gdp's Comments

Craig Murray : At 16.00 Today I Was...

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 02:43:25 +0000

Happy Songkran everyone!

Craig Murray : Cameron and Sarkozy's Libyan Debacle

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 10:42:49 +0000

"I'd be interested to see Obama's next move, he has seemed least keen on intervention and this might give him an excuse to dial-back US involvement. " We can only "hope". I'm confident we will be disappointed. Obama has expanded the scope of the GWOT greatly since Bush left, and failed to exit Iraq and Afghanistan. He seems keen on intervention to me.

Craig Murray : I Get Discouraged

Sun, 10 Apr 2011 13:42:47 +0000

Craig your post immediately reminded me of the Bertrand Russell quote: "One of the painful things about our time is that those who feel certainty are stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision" I would wear your political exile as a badge of honour. If you were some political hack you could make a nice living as a talking head or else still be in the FCO. It's precisely because you are dangerous to the powers that be that they feel the need to try and ignore you. BTW the 'vices' that you refer to in your books and blog have always made me think even more highly of you. Your imperfections make your achievements and sacrifice all the more impressive.

Craig Murray : Reverse Visibility Engineering

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 14:06:40 +0000

Honestly I can't really think of many practical ways to do reverse SEO work, the most you can do is make little effort to increase your ranking. In order to do reverse SEO work, people would have to contact websites that link to the electoral commission website and ask them to remove the links, very unlikely. It could also be done by using search engine unfriendly formats, but the use of said formats are much more likely do to incompetence/ease. It also depends greatly on the search terms you use. I just tested 'UK party finance' and the top 4 results all pointed to the electoral commission website. I also tested 'UK party donors' and the third result pointed to the electoral commission website.

Craig Murray : Illegal War

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 13:41:39 +0000

All the big boys are meeting to plan out Libya's future. "In a joint statement, British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the talks were aimed at sealing support for "Libya's transition from violent dictatorship and to help create the conditions where the people of Libya can choose their own future." No representative from Libya's opposition was expected to attend the conference" http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,206... Priceless. I don't know whether the author wrote it that way to highlight the sheer audacity of it all, or whether they are simply oblivious to the arrogance of the major powers. If I had to bet I would put money on the latter.

Craig Murray : Capitalism and the Big State

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 12:44:59 +0000

I guess my point was that I don't think corporate structures occurred by chance and that we are all at their mercy. I believe that the elite actively worked to create the corporations and alter laws which enable the current corporate structures to exist. The IMF, World Bank and state laws have all been created to enable the current breed of corporations to exist. They couldn't exist without the active work of the elite and it is not by chance they are structured the way they are.

Craig Murray : Capitalism and the Big State

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 05:21:52 +0000

I agree that people working within a corporation cannot alter the rules. However I would argue that corporations definitely follow the rules set by the super elite. It's no coincidence that the rise of the corporation has occurred at the same time the elite have become richer than ever before. The structures interest is the shareholders interest.

Craig Murray : Illegal War

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 05:12:04 +0000

The Gilbert Achcar article is interesting and definitely got me thinking. I found it far more thoughtful than the recent Juan Cole blogs I criticised above. I guess where I differ from Achcar's position (although he also touches on this) is that I simply don't trust the West to stick to the UNSCR 1973 resolution. I think that once there is a fig leaf to cover their aggression, the West will do whatever they want to serve their own agenda. Just look at how the UN was used in the lead up to the previous Iraq war, the US/UK claimed they had a UN mandate to invade Iraq when clearly this wasn't the case. They don't care what the UN mandate states, they just want the cover so they can tell their domestic population the war is legitimate. I also find the hypocrisy too confronting, surely the aims can't be good when in order to get the international support they need, the US supports Saudi Arabia sending tanks in to crush the Bahraini democracy movement. I do agree that the issue is not nearly as clear cut as the Iraq war, but my rule of thumb is 'when in doubt, don't bomb'.

Craig Murray : Illegal War

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 17:48:39 +0000

Strangely familiar ground. Osama was an ally of the US against the USSR. What blowback can the West expect 12 years from now?

Craig Murray : Capitalism and the Big State

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 14:28:50 +0000

This is the point I always raise when debating those who claim all the worlds problems will be solved via unrestrained capitalism. While I often agree with a large number of the faults 'free marketers' list about governments, I simply ask how a completely undemocratic entity would fix the problems they just listed. I am yet to get a coherent answer. They also like to ignore fact the we have already tried laissez faire capitalism and it turned out real bad for the average person.

Craig Murray : Illegal War

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 10:28:51 +0000

Who'd have thunk it, our great and glorious leaders involved in another illegal war killing poor Muslims. Not really their MO is it? Craig, have you spoken recently to Juan Cole? I seem to recall you saying you are friendly with him in previous posts. I frequently read his blog and value it's content, but he seems to have really been suckered by this 'humanitarian' war. Recently every second post of his has been having a go at those against the bombing of Libya and cheering for the west. I'm surprised he can still be so naive, he actually thinks Democrats and Republicans are substantially different when it comes to foreign policy....

Craig Murray : On Civilian Casualties

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 12:32:29 +0000

Craig, do you not believe the reports that the US intentionally bombed the Chinese embassy? I haven't studied the matter in great detail, but the following article seems to make a good case that it was intentional: http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/1999/nov/28... We also know how much the US likes to bomb Al Jazeera. All that said, obviously missiles miss their targets and kill civilians. The US loves to promote the myth that they have 'smart' bombs that make the wars 'clean'. Each war since WW1 the proportion of civilians to be killed vs troops has been steadily increasing. It's been a while since I looked at the numbers, but WW1 was something like 20% of deaths were civilian, Vietnam was closer to 65%-75% civilian. I would be very surprised if this trend was reversed in the recent wars. In regards to the bombing campaign under way in Libya, I found some pics from the NYT site, and they appear to show bombs being dropped on Libyan army ground forces in support of rebels fighting on the ground. It doesn't look like the bombs being dropped have anything to do with establishing a no fly zone. What do others think? Am I wrong in my assessment? http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/03/20/world... HRW is reporting that the Bahrain government is now arresting doctors and human rights activists. http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/03/20/bahrain-new...

Craig Murray : US Sponsored Massacre in Yemen

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 07:06:42 +0000

I wouldn't compare Yemen with Thailand. The conflict in Thailand is simply local elites fighting over who gets the most pie, I don't think western policy enters into it at all. The Red Shirts (new money) and the Yellow Shirts (old money) are whipping up the poor / middle class in order to serve the leaders greed. I would state that the Red Shirts have done more for the poor than Yellow, but it has nothing to do with morality, it is simply that the Red's support base is the poor, so they need to maintain their support. The leaders of both groups are disgusting people. I would also argue that it was the Reds that started the shooting. When the army moved in to break up the BKK protest camp, Seh Daeng (the Red General) had pre positioned snipers and ordered them to target the military commanders who were giving orders to the government troops. This was totally unexpected by the government troops and they collapsed quickly and had to withdraw. The Reds crowed about the success of their snipers among themselves, but their official line was that they had not used snipers. It was completely unsurprising when Seh Daeng himself was shot dead by a sniper while giving an interview to a western journalist. Anyone who knows Thai culture knew that the army would never allow Seh Daeng to get away with firing on army commanders. Live by the sword and all that. The horrible thing about all the conflict is that apart from Seh Daeng, virtually all the victims on both sides are average/poor people who have been used by their leaders.

Craig Murray : The Enemies of Freedom

Sun, 20 Mar 2011 10:44:53 +0000

I don't disagree with anything that Craig wrote in this post, and I'm certainly thankful I don't live in a country that has a government similar to Hamas. However I do have a question and a comment. I remember when Hamas first came to power, reporting (that I trust) stated that a large part of Hamas' success was that they were able to provide far more community and social services than Fatah. Has this changed in recent years? Also I don't think we should allow Hamas to be used as an excuse by Israel to deny the Palestinians freedom from occupation.

Craig Murray : The Enemies of Freedom

Sun, 20 Mar 2011 10:29:24 +0000

I love you guys ;)

Craig Murray : The Invasion of Bahrain

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 06:34:37 +0000

I think a democratic regime in Bahrain would be beneficial to Iran. Not in the sense that Bahrain would be an Iranian puppet, but rather in the sense that a more democratic government would be less likely to support the US military or economic position. I also think it's safe to say that Bahrain would have closer relations with Iran than it currently has. It's ironic that the Shiite crescent that the US is so terrified of, has benefited greatly from the war in Iraq.

Craig Murray : The Invasion of Bahrain

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 16:25:56 +0000

Yet again the mask is lifted to reveal the true face of Western foreign policy and it's commitment to democracy and freedom. Truly hideous. The average US citizen might not know the reality, but all those suffering under the oppression certainly do. Isn't the Bahraini protest Shiite led? If so it makes sense that this is where the US has drawn a line in the sand. Can't have another state sympathetic to Iran in the region. The no fly zone in Libya also make the perfect distraction.

Craig Murray : Real Versus Imaginary Terrorists

Sat, 12 Mar 2011 17:23:44 +0000

I think there are a few reasons why some terrorist plots are much hyped while others largely ignored. 1 - As others have pointed out there are obvious geo-strategic/military industrial complex reasons to hype Islamic terrorism. It's much harder to convince the public that wars are needed to prevent terrorism if Joe Bloggs is also a terrorist and the police can arrest him. The GWOT is based on the premise that Islamic terrorism is uniquely terrible and requires massive wars to prevent. 2 - As much as I hate to say it, there is a dark streak in human nature and we like to blame 'others' for as many problems as possible. 'We' are the good guys, even when we cause trouble, it is largely understandable and generally a mistake. 'They' are bad and do not posses the same moral fortitude that we do. I have been to many different countries, with different laws, customs, beliefs and political systems, but one thing they all have in common is a love of scapegoats. 3 - Connected to issue 2 is money. Fox news and organisations of that ilk all make their money obviously pushing a conservative right wing line. However, even those media organisations not so explicitly right wing see that is makes more financial sense create a narrative where we are the good guys, fighting the evil others (Muslims in this case). The average person is more likely to pay for/watch information that says how great they are as opposed to listing all their faults. These 3 factors all conspire to create the media narrative that ignores western terrorism while greatly exaggerating any crimes committed by Muslims. "Who can doubt the level of hysteria that would have been whipped up if this were a Muslim and not a Nazi?" I couldn't resist and googled 'Muslim Nazi'. This was my favourite page 1 result: Our Marxist/Muslim NAZI Dictator, Obama Sent US Diplomats 2 Meet With Muslim Brotherhood?! We're through the looking glass here, people.

Craig Murray : Western Cant on the Middle East

Tue, 8 Mar 2011 04:40:18 +0000

"Your logic being that because the Egyptians may not be happy with their dictator they should be happy for the very flawed government of the UK to fix their problems for them. LOL" I never said anywhere that the UK should fix Egypt's problems. The UK is one of the major causes of Egyptian problems by supporting Mubarak. I support the genuine Egyptian movement to throw out their dictator, I'm surprised you wouldn't support this. "The question is CONTROL. Do you want to live under an english-speaking empire or a chinese speaking empire? Or maybe a Russian or an Islamic empire. " I don't want anyone to live under an empire. As the west is by far the largest empire, a good start to roll back empires is to roll back our own western empire (which under Mubarak already had control of Egypt). "And the fact that Egypt's economy has undergone sustained growth for the last decade or more does not support your preconceived notion that the Mubarak government must have been terrible. " No the countless torture chambers and the treatment of Gaza is plenty of evidence that Mubarak was terrible.

Craig Murray : Western Cant on the Middle East

Tue, 8 Mar 2011 04:30:08 +0000

I hate to be the pedant, but perhaps you should use language that is a little more specific. I think it is fair to say that most people would interpret the phrase 'Muslim societies' as encompassing more countries than those such as Afghanistan or Iran. I assumed you meant all states where Muslims were the majority. It also depends how you define a secular state. According to Wikipedia 'Secular states do not have a state religion or equivalent'. Sorry I hate to use WP for this definition but I looked and couldn't find a better definition anywhere, feel free to point me to a better one. Regardless, Malaysia has a state religion, sharia law, it is illegal to convert Muslims to another religion and in 2007 Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said that in Malaysia “Islam is the official religion and we are an Islamic state. We have always been driven by our adherence to the fundamentals of Islam”. To be honest, I would say that Malaysia falls somewhere inbetween an Islamic and a secular state.