Secrecy ruling by judge on Blair-Bush talk

[DoYouEverWonder]

July 19, 2006
The Guardian

The public must be prevented from learning the contents of a conversation between Tony Blair and President George Bush about the conduct of the war in Iraq - crucial evidence in a forthcoming official secrets trial - an Old Bailey judge ruled yesterday.

Any discussion of an already partially leaked document - in which Mr Bush purportedly said in April 2004 that he wanted to bomb the Arabic satellite TV station al-Jazeera, and Mr Blair expressed concern about US military tactics in the Iraqi city of Falluja - must be heard behind closed doors, Mr Justice Aikens ruled. He also banned the public and the media from hearing the prosecution's arguments on the grounds of national security.

Defence lawyers who have seen the four-page document argue that its contents are at most embarrassing. A number of newspapers are planning to challenge yesterday's ruling.

<snip>

The Bush-Blair meeting took place when Whitehall officials, intelligence officials and British military commanders were expressing outrage at the scale of the US assault on Falluja, in which up to 1,000 civilians are feared to have died. Pictures of the attack, shown on al-Jazeera, had infuriated US generals.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1823628,00.html

Since when is embarrassment a national security issue?

[ck4829]

1. Yep

He wanted to bomb the Arabic satellite TV station al-Jazeera

And

Mr Blair expressed concern about US military tactics in the Iraqi city of Falluja - Must have been illegal

Sorry Bush, but just because you call it National Security doesn't mean we already know what is all about.

[whistle]

2. Rule number One: Deception

<snip>
Leo Strauss' Philosophy of Deception

By Jim Lobe, AlterNet. Posted May 19, 2003.

Many neoconservatives like Paul Wolfowitz are disciples of a philosopher who believed that the elite should use deception, religious fervor and perpetual war to control the ignorant masses.
<....>
Rule One: Deception

It's hardly surprising then why Strauss is so popular in an administration obsessed with secrecy, especially when it comes to matters of foreign policy. Not only did Strauss have few qualms about using deception in politics, he saw it as a necessity. While professing deep respect for American democracy, Strauss believed that societies should be hierarchical – divided between an elite who should lead, and the masses who should follow. But unlike fellow elitists like Plato, he was less concerned with the moral character of these leaders. According to Shadia Drury, who teaches politics at the University of Calgary, Strauss believed that "those who are fit to rule are those who realize there is no morality and that there is only one natural right – the right of the superior to rule over the inferior."

This dichotomy requires "perpetual deception" between the rulers and the ruled, according to Drury. Robert Locke, another Strauss analyst says,"The people are told what they need to know and no more." While the elite few are capable of absorbing the absence of any moral truth, Strauss thought, the masses could not cope. If exposed to the absence of absolute truth, they would quickly fall into nihilism or anarchy, according to Drury, author of 'Leo Strauss and the American Right' (St. Martin's 1999).
<more>
http://www.alternet.org/story/15935/

[DoYouEverWonder]

3. Sure sounds like

Nazism to me, where one race is superior to all the others, therefore all the others must be destroyed.

[whistle]

10. Almost correct, first exploited and used up ...

...then left to die or be exterminated when they have gone beyond their usefullness.

[liberal N proud]

4. The public must be prevented from learning the TRUTH

That sums up the decision.

[DoYouEverWonder]

5. Once again a court rules

that the security of particular individuals is more important then the interests of the state.

[shadowknows69]

6. No biggie

it's only proof of premeditated war crimes. Nothing to see here.

[ck4829]

7. Bush wanted to bomb Al Jazeera and tactics inside Falluja were illegal

[derby378]

8. White phosphorous - the gift that keeps on giving!

I just wonder how prominently the use of WP on human targets in Fallujah figures into that four-page report. And yes, I want it shouted from the rooftops. Death from WP is one of the worst possible ways to go.

[DoYouEverWonder]

9. The US also used Thermobaric Weapons in Fallujah

A weapon very similar to a nuke but without the nasty radiation problem.