Are the US and UK empowering al-Qaeda in Yemen?

by Mark Curtis Published in Middle East Eye, 7 September 2018 A recent investigation by the Associated Press found that militias in Yemen backed by the Saudi-led coalition, of which the US and UK are a de facto part, have been recruiting hundreds of al-Qaeda militants to fight Houthi forces to reinstate the ousted government […]

UK favours extremism over democracy in Syria

by Mark Curtis Published in Middle East Eye, 22 July 2018 How does a British government respond when an allied state invades another territory with the backing of jihadists, overthrows a democratic experiment and consolidates an occupation? Judging by what Turkey is doing in the Afrin district of northern Syria, the answer is: by supporting […]

Murder on the beach: British-backed wars helped create Tunisian killer

by Mark Curtis Published in Middle East Eye, 3 July 2018   Three years ago on 26 June, a 23-year-old Tunisian armed with a machine gun mowed down 38 tourists at a beach hotel in the resort of Port El Kantaoui. Thirty British tourists were among the dead in the worst attack on Britons since […]

Britain needs a full public inquiry into the Libya war

Published in Middle East Eye, 14 June 2018 by Mark Curtis   Seven years on from the British-led NATO war in Libya in 2011 to remove leader Muammar Gaddafi, the country remains riddled with conflict and lacks effective governance. And one year on from terrorist attacks in the UK whose perpetrators are linked to that […]

How Britain engaged in a covert operation to overthrow Assad

by Mark Curtis Published in Middle East Eye, 25 April 2018 Some commentators in the British mainstream media believe the UK has “done nothing” in the war in Syria and lament the failure to help stop it. In fact, Britain has engaged in a covert operation with allies to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad for more than […]

What will be the blowback for UK government after Libya revelations?

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 […]

Why the UK must rethink its support for Saudi Arabia

Article published in Middle East Eye, 2 March 2018 by Mark Curtis Government policies are meant to promote the national interest but the upcoming visit to the UK of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman highlights something quite different – Whitehall’s pursuit of a special relationship that endangers the British public. Theresa May says the […]

Update: A London attacker’s links to UK covert operations in Syria and Libya

Evidence suggests that one of the London attackers, Rachid Redouane, was in effect part of the broad UK-backed covert strategy to oust Syria’s Assad, following his similar role in Libya in 2011. It is also possible that Redouane could have been trained by Qatari special forces in Libya in 2011, as part of a broad […]

A London attacker and UK covert operations in Syria and Libya

The Telegraph reports that London attacker Rachid Redouane fought in the 2011 British/NATO war against Qadafi  – as did Salman Abedi, the Manchester bomber – and joined a militia which went on to send jihadist fighters to Syria. In Libya, he is believed to have fought with the Liwa al Ummah unit.[1] The Liwa al […]

The Manchester Bombing as Blowback: The latest evidence

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 […]