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BBC At War: M'Lord Hutton Blesses Blair's Attack on BBC's Investigation of Iraq War Claims
By Greg Palast
He did not say, "hello," or even his name, just left a one-word message: "Whitewash." It came from an embattled journalist whispering from inside the bowels of a television and radio station under siege, on a small island off the coast of Ireland: from BBC London.And another call, from a colleague at the Guardian: "The future of British journalism is very bleak."
However, the future for fake and farcical war propaganda is quite bright indeed. Today, Lord Hutton issued his report that followed an inquiry revealing the Blair government's manipulation of intelligence to claim that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass murder threatening immanent attack on London.
Based on the Blair government's claim, headlines pumped the war hysteria:
SADDAM COULD HAVE NUCLEAR BOMB IN YEAR, screeched the London Times. BRITS
45 MINS FROM DOOM, shrieked the Sun newspaper.
Given these facts only a sissy pacifist, a lunatic or a Saddam fellow traveler would fail to see that Prime Minister "Winston" Blair had no choice but to re-conquer it's former Mesopotamian colony.
But these headline were, in fact, false, and deadly so. Unlike America's press puppies, BBC reporters thought it their duty to check out these life or death claims. Reporters Andrew Gilligan and Susan Watts contacted a crucial source, Britain's and the United Nation's top weapons inspector.
He told reporter Watts that the Weapons of Mass Destruction claims by Blair and our own President Bush were, "all spin." Gilligan went further, reporting that this spin, this "sexed up" version of intelligence, was the result of interventions by Blair's PR henchman, Alistair Campbell.
Whatever reading of the source's statements, it was clear that intelligence experts had deep misgivings about the strength of the evidence for war.
The source? Dr. David Kelly. To save itself after the reports by Gilligan and Watts, the government, including the Prime Minister himself, went on an internal crusade to out the name of its own intelligence operative so it could then discredit the news items.
Publishing the name of an intelligence advisor is serious stuff. In the USA, a special criminal prosecutor is now scouring the White House to find the person who publicly named a CIA agent. If found, the Bushite leaker faces jail time.
Blair's government was not so crude as to give out Dr. Kelly's name. Rather, they hit on a subterfuge of dropping clues then allowing reporters to play '20 questions' - if Kelly's name were guessed, they'd confirm it. Only the thickest reporters (I name none here) failed after more than a couple tries.
Dr. Kelly, who had been proposed for knighthood was named, harangued and his career destroyed by the outing. He then took his own life.
But today is not a day of mourning at 10 Downing Street, rather a day of self-congratulations.
There were no weapons of mass destruction, no nuclear warhead just short of completion, no "45 minutes to doom" bombs auguring a new London blitz. The exile group which supplied this raw claim now calls the 45 minute story, "a crock of shit."
Yet Blair's minions are proclaiming their vindication.
This is not just a story about what is happening "over there" in the United Kingdom. This we must remember: David Kelly was not only advisor to the British but to the UN and, by extension, the expert for George W. Bush.
Our commander-in-chief leaped to adopt the Boogey Man WMD stories from the Blair government when our own CIA was reticent.
So M'Lord Hutton has killed the messenger: the BBC. Should the reporter Gilligan have used more cautious terms? Some criticism is fair. But the extraordinary import of his and Watts' story is forgotten: our two governments bent the information then hunted down the questioners.
And now the second invasion of the Iraq war proceeds: the conquest of the British Broadcasting Corporation. Until now, this quasi-governmental outlet has refused to play Izvestia to any prime minister, Labour or Tory.
As of today, the independence of the most independent major network on this planet is under attack. Blair's government is "cleared" and now arrogantly sport their kill, the head of Gavyn Davies, BBC's chief, who resigned today.
"The bleak future for British journalism" portends darkness for journalists everywhere - the threat to the last great open platform for hard investigative reporting. And frankly, it's a worrisome day for me. I'm not a disinterested by-stander. My most important investigations, all but banned from US airwaves, were developed and broadcast by BBC Newsnight, reporter Watts' program.
Will an iron curtain descend on the news? Before dawn today, I was reading Churchill's words to the French command in the hours before as the Panzers breached the defenses of Paris. Churchill told those preparing to surrender, "Whatever you may do, we shall fight on forever and ever and ever." This may yet be British journalism's Finest Hour.
*****
Greg Palast is the author of the New York Times bestseller, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy. His reports for BBC Newsnight and The Guardian papers and other writings may be viewed at www.GregPalast.com.LINKSwww.GregPalast.com
Last modified: Thursday, January 29, 2004
Previous events & announcements stories
AFTER HUTTON: IRAQ AND THE MEDIA
NUJ: HUTTON REPORT IS A “THREAT TO INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM”, ATTACKS ON ANDREW GILLIGAN ARE “UNFOUNDED”
HUTTON IS A WHITEWASH: Demonstrate on Saturday for a full public inquiry into the war...
Peace & Progress Symposium:"Britain's Guantanamo: Internment Without Trial in Belmarsh"
Stop the War Coalition: forthcoming events
Book launch: 'Tell Me Lies'
Who Owns What (from Columbia Journalism Review)
"Your BBC, Your Say" - Jowell launches biggest ever public debate on future of the BBC.
ESF 2004: Preparatory Meeting in London
FREEPRESS IS HERE!
BOOK OFFERS
CONCERNS ABOUT ITV ASSET-STRIPPING
END THE OCCUPATION MARCH AND RALLY.
Can the Press Complaints Commission be 'independent, consistent and effective' ?
Freepress 134 On the site
Informed Dissent A CD by undercurrents and Peace News £6.50
Free Press Special issue - Iraq and the Media War
Biased news – do we want it here?
BOOK THE DATE NOW: CPBF AGM
HAPPENING - International Writers Day 2003
COMMUNICATING THE WAR ON TERROR
THINK LONDON: THINK LOCAL - Making better use of the capital's media
VENEZUELA: A YEAR AFTER A POPULAR UPRISING REVERSED THE COUP
Polls show majorities against US ownership of ITV and Murdoch buying Channel 5
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Notices
Events & Announcements
World Press Freedom Day
More reporters are currently imprisoned in Turkey than in any other country in the world. Only a matter of weeks ago lawyers failed to persuade a Turkish court to release a 76-year-old journalist from a Turkish internet news station.
World Press Freedom Day on Friday May 3, 2013 is being marked in Britain by a rally to highlight the dangers facing journalists in Turkey and in this podcast, Nicholas Jones speaks to Barry White, Organiser at the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, and Sam Bamford, the TUC's policy officer for Eastern Europe and Africa about the importance of a campaign to highlight international press freedom.
The World Press Freedom Day rally is being staged by the National Union of Journalists at the NUJ head office, Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1 on Thursday May 2, 6pm-8pm.
DATELINE: 27/4/13
UK launch of EU media campaign
DATELINE: 13/3/13
The UK launch of a 'European Citizens' Initiative' calling for EU rules against concentration of media power will take place on Thursday March 21 from 11:00am – 12:30pm in Committee Room 4A at the House of Lords, London. Guest speakers will include actor and activist Hugh Grant (pictured), media consultant Claire Enders, Professor Steven Barnett, Barry McCall (President of the NUJ) and Marc Gruber (Director of the European Federation of Journalists).
A European Citizens' Initiative is an official petition, like a Downing Street petition. If it succeeds in gathering a million signatures across the EU, the Commission is obliged to respond.
This petition calls for the EU to act to protect media pluralism and press freedom.
CPBF Annual General Meeting
DATELINE: 1/3/13
Make a note in your diary
Saturday 13 July 2013 from 10.00am
NUJ HQ, 308/312 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1.
Leveson, media ownership, CPBF future work.
DOWNLOAD FREEPRESS NOW
DATELINE: 26/3/10
Download Freepress in PDF, ePub or mobi format. Issue 194 now available.
MEDIA FOR ALL CONFERENCE
DATELINE: 26/3/10
Papers from the Media for All Conference
MEDIA MANIFESTO
DATELINE: 26/3/10
The media’s job is to inform and entertain us but we rely on them too to tell us what our rulers and representatives are up to. In the run-up to the Iraq war the government used spin and disinformation in the media to create panic and mislead people. The truth is coming out now, but we need stronger, more independent media to be able to scrutinise governments and make informed choices.
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Previous stories
Events & Announcements
AFTER HUTTON: IRAQ AND THE MEDIA
NUJ: HUTTON REPORT IS A “THREAT TO INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM”, ATTACKS ON ANDREW GILLIGAN ARE “UNFOUNDED”
HUTTON IS A WHITEWASH: Demonstrate on Saturday for a full public inquiry into the war...
Peace & Progress Symposium:"Britain's Guantanamo: Internment Without Trial in Belmarsh"
Stop the War Coalition: forthcoming events
Book launch: 'Tell Me Lies'
Who Owns What (from Columbia Journalism Review)
"Your BBC, Your Say" - Jowell launches biggest ever public debate on future of the BBC.
ESF 2004: Preparatory Meeting in London
FREEPRESS IS HERE!
BOOK OFFERS
CONCERNS ABOUT ITV ASSET-STRIPPING
END THE OCCUPATION MARCH AND RALLY.
Can the Press Complaints Commission be 'independent, consistent and effective' ?
Freepress 134 On the site
Informed Dissent A CD by undercurrents and Peace News £6.50
Free Press Special issue - Iraq and the Media War
Biased news – do we want it here?
BOOK THE DATE NOW: CPBF AGM
HAPPENING - International Writers Day 2003
COMMUNICATING THE WAR ON TERROR
THINK LONDON: THINK LOCAL - Making better use of the capital's media
VENEZUELA: A YEAR AFTER A POPULAR UPRISING REVERSED THE COUP
Polls show majorities against US ownership of ITV and Murdoch buying Channel 5
