Former Chief of Defence Intelligence supports Whistleblowers.

 

 

 

He was subjected to a vicious hounding when he broke ranks and briefed Andrew Gilligan the reporter for BBC’s Radio 4’s Today programme, last year about his concerns over the way in which Downing Street was, in his view, misusing intelligence.

 

That merciless treatment of a good man ended only with his suicide last year.

 

Part 2

 

 

We are blessed in this country with a splendid civil service, and the best military men and women in the world. They are loyal to the Queen, their country and to all of us, as citizens.

 

Yet they have run up against a Government which deals in spin and misinformation, and which is – to put it mildly economical with the truth.

 

The concern among the intelligence services at this Government’s unprecedented attempt to politicise intelligence- to manipulate what should have been utterly objective work to its own political advantage- cannot be over-estimated

 

Why else would people of the utmost integrity such as John Morrison and Dr Brian Jones now be prepared to break ranks and risk huge penalties?

 

Why are they endangering their reputations, jobs and pensions, as well as laying themselves open to trials or courts martial?

 

It can only be because they know that the case for war against Iraq – as part of a wider war against terrorism- was reinforced by claims that weapons of mass destruction could be deployed within 45 minutes. apparently against this country, its interests or its bases in Cyprus.

 

Untenable

 

The intelligence analysts knew this assertion to be wrong, or at best, seriously misleading, but they were expected to remain silent.  They were being placed in an invidious and untenable position.  Ultimately, they felt they had no choice but to speak out.

 

The most serious thing any Government can do to a nation is to take it to war on a false prospectus.

 

We should remember that it was the Government- not those usually anonymous defence and intelligence specialists- who had decided to put the secret and objective judgments of the Joint Intelligence Committee into the public domain, to influence the mood in Parliament and the country, and garner support for invasion and regime change.

 

Now we know just how misleading, and how shamelessly spun, that Government campaign was – and its terrible consequences.

 

Sixty-one precious British soldiers have so far died in this adventure-62 if you count, as I do, poor Dr Kelly- not to mention more than 10,000 Iraqi civilians who lost their lives.

 

 

 

Honourable

 

Then there is John Morrison who has lost his job, and who, like Dr Brian Jones, must face seeing his reputation denigrated. As for the BBC, it has been decapitated.

 

Contrast that situation with what has happened in America. There, the head of CIA has resigned, taking with him at least one senior officer.

 

Here, however, John Scarlett, the chairman of the JIC, who claimed ‘ownership’ of the now infamous ’45 minute claim’ dossier, and who was criticised in the Butler Report, has actually been promoted by the Prime Minister to head MI6.

 

Let’s but it frankly. Those who had justified criticisms of the way intelligence was being spun, or who allowed alarm bells to be rung, are dead or have lost their jobs and seen their reputations questioned. Those who played the system have been rewarded.

 

The harsh truth is that the books simply do not balance, and there is good reason to ask why.

 

The bottom line must be this:

‘If the Government of a great and ancient democracy such as ours sells its citizens a false bill of goods, how can it expect loyal and honourable public servants not to break ranks, to speak out and reveal what is going on?

‘I, for one, applaud the courage of those who do.’

 

[Air Marshall Sir John Walker was Chief of Defence Intelligence and Deputy Chairman of the Defence Intelligence Committee from 1991 to 1994-when he retired]

(End)

 

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MoD - obtains almost half the COST of the Iraq War and Afghanistan  selling Army land - barracks-hospitals.July 2007

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www.eutruth.org.uk

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www.thewestminsternews.co.uk

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www.speakout.co.uk

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Daniel Hannan - Forming an OPPOSITION to the EU

www.telegraph.co.uk.blogs

 

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VOTE

MAY -2007

 

TO LEAVE THE EUROPEAN UNION

WITH THE ONLY PARTY WITH A MANDATE

TO SET YOU

 FREE

 

THE

UK INDEPENDENCE PARTY

www.ukip.org

 

TO RECLAIM YOUR DEMOCRACY DON'T VOTE FOR THE TRIPARTITE PARTIES IN WESTMINSTER

BUT

SMALL PARTIES THAT SPEAK THEIR MINDS WITHOUT SPIN AND LIES.

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ONLY

PRO-PORTIONAL REPRESENTATION

WILL BRING DEMOCRACY BACK TO THE ENGLISH PEOPLE

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Home Rule for Scotland

WHY NOT

HOME RULE for ENGLAND

 

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MAY/07

 

[All underlined words have a separate bulletin

THE QUESTION THAT THE VOTER MUST ANSWER

 

‘DO YOU WISH TO BE GOVERNED BY YOUR OWN PEOPLE, LAW AND CUSTOM OR BY THE CORRUPT ,EXPENSIVE UNACCOUNTABLE AND ALIEN BUSYBODY BRUSSELS’

 

-SIMPLE IS IT NOT?