Wikileaks cables released this week show the real relationship between Washington and Cairo, a toxic brew of money, slight pressure, fear of Islamism and reliability. Who needed whom more? US diplomats and their masters never imagined a different Egypt because they never wanted it to happen. It suited America just fine. The real rights of…
Showing all posts tagged Iraq
Don’t forget every “expert” who embraced Mubarak and his kind
The embedded journalists, writers, commentators and think-tankers who spend their hours urging “moderate” regimes in the Middle East – namely Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and others – never cared too much about the democratic aspirations of the Arab people themselves. Too messy, too inconvenient. And as long as Israel was happy, well, Washington (and…
People of Gaza and Egypt need freedom from our thug
Burn, baby, burn. Israel and America are scurrying for some kind of response to the Egyptian uprising. The poor lambs. What on earth will they do if a compliant dictatorship actually falls? For example, the siege on Gaza may well be about to change. I hope. And so do the people of Gaza. They deserve…
Watch the emotional power of whipping Mubarak
Two very clever tweets from Guardian journalist Brian Whitaker. One: Israel’s analysis of Egypt is looking like the biggest intelligence failure since Iraqi WMD Two: Israel should henceforth be referred to as “the only democracy in the Middle East that supports dictators”
Reporting the occupation; voices in Jaipur
Today I chaired a session here in Jaipur, India at the literature festival with three men who know something about war and conflict. Brit Rory Stewart, New Yorker’s Jon Lee Anderson and the Washington Post’s David Finkel. We faced a packed audience – hundreds in an outdoor tent with overflowing crowds hanging out as far…
Jaipur Literature Festival approaches
Sharing and hearing stories and experiences with a global audience is one of the most satisfying parts of my work. In that spirit, I’m honoured to be invited to the Jaipur Literature Festival in India that starts later this week. I’m a guest of the festival and will be involved in two major sessions: Reporting…
War crimes are the secrets nobody discusses
Sick of corporate journalists simply repeating government talking points? Are we “winning” the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? The embedded mindset is alive and well. Dahr Jamail is a notable exception, independent reporter for years. Some choice comments from his recent interview with Truthout: A3N: How do they [mainstream media] address the argument that exposing…
Notes from today’s speech in Sydney to support Wikileaks
Today’s rally in Sydney was a good event, attracting around 1000 people, all of whom wanted to show solidarity with what Wikileaks stands for; transparency and real free speech. My speech addressed the often complicity of the mainstream media in keeping government secrets away from the public. They want to be gate-keepers, close to power.…
Default position of US media elite is to urge violence against everybody
The frequency with which supposedly respectable mainstream commentators write about violence and killing civilians is handily compiled by Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. Remind me why these cretins continue to be published? Because they beautifully serve US foreign policy: The discussion of violent and paranoid rhetoric in the media is long overdue, whether or not…
Why Wikileaks is so dangerous for the ruling class
Julian Assange speaks exclusively to John Pilger in this week’s New Statesman: I think what’s emerging in the mainstream media is the awareness that if I can be indicted, other journalists can, too. Even the New York Times is worried. This used not to be the case. If a whistleblower was prosecuted, publishers and reporters…