Encloses a paper which “attempts to expand the Secretary of State’s thoughts on the sources and means of influence in the modern world”, whose contents “have been generally approved”. Paper: “Sources and means of influence in the modern world”, July 1968 “It is this distribution of our economic interests, deriving in many cases from our […]
Topic: Middle East
Article published in Middle East Eye, 5 April 2018 By Mark Curtis The revelation that the British government likely had contacts with the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) and the 17 February Martyrs Brigade during the 2011 war in Libya – groups for which the 2017 Manchester bomber and his father reportedly fought at […]
UK files/articles on the Middle East show, among other things, UK support to Gulf elites, the importance of controlling oil and keeping the region divided, and plans to use nuclear weapons to deny Soviet control of oil. Documents Defence Intelligence paper, ‘Presentation to Sir William Luce on the Gulf’, August 1970 (click here) Foreign Office, […]
Cabinet Defence and Oversea [sic] Policy Committee, ‘Issue of foreign policy: A memorandum by officials in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’, 29 June 1970 “It will be important to ensure that, as Western Europe develops, it retains a close partnership with the United States. We shall wish to keep our special links with the United […]
Report for Global Justice Now (December 2017) The UK government’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) raises all kinds of questions about the future of UK aid, the nature of the UK’s relations with states abusing human rights and the government’s openness with the public. Established in 2015, the CSSF is a £1 billion annual […]
A Briefing by Mark Curtis[1] and Nafeez Ahmed[2] 3 June 2017 (This briefing will be updated as more evidence emerges. Sources are overwhelmingly from mainstream media, except where clearly stated). A PDF version of this briefing is available here ** Introduction The evidence suggests that the barbaric Manchester bombing, which killed 22 innocent people on […]
by Mark Curtis Published in New Internationalist, 18 May 2017 The upcoming election has two key features. One is that voters have a genuine choice for the first time in a generation. But the other is that media disinformation backing current foreign policy and attacking Jeremy Corbyn is so great that the election cannot possibly […]
by Mark Curtis I completely support the protests and opposition to Trump. At the same time, the British government in its foreign policy is now operating outside of any serious democratic control, and is: promoting covert wars in seven countries violating international law in several areas regularly lying to parliament on its actions deepening alliances […]
By Mark Curtis An edited extract from Web of Deceit: Britain’s Real Role in the World “Why do we support reactionary, selfish and corrupt governments in the Middle East instead of leaders who have the interest of their people at heart?” (Stafford Cripps, Chancellor in the Attlee government, 1945-51) Former SAS officer, Peter de la […]
Michael Stewart, Foreign Secretary to Secretary of State for Defence, 21 March 1969 ‘As of course you know it has been our policy to assist local forces in the Persian Gulf where they have come into being. We have done this to give ourselves influence and a means of ensuring stability and thus contributing to […]