Military - new material (46)
01 May 2003
Terror at Dol Dol, Natasha Walter. Guardian G2 23.5.03. This piece examines claims by Masai women that, over the last twenty years, British soldiers stationed in Kenya have been carrying out rapes against local women. Walter interviews a number of the women and presents the evidence against the military.
European merger era is over, David Mulholland. Jane's Defence Weekly 9.7.03 pp. 20-21. According to senior executives in the European defence industry the days of big European mergers are over. There are now three major defence companies in Europe: BAE Systems, EADS and Thales. As "smaller but still sizeable" are mentioned DCN (France), Finmeccanica (Italy), Rolls-Royce and GKN (UK), Rheinmetall (Germany) and Saab (Sweden). BAE still does not rule out a merger with a US company but it is thought improbable that any of the US giants is interested, as many of BAE's attractive assets are tied up in joint ventures.
So were we misled? We need a full-scale inquiry, Charles Kennedy. Independent 3.6.03. The leader of the Liberal Democrats calls for an independent inquiry by a special Select Committee of the House of Commons to investigate the "alleged politicisation of intelligence" in light of the failure to find Tony Blair's much-publicised weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Kennedy concludes: "Iraq has been under coalition command since 20 April. No weapons and no long-range missiles have been found so far."
Blair must quit if he is wrong about thee weapons, Denis Healey. Independent 5.6.03. A former Labour government Secretary of state for Defence and Chancellor of the Exchequer says that he is "not convinced that there were any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq" and finds himself "disturbed by attempts to falsify evidence". He notes that the "One certainty which arises from the invasion of Iraq and the removal of Sadam Hussain is that there will be a great increase Islamic fundamentalism." Rejecting inquiries by the Intelligence and Defence Committee and the Foreign Affairs Select Committee as "unconvincing" and inquiries "carried out by MP's, who are subject to ministerial pressure", Healey calls for "an independent inquiry, like the 1988 Scott inquiry over arms to Iraq or the Franks inquiry over the Falklands [Malvinas] war." He concludes by arguing that if "Blair is found out to have been wrong about those weapons - or worse, that he knowingly made false statements - I believe he should be replaced as leader".