Peter Duncan, the shadow Scottish secretary, added: "The reality is this always has been and remains a political decision, to be decided by the secretary of state for defence and the prime minister.

We went to Question Time tonight, and when we got home, I got to see what the back of my head looks like, which was distinctly wierd.

The debate was a bit half hearted, I didn't manage to get a point in the 'Peter Hain Safer under Labour' bit, or on ID cards. And bid to rant about the prevalance of sexually transmitted infection in teenagers was ignored by Mr Dimbleby. I did get a quick dig at the end, about the hypocrisy of the government citing human rights as justification for going to war in support of Dubya, whilst not being able to cancel a cricket match over human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. But it was a weak point and poorly made:(

More interesting was the chat with Clare Short afterwards.
I asked her if Fallujah was a war crime,

"yes, it is collective punnishment, there is no other reasonable explananation for it, so it is illegal."
I said I wondered if I had been missing something obvious in the overall strategy, and there was a real point to the operation. She just thought for a minute, and said, that
"with Fallujah, what you see is what you get."

She had come over to see if Jane was OK, she was looking a bit slumped in her wheelie after the whole thing was over, and when she discovered Jane has ME, she was talking about some work Margret Cook (Robin's wife) was doing on Gulf War Syndrome and possible links with ME.
Like many, I was mortified at her non resignation at the start of war, and accused her of many things, including being 'flattered' into staying. But she charmed the socks off me tonight, so maybe I'm as guilty of being flattered by her as she was by Bliar.

George Osbourne was, for a Tory, very reasonable through the debate, and chatting afterwards. I asked him about what he thought the chances of a hung parliament were in 2005 (the current bee in my bonnet). He reckoned it was 50:50, maybe, but he didn't think it could happen. But he did acknowlege that the Torys were in a pretty desperate position, and and if people were to start advocating tactical voting with a hung parliament as a desired outcome of the election, it could be 'interesting'...

And finaly, security. I spent an hour and a half in church, sitting 30 feet behind Tony Bliar a couple of weeks ago, without any security checks or bag searches at all.
You will be pleased to know that the Question Time panel and audience are much better protected. A full bag search and metal detector wand thingy. And they even bothered to check who they had in there.

Breaking News. Tonight on 'This Week', the BBCs late night politics show, Andrew Neil said he had learned the decision was to be announced tomorrow that the Black Watch was to be completley disbanded, and incorporated into another regiment as a battalion,(I think I've got that right David K?) with the posibility of futher dispersal of the troops left open.
As I understood it, this is the worst case scenario, no third way, no gestures and no face saving for Bliar. David K's post of a linking an interview with Sir Mike Jackson CGS alludes to this...

It was reported last weekend that Mr Blair had personally appealed to Sir Mike to preserve the Black Watch because of the political fall-out. Sir Mike confirmed he had had a private meeting with the Prime Minister. He said he had told Mr Blair the "selection and maintenance of the aim is a fundamental principle of war". He did not deny that Mr Blair had retorted, "I need you to get me out of this hole," but described the report as "colourful".

According to Neil, the story he got suggests the army are going to pin responsibility for this having to be done on the government, citing that this is the only way to make thing work with current bugets and resources.

And this might be the only silver lining in a very dark cloud, that once again Bliar has been desperate for people to bail him out of his own shit, and they have snubbed him. Did anyone else notice a folorn figure making his way round the commons begging MPs to embrace the Blairite Third way on foxhunting? The master is losing his touch.

But that is not the point. I know nothing of Army politics, or bugets, but I do know it is a desperately cruel and thoughtless way to treat our people who are at the sharp end of the mess the politicians have created in Iraq. Whatever the rights or wrongs of what should or shouldn't happen to the Black Watch, to make a decision and announce it while guys are dying is despicable.

OK folks, just just got a call off Question Time, it's in Liverpool tonight and we're going!
Any readers out there, you have got untill about 6pm tonight to leave any ideas for questions in the comments bit at the end of this post...
Why did we never get any 'My Life in the Bush of Ghosts' T-shirts printed...

The campaign to impeach Bliar has made it to the commons today. As there are only 23 MPs signatures on the list, so the chances of it even making it to the debate stage are slim.
But by a mysterious coincidence, the entire site went down yesterday. This appeared in my inbox today...

Dear Supporter,



We apologise if you have experienced difficulties visiting the www.ImpeachBlair.org website. It was removed yesterday without warning by the hosting company.



We have now re-hosted the site under the domain www.ImpeachBlair.net and are working to get contol of our original .org domain.  You can now visit the site by going to www.ImpeachBlair.net.



Although out mailing list is almost intact, our database of petition signatories was deleted along with the site, so will you please sign our online petition again by going to www.ImpeachBlair.net/form.shtml



Kind regards,



ImpeachBlair.org (www.ImpeachBlair.net)

Mandy Watch Our esteemed representative was spotted walking through the corridors of power, looking 'rather lonely'. He's no friends on this side of the water and his offering of an olive branch to Brown, with all the fake sincerity he can muster, lasted...... about a day.

Oh dear, I wonder how long he'll be around for....

Now the French have appointed a convicted embezzler as their EU Commissioner:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4032113.stm

Nothing from Quarsan, nothing on 'From the Heart of Europe'. Is this a conspiracy?

Meanwhile according to the BBC R4 news this morning, Brussels hosted a beer pouring contest yesterday!

Good interview with my old mate Mike Jackson, the CGS.

http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/story.jsp?story=585369

However as I recall, what he actually said to Wesley Clarke was "I am not going to start fucking World War Three for you", but close.

A soldier's soldier and a Para's para.

Just found a link to this in my email [thanks mark]

10x10? ('ten by ten') is an interactive exploration of the words and
pictures that define the time. The result is an often moving, sometimes
shocking, occasionally frivolous, but always fitting snapshot of our
world. Every hour, 10x10 collects the 100 words and pictures that matter
most on a global scale, and presents them as a single image, taken to
encapsulate that moment in time. Over the course of days, months, and
years, 10x10 leaves a trail of these hourly statements which, stitched
together side by side, form a continuous patchwork tapestry of human life.

10x10 is ever-changing, ever-growing, quietly observing the ways in which we live. It records our wars and crises, our triumphs and tragedies, our mistakes and milestones. When we make history, or at least the headlines, 10x10 takes note and remembers.

Each hour is presented as a picture postcard window, composed of 100
different frames, each of which holds the image of a single moment in
time. Clicking on a single frame allows us to peer a bit deeper into the
story that lies behind the image. In this way, we can dart in and out of
the news, understanding both the individual stories and the ways in which they relate to each other.

10x10 runs with no human intervention, autonomously observing what a
handful of leading international news sources are saying and showing.
10x10 makes no comment on news media bias, or lack thereof. It has no
politics, nor any secret agenda; it simply shows what it finds.

It's more than worth a look, and it runs smoothly with a 56k dialup connection...

The report on the deaths of the RMP patrol in Iraq has been published.

http://www.army.mod.uk/linked_files/boi_rmp.pdf

I am amazed, I have never known of a full army investigation being published like this, and with an absolute miuimum of censorship - just names taken out basically.

Fascinating reading and overall very fair I think. If you don't want to wade through the whole thing look at pages 15 and 16 on the ammunition issue and the later comments on training and attitudes.

Moral: Don't send non combat troops into a war zone and if you ever find yourself in that situation insist you have a full ammo load, so, as the report puts it 'you can instigate a firefight' if neccessary...

The BNP Would Like To Apologise - Words fail me:

Yesterday we published a story which suggested that The Centre MK, the largest shopping mall in the new town had erected a giant replica mosque to act as a Santa's Grotto.

Following several calls and emails from irate and concerned BNP supporters it transpires that the Grotto is in fact a replica of Brighton Pavillion which features in "The Snowman" story which is the theme of this year's Christmas attraction.

Idiots

Marlborough Men. After the weekend's picture of the
smoking Marine compared with John Wayne, we now have these wonderful symbols of America
who last week were using illegal chemical weapons, shooting wounded prisoners...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4014901.stm

Who are the Good Guys in the white hats here?

Or are we back to General Sheridan. "The only good (fill in name of ethnic group) is a dead (fill in name of ethnic group)".

I was within 30 feet of Bliar this morning, for an hour and a half. And I didn't do anything, or say a word. A difficult exercise in self control.
We turned on the news this morning and heard Ken Bigleys memorial service was in the cathederal at 11 ,and it was to be attended by Bliar. Not only that, he was going to be doing a reading...

However some may mock, Boris, I was deeply moved by Ken Bigleys death. Much has choked me over the last 18 months, but Ken Bigley lived a couple of miles down the road, I know people who live where he lives, I know, or know of people who know, or knew members of his family. Liverpool is a small city, people are close and everybody knows somebody, who knows somebody... People wear their hearts on their sleeves and let you know whem they are aggrieved. And that's why, to my continual amazement, I like living here.

And this is what made it feel appropriate to go to the memorial of someone I didn't know. I'm feeling like I have to justify myself, and I think that's what a lot of people felt like over their cornflakes this morning. Maybe that's the reason why there were only a couple of hundred people instead of the thousand plus who were expected...

The service was pretty much as one would expect a memorial service to be. Difficult, because it was obvious that for the family and friends, it should have been a funeral. Poignant and moving, but surreal. Paul Bigley, obviously struggling with his grief, also seemed to me to struggling to ignore how and why his brother died in his eulogy.

The majority of Ken's family hold to the view, publicly at least, that Bliar and the government are not responsible because they could not have done anything tangible to save Ken. Paul, however, holds a very different view, and has condemmed Bliar and the government as having Ken's Blood on their hands. He did manage one dig. When describing his brother he made the point...

“Ken was an honest man. Ken was a loyal man. Ken was a man who kept a promise. He understood his responsibility. Ken also made mistakes but, unlike some, he was the first person to stand up and be counted.”

But it was an aside, and he conducted himself with the quiet dignity his family have maintained throughout.

And how he did so through Bliar's performance I will never know. People have much lampooned Bliar for his ecclesiastical tendencies, but sweet jesus, sitting in one of the world's finest cathederals with Bliar adressing us from the pulprit, in full 'Princess Di's dead' style is a truly horrifying experience. People say he thought, or is thinking of becoming a man of the cloth, but they are way short of the mark. In Bliar's eyes he is there. There is one thing you can say for sure about the man, his deluded belief in is own sincerity and omnipitence is absolute.
His obvious relish at being able to get up there and have his moment was sickening. The man has no shame, crocodile tears and his best note of sincerity. Knowing the soundclips, and the effective endorsement of the familly Bigley, would be syndicated across the worlds media in seconds, he gave it his all.

And then the bastard sat back down, 30 feet and 5 rows of chairs in front of me. I was seething, but this was some one else's day. The spotters with binoculars on the balcony, and the occasional glimpse of a lens reflecting up by the organ pipes was more than enough to dissuade anyone from bad behaviour, if respect was not enough. I just sat there, my stare boring into the back of his head, quietly reminding myself that even if you are an atheist, you shouldn't be thinking evil thoughts at someone in a church!

My paranoia[?] about rifle sights notwithstanding, I was amazed at the lack of security checks. When I say lack, I mean none, nada, zilch. Janie is in a wheelchair , so a nice policeman directed us to the disabled lift, we went up with and into the cathederal, an usher directed us to our seats and we sat down. Granted, a woman in a wheelchair, a scruffy bloke and a seven year old may not fit the classic fundementalist terrorist stereotype, but a cursory bag search would have been nice. Now, I wouldn't shed too many tears if Bliar was to have a nasty accident, but not while my family are sitting 30 feet from him! He might not feel he needs protection, but those of us who happen to find ourselves close to him do. I didn't have a hand grenade in my bag, but the guy sitting next to me might have. I am amazed that we could have brought anything we wanted to within 30 feet of the British Prime Minister.

I've just read through that, and it's a bit of a ramble, but it's been a wierd day.
Part of me thinks this should of just been about Ken Bigley, and not about me having a go at Bliar, again. But what is being done, and what has been done by Bliar in our name sickens me. So maybe I should leave dignity to the dignified.

“It was a moving service”.
That was what the docile Scousers (people from Liverpool) said to the TV cameras outside Ken Bigley’s memorial service today at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral.
No.
Stuff that.
3 things needed saying today...

1) Bliar lied, Bigley died.

It was a disgrace Bliar was there. I understand it was at the invitation of Ken’s mum Lil. But Bliar talked to her in the days after Ken’s murder in terms of shared faith, redemption, Heaven being a better place and all that. The rest of us are unconvinced by the Bishop Bliar act, preaching Corinthians from the pulpit. It turned my stomach. Bliar lied his way to war, dragging the public kicking and screaming behind him. His lies have led directly to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. Not only in Iraq, with his flagrant disregard for international law governing the besieging cities, collective punishment and use of chemical and radiological weapons. But in Dafur, Congo, Zimbabwe, Chechnya and all the other ignored world crises blown off our TV screens by the continuing (and correct) obsession with “Tony and George’s Bogus Desert Adventure” in the name of oil. Bliar lied, Bigley Died. Direct link.

2) Boris “Fuckwit” Johnson.

The comments in the Spectator Magazine (Liverpool circulation: 7) that the response of Scousers to Ken’s kidnap and murder was “maukish” and showed an unhealthy “Victim status” prevalent to Liverpool, were entirely to blame for a very low turnout for the memorial. Even outside the Cathedral people were heard muttering “Is it OK for us to go in?” We are all now doubting our essential goodness, our empathy and community spirit because of some southern tosspots (both Simon Heffer the author of the article and Boris), who wouldn’t recognise the milk of human kindness if it bit them on the ass. Result: low turn, out as kind people doubt their motives. All I can say is better Liverpool with its banter and tears than Henley with the lazy rich, superior than thou attitude and Pimms. (Note: Fuckwit is a Scouse technical term meaning small brained and pointless).

3) Terror threat, what terror threat?

David Blunkett said yesterday that ID cards had to be introduced ASAP to stop terror attacks, as the world is so dangerous and we have to protect…erm, not sure what, but we need them for protection. If so, then why was there no security checks made on the public at an open service attended by our Prime Minister? There were policemen milling about, some of whom were there for other police business we were told. All were chatty, friendly and not sure what to do, in that if “I just stand over here people will think I know what I’m doing” manner. NO bag searches on entering, two guys in suits with binoculars in the eaves of the Cathedral, a possible sighting of a (now totally deaf sniper) in the church organ pipes. A few twitchy men with earpieces. Members of the congregation allowed to sit wherever they wanted, within a lunge’s distance of Bliar.

And me, in my wheelchair, huge shoulder bag with wires sticking out of it (long story, to do with light bulb buying), scarf half covering my face. Ringverse looking all swarthy, unshaven and shifty as per. His son (7 years old) following up the rear, asking if we can kick Bliar’s tyres in and shout “Liar, liar, pants on fire” at the PM (He was very restrained, Bless)

We were all watched, through the narrowed eyes of security services, but it would’ve been too late, had I exploded my wheelchair. It just proved that Blunkett wants ID cards to harass refugees/asylum seekers, stop my disability benefits and generally be able to snoop on Joe Public to his heart’s content. BUT NOT FOR ANTI-TERROR PURPOSES.

YET ANOTHER NEW LABOUR/BLIAR LIE.
And here endeth the sermon.

Bed blogger

The US Perspective on Fallujah...
Lt. Col. Ralph Peters: In Praise of Killing has a very clear idea on what the troops are doing in Fallujah, and why...

PETERS: Well, the best outcome, frankly, is if they’re all killed. But we obey the laws of war. If they at the last minute throw up their hands, before we can kill them, we will accept their surrender. But the prisoners, frankly, are a liability.
We’ll obey the laws of war, but our troops are clearly out to kill.
And they are using effective targeting, just hammering these guys, and we shoot straight. And, so, when I look at - when I hear numbers above 500 already killed, that’s good.
... the proportion of killed to prisoners is extraordinarily high and that is good news because, at the end of the day, this is about taking Fallujah away from the terrorists as a safe haven. But it’s also, frankly, about killing terrorists.
You’ll hear nonsense about “Oh, we can’t kill our way out of a terrorist problem.” You kill enough of the right people and you make the problem a lot smaller.

Meanwhile, in the outside world the media just hasn't got with the program...

Tough tactics
The Pentagon is pulling out all stops to "liberate" the people of Fallujah. According to residents, the city is now littered with thousands of cluster bombs. In an explosive accusation - and not substantiated - an Iraqi doctor who requested anonymity has told al-Quds Press that "the US occupation troops are gassing resistance fighters and confronting them with internationally banned chemical weapons". The Washington Post has confirmed that US troops are firing white-phosphorus rounds that create a screen of fire impervious to water.
(note the and "not substantiated" caveat to the Gas allegation. Untill we learn more anyway...)

Dr Muhammad Ismail, a member of the governing board of Fallujah's general hospital "captured" by the Americans at the outset of Operation Phantom Fury, has called all Iraqi doctors for urgent help. Ismail told Iraqi and Arab press that the number of wounded civilians is growing exponentially - and medical supplies are almost non-existent. He confirmed that US troops had arrested many members of the hospital's medical staff and had sealed the storage of medical supplies.

The wounded in Fallujah are in essence left to die. There is not a single surgeon in town. And practically no doctors as well, as the Pentagon decided to bomb both the al-Hadar Hospital and the Zayid Mobile Hospital. So far, the International Committee of the Red Cross has reacted with thunderous apathy.

The story if what is happening in Fallujah is coming at us, here in the UK and USA, from journos embedded with US military units. I have a stunningly clear idea of exactly what is happening within a 100m radius of Lindsey Hilsum (C4) and Ben Brown (BBC).
But when I look at news that uses a different set of sources for it's stories, even if the individual events aren't 'verifyable', as the western mainstream media describes all stories not confirmed by US/UK military sources, a far scarier picture of how desperate the situation over there is comes out.

Sorry if this is stating the obvious, again, but my frustration with the way all the western media is treating events in Iraq is growing by the day. I am gettting two alternate stories about what is happening over there. The line of the Western mainstream media, telling me what the US are doing, in little, clearly packaged embed segments "under Military reporting restrictions" is rammed down my throat on the TV and in the press ad nauseum.

Meanwhile, through the magic of the interweb, I am getting a more confused, nebulous picture of what it is to be on the recieving end of all these operations. The facts are less clear, but the picture from the ground appears consistent. Things are really turning to shit, and desperate times are leading to desperate measures being taken on both sides.

Now maybe I'm wrong, but I can't seem to find any stories from the ground shouting about how great things are and how well the Brits, Americans and Allawi are running the occupation.
And I still want to know where the alleged 200,000 people who have supposedly left Fallujah are. That's half the population of Liverpool. They have got to be somewhere.. and when they go back home, and see what is left of it, I cant see them being overly grateful for their Liberation.

Let's Go Back in Time and read the transcript of When Tony Met George on Feb 21, 2001:

Q Yes, sir. Could both of you explain how you keep the Iraqi sanctions from crumbling and how do you explain how the Iraqi sanctions could be reconstituted to keep them from -- to help ease the strain on the Iraqi people?

THE PRESIDENT: We spent a lot of time talking about our mutual interests in Iraq and the Persian Gulf, and from our perspective, as you know, I made the famous statement that our sanctions are like Swiss cheese. That means they're not very effective. And we're going to work together to figure out a way to make them more effective.

But I think the Prime Minister and I both recognize that it is going to be important for us to build a consensus in the region to make the sanctions more effective. Colin Powell left today, after lunch, to move around the Middle East, collect thoughts and to listen, with a policy of strengthening our mission to make it clear to Saddam Hussein that he shall not terrorize his neighbors, and not develop weapons of mass destruction

PRIME MINISTER BLAIR: Yes, I'd like to just add to that. I think that -- I mean, of course, we look the whole time to see how we can make sanctions more effective. But don't be under any doubt at all of our absolute determination to make sure that the threat of Saddam Hussein is contained and that he is not able to develop these weapons of mass destruction that he wishes to do.

And as I constantly point out to people, I mean, this is a man with a record on these issues, both in respect to the murder of thousands of his own people, in respect to the war against Iran, in respect to the annexation of Kuwait. And we know perfectly well, given the chance he will develop these weapons of mass destruction; indeed, he's trying to do so and will get as much technology as he can to do so.

Hmmm..... It sounds like they thought he hadn't got any then. It's all if's, might, would's. Certainly no mention of ricin, anthrax, nerve gas, nuclear bombs or any of the other nonsense they came out with since. but this was in Feb, not Sept 2001.

Some more on US use of Chemical Weapons in Fallujah.
Doubtless the Coalition governments will deny the indiscriminate use of Chemical weapons against a civillian population in Fallujah, as Q blogged yesterday.
Ashley Gilbertson for the New York Times provides some futher evidence (photos). The precision targeting of the US is so precise, they managed to drop some white phosphorus shells on their own troops.

U.S. marines scurried for cover Tuesday, Nov. 9, to avoid being burned by "white phosphorus," which was fired as a smoke screen for U.S. tanks but landed on their own positions.

The Washington Post Foreign Service also report the use of these munitions...

"Usually we keep the gloves on," said Army Capt. Erik Krivda, of Gaithersburg, the senior officer in charge of the 1st Infantry Division's Task Force 2-2 tactical operations command center. "For this operation, we took the gloves off."
Some artillery guns fired white phosphorous rounds that create a screen of fire that cannot be extinguished with water. Insurgents reported being attacked with a substance that melted their skin, a reaction consistent with white phosphorous burns.
Kamal Hadeethi, a physician at a regional hospital, said, "The corpses of the mujaheddin which we received were burned, and some corpses were melted."

Raed also reports the use of these munitions, and one of the comments describes the effects of being on the recieving end of one of these shells...

White phosphorus grenades tossed into places where people are? That's insane - such usage is pretty much a chemical weapon and a firebomb. An M-15 phosphorus grenade (what they're probably using) has a bursting radius of 17 meters. It burns at 5,000 degrees Farenheit. If you remove a fragment from the body, it spontaneously reignites when exposed to air - you have to soak the injured person's wounds in water before you remove it, then submerge it immediately afterwards. If white phosphorus enters water with a low oxygen content, it forms phosphine, a lethal gas. Breathing in the smoke causes a condition known as "phossy jaw", which gives an unhealing mouth wound and possible breakdown of the jaw bone itself. Consumption of a small amount of white phosphorus (<1 tsp) leads to nausea, vomitting, liver damage, heart damage, kidney damage, extreme drowsiness, and sometimes death.

Some more on the longer term environmental impact of the use of white phosphorus from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

And finally, the description of being on the close end of one of these things going off, from a vietnam vet...

Roever was so badly burned that the medics who loaded him onto the helicopter thought he was dead.
“I had half of my face and my right ear burned completely away. I had blood spurting from an open artery in my right hand and I could see my heart beating in my chest.”
The phosphorus continued to burn as he was being treated, he continued.
“When the medics put me on the stretcher initially I burned through the stretcher and fell on my head when I hit the ground.”
Wrapping him in a blanket soaked in river water, he was finally loaded in the helicopter.

So how can the coalition (the idiot son and Bliar) justify chucking these things at city with a remaining civillian population of anywhere between 30,000 and 150,000 people still in it? And if, as the coalition claim, over half the poulation have left town, THEN WHERE ARE THEY. Half the population is 150,000 people, and if 90% of the population have fled, then that still leaves 30,000 in town and 270,000 people milling around somewhere. And why is nobody asking about this?

Please call the channel 4 newsdesk comments line, and ask them to cover the white phosphorus angle. If you ring this number, 020 783 33000 you will either get put through to the comments answerphone, or directly to someone on the newsdesk depending on how busy they are. It is worth it, unlike the BBC (Bliar Broadcasting Corp), C4 do listen to, respond and acknowlege the comments they get. But if you are feeling optimistic, you have to go via the switchboard for the Beeb, and the number is 0870 010 0222.

Chemical Weapons Found in Iraq - And they're being used by the US in Fallujah:

"Usually we keep the gloves on," said Army Capt. Erik Krivda, of Gaithersburg, Md., the senior officer in charge of the 1st Infantry Division's Task Force 2-2 tactical operations command center. "For this operation, we took the gloves off."

Some artillery guns fired white phosphorous rounds that create a screen of fire that cannot be extinguished with water. Insurgents reported being attacked with a substance that melted their skin, a reaction consistent with white phosphorous burns.

Kamal Hadeethi, a physician at a regional hospital, said, "The corpses of the mujahedeen which we received were burned, and some corpses were melted."

I bet New Labour is feeling proud of itself. I feel sick, we've descended to Saddam's level.

Vive Belgie! - And I'm trying hard nor to gloat here, but Belgium has found a strategy to beat the neo-nazi Vlaams Blok, a far right party with a broad ranging manifesto of... hating foreigners and wanting everyone to speak Flemish. They've been banned for breaking Belgium's hate crime laws. I expect something similar to happen to the BNP, as a group of Anglo-Carribeans are pushing a case through the courts claiming, shock horror, that the BNP would discriminate against Black British members. If not, then thousands of Black British citizens would join the BNP.......

And that's that.

They did well to keep this hidden till after the election...

WASHINGTON — In the weeks after the fall of Baghdad, Iraqi looters loaded powerful explosives into pickup trucks and drove the material away from the Al Qaqaa ammunition site, according to a group of U.S. Army reservists and National Guardsmen who said they witnessed the looting.

The soldiers said about a dozen U.S. troops guarding the sprawling facility could not prevent the theft because they were outnumbered by looters. Soldiers with one unit — the 317th Support Center based in Wiesbaden, Germany — said they sent a message to commanders in Baghdad requesting help to secure the site but received no reply.

The witnesses' accounts of the looting, the first provided by U.S. soldiers, support claims that the American military failed to safeguard the munitions. Last month, the International Atomic Energy Agency — the U.N. nuclear watchdog — and the interim Iraqi government reported that about 380 tons of high-grade explosives had been taken from the Al Qaqaa facility after the fall of Baghdad on April 9, 2003. The explosives are powerful enough to detonate a nuclear weapon.

Doh...!

A lesson from Samarra today, in how effective Coalition[sic] methods are in putting down the 'insurgency' and restoring Law and order.

And this from the BBC...
The BBC News website spoke by phone to a reporter in Falluja, who described how people left in the city live on through siege and bombardment. He is not named for security reasons...

But I'm sure Blunkett is right, and the people left alive in Fallluja are really looking forward to liberation...
I listened to our psychotic Home Secretary on Any Questions today, and it was sickening to hear him, and indeed the whole panel, rooting for the attack on Falluja. Blunkett then went on to moan about Radio 4's Today programme being obsesssed with iraq and having to steel himself to listen to it. He finished his performance by telling Jonathan Dimbleby to 'sod off'.
A Labour Home Secretary for the 21st century...

Averting Fallujah - Koffi Annan has written to Allawi expressing concern about an assault on the city:

I wish to share with you my increasing concern at the prospect of an escalation in violence, which I fear could be very disruptive for Iraq's political transition.

I have in mind not only the risk of increased insurgent violence, but also reports of major military offensives being planned by the multinational force in key localities such as Falluja.

I wish to express to you my particular concern about the safety and protection of civilians. Fighting is likely to take place mostly in densely populated urban areas, with an obvious risk of civilian casualties...

Of course, I understand that there is an imperative need to restore security throughout Iraq. But I equally believe that, ultimately, the problem of insecurity can only be addressed through dialogue and an inclusive political process.

Allawi's response? The Iraqi leader described Mr Annan's intervention as confused and lacking in substance. And I thought Blair had cheek. How can this unelected, unwanted and unpopular smirking skunk of a man write off the UN like that. Here's a helpful hint for the grinning git; when you're asking the European Union to fund your puppet government, don't insult us.

And finally, Mr Blair, don't make accusations that European leaders are in a 'state of denial' it is your utter refusal to face facts that divided the EU and led us into this farce.

3 dead , 10 wounded (not 8 as reported by the BBC) which is a lot in a close batallion family.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3984575.stm

However, Hoon, once again, is 'mistaken'.

1. This is not a 'routine deployment' as unlike the peace keeping the British Army and Royal Marines have been carrying out untill now, this is an offensive operation, the first since the war 'ended'.

2. If you look at the deployment, the new AO and the Threat Axis, it appears the task is not to prevent people getting into Faluja, it is stop them getting out. Which chills me somewhat.

It's over ...
He won ...
We're Fu***d ...
:-(

Crisis in Darfur. As the eyes of the world are on the US election, the military dictatorship of Sudan are taking a leaf out of Bliars book of news management to futher their campaign of genocide.

The Sudanese army and police surrounded refugee camps in Sudan’s western region of Darfur and denied access to aid agencies, UN officials said on Tuesday.

They reported that security forces moved in to the camps before dawn and evacuated some people from two camps near Nyala. They also said that Sudanese forces fired shots and teargas in the air to disperse crowds in a third camp.

"Early this morning, police surrounded two camps and later on relocated a number of IDPs (internally displace people)," the World Food Program (WFP) spokeswoman in Nyala, Bettina Leuscher, said.

She also said that rising tension was barring vital aid reaching areas of West Darfur state.

I know we are all focussed on the chance the impossible might just happen later on tonight, and the idiot son might get kicked out of the Whitehouse, but the complicity of the world in what is happening shouldn't be ignored.

I can find little other than rehashed reuters reports online tonight, but the reporter on the ground for Channel4 news was describing scenes of horror as the military surrounded the camps and fired guns and tear gas to forcibly evict the refugees, and were using bulldozers to demolish the sites. There were rumours of people been moved to other camps, and reports of numbers of terrified people simply wandering around the local area.

Yet another diplomatic triumph for Bliar, his plan attemts to placate the Sudanese government and ask them to comit genocide quietly has been as ineffective as it was misguided. And as for the UN and Kofi Annan, I can only assume he enjoys a good bit of ethnic cleansing. His semantic, legalese, efforts to avoid doing anything has been as obscene as it was over Rwanda.

Weed For Congress! It seems that Al 'Farmer. Soldier. Statesman' Weed is having his signs stolen. Spooky.

"It's too bad that people have to resort to this kind of thing. I think it is someone who was politically motivated, because we have caught college students at 11:30 or 12:00 at night, but this sign was stolen at 4:00 am, which implies someone was more motivated, to stay up that late. There is a large Bush sign only 2 blocks away, and it is still standing, so it’s not someone who just doesn’t like big signs,"

The Unedited Bin Laden Tape - Full Transcript To fight Bin Laden we need to understand him and his aims. Simply calling him evil won't achieve anything. This is his analysis of events, and it is a very interesting read. I can never sympathise with him or agree with his world view, but there can be no victory against terror unless we address the Israel/Palestine issue.

Robert Fisk discusses the tape, before the full version was released.