Colonel Mendonca not guilty.

Colonel Jorge Mendonca, DSO,who hold the dubious distinction of being the most senior British officer ever to face a court martial, has been cleared of all the charges instigated by the anti-army human rights lobby. Four other soldiers have been cleared of similar allegations, amounting to less than gentle treatment of captured terrorists, brought under the International Criminal Court Act, 2001. The show trial of two other soldiers continues.

That this case was ever brought is a damning indictment of the left's anti-military mind set and, equally, of society's disregard for the armed forces. I fear there is little hope for a country that sends its finest young men into combat, daily risking death and serious injury, only to unleash the profiteering human rights lawyers on them at the slightest chance. Here is the roll of shame.

Colonel Mendonca is one of our most distinguished solders, As an holder of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), he was a prize scalp for the left. Well, they have not got him.

The Daily Telegraph has the best report and links. The Times and the BBC also weigh in.

Update 15/2/07:

The Daily Mail sums up how many people will feel about this politically motivated nonsense. What can you expect from a government whose ministers' have spent years involved with CND and various "troops out" movements. Ranting Stan has addressed the government's lack of a military voice.

Tags: Colonel Jorge Mendonca, Iraq.

CIA rendition: the European Parliament report.

The rag tag and bobtail of socialists, eco-nutters and various other surrender monkeys in the European Parliament have approved a report condemning some European countries for allowing the CIA to transport Islamic terrorists through their air space, to destinations where they might be tortured. Click here for an html version, and Word/OO and pdf downloads of "Temporary Committee on the alleged use of European countries by the CIA for the transport and illegal detention of prisoners."* Not so much a report, as a long winded motion.

The Parliament has been busy condemning this and deploring that but they have conspicuously failed to answer allegations that their report is largely based on hearsay and rumour, and there is a distinct lack of evidence for the torture allegations. The Parliament is also somewhat miffed that some countries - notably, Austria, Italy, Poland, Portugal and the UK, - did not exactly fall over themselves to assist in the preparation of the report.

The BBC, the Guardian and the Times have early reports. So far the reporting is reasonably factual, but it is a bit early for the real US-bashing. Most senior journos will still be drowning their lunch. No doubt the sanctimonious onslaught will begin in tomorrow's editions.

And the sum total of all this earnest activity of reporting, press conferences and comment: nothing. The European Parliament can stamp its feet till the cows come home, it is not going to affect the policy of the EU member states.

Last November, the Times gave the EU parliament's roll of honour for countries allowing CIA flights stop-over facilities:

• Germany 336
• Britain 170
• Ireland 147
• Portugal 91
• Spain 68
• Greece 64
• Cyprus 57
• Italy 46
• Romania 21
• Poland 11

The shame of being beaten by Germany.

* It is a typical EU document with many cross-references ( without hyper-links) to other documents, which have to be read to gain a full picture.

Tags: CIA, European Parliament, Rendition

Suspected British al Qaeda links in Somalia.

The strange tale of the suspected four British jihadis in Somalia is beginning to unravel.

As recounted in yesterday's Times, four Britons, suspected of fighting in Somalia for the al-Qaeda linked Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), were amongst 10 foreigners deported from Kenya, to whence they had fled after the UIC got a hammering from Somali government forces. The Kenyan authorities sent the quartet sent back to Somalia and, from there, they have been deported to the UK. The four were: Shahajan Janjua, Reza Afsharzadagen, Mohammed Ezzoueck and Hamza Chentouf.

Once back in the UK, the four suspected jihadis were arrested by police under the Terrorism Act, 2000 but, the BBC reports, they have now been released without charge. Not surprisingly, reveals the Daily Telegraph, the terrorist suspects' families have been declaring the men's innocence with, by now, familiar refrains: "My son is innocent. He is not an extremist", said Ezzouecks's mother; and, "'He is not a terrorist. He went there for a friend's wedding", said Janjua's brother.

When attending his friends wedding, Janjua obviously fell into bad company, including two American al Qadea sympathisers, one of whom has been charged with terrorist-related offences by the US authorities. Details from Little Green Footballs.

Tags: al Qaeda, Somalia

The latest from Kajaki: Operation Kryptonite.

The ISAF has released a statement on how the Taliban were removed from some areas around Kajaki in Operation Kryptonite. It is good to see the British army retaining a sense of humour in such circumstances.

A small part of the operation is described in the Times, which had a correspondent with the Royal Marines in the Kajaki dam area.

The ISAF has also released a brief statement telling how a rocket attack at Kajaki was dealt with.

Previously on Crumbling Spires: Taliban build-up in Helmand.

Tags: Afghanistan, Helmand, Kajaki, Operation Kryptonite, Royal Marines

The Taliban in Pakistan.

With the Taliban about to launch, or perhaps having already launched, its spring offensive in Afghanistan, here are a few timely articles on the problems being caused for both the Coalition and Pakistan by the Taliban safe areas in the Afghan-Pak border regions. Reading these articles is more instructive than following the ritual insults in the latest round of (un)diplomatic exchanges between the neighbours.

Middle East Report Online has an interesting article on The Pakistan Taliban.

Newsline examines Pakistan's Long Night of Terror resulting from the Taliban presence in the tribal belt.

Last month, in Harboring Terrorists, the Center for American Progress painted a gloomy picture of the consequences for US policy of the Taliban safe bases in Pakistan.

Tags: Pakistan, Taliban

Forest Gate inquiry reports.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission has finished inquiring into the police anti-terrorist raids on two houses in Forest Gate, East London in which a man was shot by police. The IPPC press release has links to the reports' findings and recommendations. In fact there were three inquiries and two reports: the earlier Forest Gate 1 related to the shooting; and Forest Gate 2 and 3, which is one report on two investigations into the house raids. Here is a direct link to the pdf file of the reports on the house raids.

In summary, the IPCC finds that the police did nothing wrong but they acted on inaccurate intelligence and they should have apologised more profusely to the offended innocent parties so as not to upset community relations.

According to the BBC, the man shot in the raid, Mohammed Abdulkahar, is said to be suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome. A profitable law suit against the police will no doubt provide effective therapy.

Through their lawyers, families involved in the raid have issued a statement; the Guardian gives it in full.

The Times headlines the fact that only 2 out of 153 complaints were upheld by the IPCC, and these were minor matters of failing to supply sufficient painkillers or food to suspects in custody.

Tags: Forest Gate, War on Terror

Ex-BNP activist on trial.

Robert Cottage, a former BNP activist, has gone on trial charged with offences under the Explosives Acts. Manchester Crown Court was told that Watkinson kept a stockpile of explosives, in case of a civil war, which came to light thanks to his wife. According to the Guardian:

Mrs Cottage, who suffered mental health problems, had told a social worker her husband possessed several crossbows and had chemicals stored at his home... This sparked a police raid which uncovered 21 types of chemicals which, when mixed together, could form explosives. Officers also found a 300-page computer document, the Anarchy Cookbook, detailing how to make different types of bombs, the jury was told.

Mrs Cottage also said that her husband wanted to shoot Tony Blair and the liberal peer, Lord Greaves.

The BBC also has a report.

Lord Greaves is perhaps better known as Tony Greaves, of the Association of Liberal Councillors based at Hebden Bridge, in Yorkshire. During his time there, the ALC, led by Greaves and his partner in crime, Andrew Ellis (widely known as Smelly Elly and the Hebden Bridge mafia) pioneered the Liberals' distinctive style of election campaigning, achieving notoriety for being a wretched a set of unprincipled political muck-rakers.

Tags: BNP, Robert Cottage, Tony Greaves

Criminals have human rights .

The Lord Chancellor dissembles about human rights legislation but the truth is out there, again and again and again.

The scandalous benefits to criminals of the Human Rights Act is one area where so far David Cameron has talked sense.

Tags: Cameron, Crime, Falconer, Human Rights.

The Royal Marines battle for Kajaki Dam.

The battle for the Kajaki dam has kicked off, again. The Daily Telegraph quotes official reports that Royal Marines, supported by artillery and Afghan forces, fought a 12 hour battle. No NATO casualties are reported, but a "several" terrorists are said to have been killed. According to the Times, the Taliban have been routed.

Update:

Reuters, India says that 300 ISAF troops were involved in the operation , which involved clearing 60 compounds from an area used recently to launch regular mortar attacks.

Tags: Afghanistan, Kajaki Dam, Royal Marines, Taliban

Speak English or lose benefits.

The BBC reports that:

Unemployed people who cannot speak English will have to show they are learning the language or face losing benefits, the government has announced.

Quite right. There is increased danger to minorities of isolation, discrimination and victimisation, if they cannot communicate with the majority. It is long past the time when Scousers should be integrated into the rest of society.

Now that I have tested for the existence of the legendary Scouse sense of humour, here is the serious part of the BBC's story. At the same time as the government is shifting resources into language teaching for the unemployed, it is shifting resources out of language teaching elsewhere.

Shadow work and pensions secretary Philip Hammond said making working migrants pay for classes may end up trapping them in low-skilled jobs, because they cannot afford more tuition.

"We need to help them as well to acquire the language skills that will unlock the other skills they may have and allow them to move on," he said.

That is far too sensible a point for this government to grasp.

Tags: English Language teaching, unemployed.

Steven Lanham - the first British casualty in the War on Terror?

Last Saturday, the Evening Standard ran the curious story of Steven Lanham:

Steven Lanham, it can be revealed, was a hero - the first British agent to give his life in the global war against terror.

Disguised as a dispatch rider, the 39-year-old former soldier was on "close target reconnaissance" when he was killed in mysterious circumstances.

The Standard's stable mate, the Mail on Sunday ran the same story but the rest of the British press seems to have ignored it. Make of it what you will.

Tags: MI5, Steven Lanham, War on Terror

Taliban build-up in Helmand.

The BBC reports that that it has been told by Haji Asadullah Wafa, the new governor of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, that 700 insurgents (ie Taliban terrorists) have entered Helmand with the aim of attacking British troops protecting a major dam project.

The BBC does not name the dam but presumably it is Kajaki hydro-electric dam, from which the Royal Marines ejected the terrorists in early January. It is also the area where Corporal Mark Wright of the Paras was awarded the George Cross last July.

The International Herald Tribune carries a numerically similar Associated Press report that 700 "foreign fighters" (the Taliban's foreign legion to the rest of us) from Chechnya, Uzbekistan and Pakistan are in the area around Musa Qala where negotiations to peacefully remove the Taliban are apparently still underway.

Little is to be gained from a detailed analysis of the numbers of terrorists in parts of Helmand given by these press reports. They may be correct , they may not. We can only trust that NATO has its own accurate intelligence, which is not for public consumption. The key point is that the Taliban seems to be moving its forces into Helmand in preparation for the expected spring offensive which may kick off any time now.

Tags: Afghanistan, Kajaki Dam, Taliban