Thread by @althecat

Today I stumbled upon this interview with @ValeriePlame, of @CIA 9/11 Niger Yellow Cake fame. It was recorded at the 2018 Scottish Beyond Borders event and it is stunning. I have started it at a particularly stunning bit....

So there you have it. The truth about the War in Iraq - it was PNAC, the State Dept. did try to stop them - but 9/11 was an opportunity for American imperialism that could not be let go of. Which we knew. But still.. 2/3

There' a bit earlier in the IV in passing which was completely new to me. @ValeriePlame mentions a story about Saddam trying to do something to his father with an "edible". And yip it is a real thing.... ipsnews.net/2004/10/politi…

So PNAC and Dad, resulted in all that death. 3/3

P.S. After listening to the rest of the @ValeriePlame IV - which focuses on the Niger Yellow Cake affair - fake evidence which played a critical role in the Iraq war I went back to have a look at the Scoop.co.nz coverage of this.

search.scoop.co.nz/search?p=3&sor…

For the benefit of new ME based followers Scoop.co.nz is the publication which I founded in 1999.
Dennis Hans was a contributor from the U.S. whose material we published in the lead up to the war. And he focused a lot on the lies that led up to the war.

Much later, after Julian Assange released Cablegate cables we also published some of the cables including this one (unclassified). From Canada about media reports, including remarks made concerning the WMD lies. scoop.co.nz/stories/WL0303…

I have only ever written for an academic once. abridged version of a speech I delivered in a Church in April 2003. "The Role Of Media In The Second Gulf War"

It's a long dissertation. Beginning with "the war before the war." [Extract below] scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0304…

The lesson we all need to remember from the 2nd Gulf War which was based entirely on lies is this. Wars do not just happen. They are engineered. They are profitable. Misinformation warfare is the beginning. Media are not an effective defence, And nor are diplomats and spies.

The Jeffrey Feltman @BeyondBorders__ panel video [] provides a wonderful window into his experience at the UN from 2012 to 2018 in Syria, Yemen and Somalia.

The @ValeriePlame @BeyondBorders IV provides a wonderful window into just how far bad actors - including people as high up in the chain as the Vice President of the US will go in order to fabricate the conditions to start a war for deceitful means.

The current situation in the Horn of Africa is tinder dry, ready to explode into flames. And the #GERD is at the heart of the matter.

The War in Tigray began in a very difficult to understand manner. It was chaotic and obscene and who did what is far from clear.

There are many potential insurgencies which could flare up in Ethiopia and nearby. And it is unclear who is involved behind the scenes in the information warfare and why.

This security community commentary published on Monday specifically raises concerns about misinformation.

It is good the World's attention is beginning to turn to the looming threats in the ME and the Horn including the #GERD. But at present the coverage is extremely simplistic - focussed on Tigray - much of it blaming Ethiopia for atrocities and using inflammatory language.

A very senior former UN now US official Jeffrey Feltman is now assigned to address the real complex issues - but that alone does not resolve this.

Ethiopia has an election on June 5. And Elections are always flash points.

Now is critical time for the news media to focus its attention on the myriad issues in the Horn of Africa. Sunlight is the best disinfectant as we often say in media circles. Right now we need more, and brighter sunlight on the Horn of Africa.

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