Crumbling Spires will now be closing down for Christmas. Thanks to all who have visited over the last four months and who have made it all worthwhile. It will be back after the festivities.

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.

Times interview with the Defence secretary.

Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, is one of the few senior ministers in the present government who gives the impression of not being out of his depth. He has been talking to the Times.

Browne accepts the army is struggling with serious problems of manning and equipment. However, as long as the Treasury refuses the military proper funding, and continues to make social spending a priority, it is hard to see what he can do about it.

It is also encouraging to see him publicly backing General Dannatt.

Update 29.2.06
The Ministry of Defence is whingeing that the Times has misquoted Browne in claiming that he said the army is "too small to cope". If the MoD is correct, then why is the army in Afghanistan and Iraq undermanned?

Tags: Des Browne, Defence

Christmas al Qaeda terror threat.

From the Blotter:

British intelligence and law enforcement officials have passed on a grim assessment to their U.S. counterparts, "It will be a miracle if there isn't a terror attack over the holidays in London," a senior American law enforcement official tells ABCNews.com.

British police have been quietly carrying out a series of key arrests as they continue to track at least six active "plots" tied to what they call "al Qaeda of England."

Officials said they could not cite any specific date or target but said al Qaeda had planned previous operations during the Christmas holidays that had been disrupted.

The Blotter and ABC News have more. It can surprise nobody who has been listening to the authorities over the last three or four months.

Cap doffed to lfg.

Tags: al Qaeda, War on Terror, Great Britain

Johm Hemming MP on David Southall and the GMC.

In a speech in the House of Commons, John Hemming the MP for Birmingham Yardley, has continued his campaign against the mistreatment of children and their parents by the authorities in child abuse cases. He had much to say of interest regarding David Southall's controversial research into Sudden Infant Death.

In the speech, Mr Hemming raises some disturbing questions about the nature of Southall's research and the way the issue has been handled by the General Medical Council. It does seem remarkable that, for some reason I cannot figure, the GMC have not only adjourned their disciplinary hearing against Southall for 11 months but they have also left him in possession of key documentary evidence. Here is some extracts from Hansard:

Dr. Southall has done much research on sudden infant death—an important area of research, given the numbers of children who have died without a clear diagnosis. Perhaps the biggest project was known as protocol 85.02. Dr. Southall looked at the response of babies to asphyxiation, shortage of oxygen and the presence of carbon dioxide. The experiments were known as sleep studies, and started with about 7,000 babies born in the mid ’80s at Doncaster and Rotherham hospitals.

Phases 1 and 2 of the experiments were quite reasonable. Phase 3, however, involved choking babies for 10 sessions of 10 seconds, depriving them of oxygen by giving them only 15 per cent. oxygen rather than the normal 21 per cent., and then giving them too much carbon dioxide. Parents were not asked for their consent to the experiments; they were merely told, in writing, that they would happen, without any details.

A large number of brain-damaged babies were born in Doncaster in the 1980s. However, the records showing which babies were in the experiments were not in the medical files, because Dr. Southall kept secret files, known as special case files. Although compensation was paid, the causation was not entirely clear. The process expanded with the Office for National Statistics providing details of all deaths from sudden infant death syndrome—about 12,000 cases—so that Dr. Southall could continue his research with the siblings....

...Protocol 85.02 was not the only research project operated by Dr. Southall. He also gave carbon monoxide to babies with breathing problems, caused so much damage to babies in his experiments that they needed resuscitation, and did considerable damage through his experimental continuous negative extrathoracic pressure tanks, which he told others was tried and tested when in fact it was research...

..In essence, what we have is evidence of a doctor managing research likely to lead to brain damage and/or death in infants. There is evidence of a substantial number of babies being brain-damaged at the same hospital. There are also records of babies dying from symptoms that could have been caused by that type of research. However, there is no detailed explanation.

The allegations are very serious, but the system of regulation wants to ignore them. After many years of struggle, the General Medical Council started to hear evidence in November relating indirectly to research. It has, however, now decided to adjourn the hearing for 11 months. What is particularly interesting is the history of the special case files. Those have been stored in all sorts of locations, and they have been involved in criminal prosecutions and in family court actions. At one stage, a parent infiltrated the charity run by Dr. Southall to get access to the files. Court action resulted in their repossession.

In December 2005, it was agreed between the GMC and Dr. Southall that the files should be part of the medical records. However, he has now been allowed 11 months to sanitise them. It is important to remember that there is evidence that the files have already been partially sanitised. Many of the patients are completely unaware that the files exist. I have made numerous requests of the NHS to control the files and legal proceedings are continuing in an attempt to keep them intact. However, the authorities continue to resist this, and to tolerate a major cover-up.

Tags: Child Protection, General Medical Council, John Hemming, David Southall, Sudden Infant Death.

SANTA TRACKING: for children of all ages.

Not long until Christmas Eve, when once again various organisations world will be following Santa's real-time progress around the world. To help get in the mood, here are some sites to bookmark.

My favourite one is NASA's Santa Tracker. It uses NASA's own J Track satellite tracking model.

Thankfully, NASA's tracking equipment is a little more up to date than their front page. Surely there is a few elves around NASA who can touch it up a bit.

NORAD will be also be watching ready, as ever, to scramble their fighters at the first sign of trouble.

A few other sites also track Santa, though not all links may work.

Tags: Christmas, NASA, NORAD, Santa Tracker

A veiled criminals and a useful idiot..

Yesterday, it was reported that murder suspect Mustafa Jamal had fled abroad using a veil as a disguise. Today, the government has fairly obviously put up John Denham, MP, the Labour chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee and a former Home Office minister, to deny the story is true and to defend the right of violent Muslim drag artistes to remain in the UK, whatever crimes they commit. According to the BBC:

Mr Denham, a former Home Office minister, said the suggestion that a veil disguise was used, when there was no evidence to support the claim, was potentially damaging because "veils are a very sensitive issue in our society at the moment".

Note the technique. A backbench Labour MP thinks he is very important at being asked to help out by ministers; so important, he might even get offered another government job. He duly follows orders. If the Jama story is indeed false, then there is no harm done; however, if it turns out to be true, Denham is left looking more stupid than usual as Home Office ministers and officials, trying not to smile in public, celebrate being off the hook because they have denied nothing. Some useful idiot did it for them.

NOTE: Due to operator error, yesterday's post on this subject has vanished into hyperspace.

Tags: Denham, Islam, Veil

Baaz Tsuka 6: (updated)

In a press statement on Wednesday, the ISAF announced that Operation Baaz Tsuka had secured the regions of Howz-e Madad and Zangabad", both of which are to the west of Kandahar City in south-eastern Afghanistan.




Multi-map .com: Click on map to enlarge.

CBC News has been in Howze-e Madad and can report that, although Canada deployed tanks for the first time since the Korean War, the town was taken without a single shot being fired.

The Toronto Star carries what I think is a syndicated report from Bill Graveland who has been with the tanks.

Let us hope for another incident free day.

UPDATE 21:25 GMT

Canada.com can report that it has been a quiet day, so far. Long may it continue so. However,though quiet, as the latest ISAF press release indicates, there is much to keep the troops busy.

23/12/06: Pictures from Baaz Tsuka: militaryphotos.

Tags: Afghanitsan, Kandahar, Operation Baaz Tsuka

Afghanistan: analysis and suggestions from the Rand Corporation.

In an illuminating interview with Afgha.com, Dr Seth Jones, of the Rand Corporation, examines the position in the southern provinces, analyses Pakistan's role in relation to NATO and the Taliban, and suggests a possible four-stage resolution to Afghanistan's problems.

Tags: Afghanistan, Taliban

Operation Baaz Tsuka 5: strategy and tactics (Updated)

My tentative reading of the strategic aim of Operation Baaz Tsuka is that it is an attempt to consolidate NATO's political and military position in Kandahar, the Taliban's major Afghan power base, partly in order to be able to press ahead with the ISAF's development and assistance programme, and partly (mostly?) in preparation for forthcoming political developments. Despite persistent press reports to the contrary, over the summer and autumn, the military position in southern Afghanistan has been relatively stabilised: the British held Helmand; the Canadians held Kandahar, which has obviously been the most difficult of the provinces; and US forces did much to push the Taliban from eastern Afghanistan over the border into Pakistan. It is now a question of holding the Taliban at bay in order to provide a stable environment within which various political processes begin to unfold. Those Earl repolitical processes will almost certainly decide the immediate future of Afghanistan.

In brief, on the political front we can expect a series of jirgas, (meetings of tribal elders) at which agreements for the local administration of areas will be thrashed out between those concerned. The most important of these should be the Grand Jirga, due shortly between the Afghan and Pak governments, if they ever manage to stop exchanging insults for long enough to reach an agreement to meet. The great unknown in the jirgas will be the role of the Taliban. Certainly, the Taliban will be part of the jirgas and much may depend on the relative strength of their negotiating position. If Operation Baaz Tsuka can drive the Taliban into their safe bases across the border in western Pakistan the jirgas might well go better for all concerned than if they were still controlling ares of Kandahar.

Moving away from strategy to tactics, although Baaz Tsuka was announced as a British led operation, the reports of the first few days seem to indicate that it is, in fact, mainly a Canadian show. As with yesterday's reports, tactically the operation seems to be proceeding as a series of discrete actions, taking out whatever targets intelligence or opportunity present. This morning, the ISAF has reported an air strike against a command post and a successful attack on a terrorist leader. Over the coming days, we will probably see a stream of similar, apparently disjointed reports. Only later will overall progress become clear.

Other reports:

CNews: "Cdn troops launch tank, artillery barrage."

Canada.com: "Canadians join NATO offensive against Taliban."

Update @17:15

As many as 50 Taliban have been killed so far in air strikes on Taliban command posts say the Globe and Mail (Canada) and the Irish Examiner. They seem to be drawing on a report from Reuters in which a NATO spokesman is quoted as saying that

"We have cleared one large and two small villages of Taliban. We have killed a reasonable number of Taliban ... it is in the range of about 50,"

Reuters continues with the immortal line, " The Taliban could not be contacted immediately for comment." Oh well, the phones must have been down. They can always use ring-back.

Tags: Afghanistan, Jirga, Operation Baaz Tsuka, Taliban.

Cash for dishonour.

Not much is happening publicly in the cash for honours match up between Scotland Yard and Downing Street. Last weekend the press made a big thing of saying the inquiry was widening to encompass Blair's inner circle, Although the story made a splash abroad, as far as I can see, it is basically just a reworking of the "police seek e-mails" story which seems to accompany any major investigation these days.

Elsewhere, according to the Independent, some Labour MPs are out to get Assistant Commissioner Yates, the man in charge. The Evening Standard leads with the story but it is probably more accurate to say that they are continuing to go after Yates. As Lord Mackenzie, Labour peer and ex-policeman, pointed out previously, this sort of thing is not unknown amongst the criminal fraternity.

Which brings me seamlessly to Parliament. The major story to emerge is from this scandal is that MPs are using the case as an opportunity to bleed further the taxpayer. The logic,as expressed by leading Liberal leech doctor Alan Beith, seems to be that politics needs cleaning up, so remove the need for dodgy donations by funding the political parties with taxpayers' money. What next, abolish theft by giving everybody mounds of taxpayers' money?

Do not be fooled by the Guardian's headline that, "Time is running out for deal on party funding," or the difficulties identified by the Times, a deal will be eagerly agreed with tear-jerking, oscar-winning public reluctance and then whatever numbers are being mentioned now will pale into insignificant figures when our elected unrepresentatives really get their hands in the till.

Tags: Cash for honours, Parliament, Party funding.

Operation Baaz Tsuka 4: oust Taliban, deliver assistance.

The Canadian National Post, succinctly sums up the operation's aims as a subtitle to a story headed "Canada's New Afghan Offensive": to oust Taliban, deliver assistance. However,the ISAF is not making predictions about how long the ousting will take. The Edmonton Sun quotes an ISAF spokesman:

[He] would not say when NATO forces will be ready to proceed with the second phase of the operation - asking village elders to nominate trusted civilians to serve in the Afghan National Army and police, to protect their homes and land from the Taliban after NATO has withdrawn troops back to their bases.

"We will be ready when the area is secure to move on to the (recruiting) phase," Marsh said.

As the Sun reports, it has been a remarkably quiet start to the operation, with only sporadic clashes. I presume that is because the Taliban have retreated over the border into western Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the ISAF has issued another terse statement on Operation Baaz Tsuka.

During today’s Operation Baaz Tsuka manoeuvres, Afghan National Security Forces and ISAF forces discovered and destroyed a large enemy weapons cache that included anti-tank mines, 82 mm mortar rounds, rocket propelled grenades and communications equipment.

ISAF and Afghan forces continue to make steady progress as part of the operation. Only sporadic resistance has been encountered so far. The troops will continue manoeuvring through the region in the coming days in order to improve security, which in turn will foster future reconstruction and development efforts.

Tags: Afghanistan, Baaz Tsuka.

Margaret Beckett on the 45 minute lie.

Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary, has let slip to the BBC that ministers doubted the government's infamous claim, made in 2002 during the debates over invading Iraq: that Saddam Hussein could land WMDs on London within 45 minutes. In a BBC Radio 4 Today interview, the Daily Mail reports, Beckett said :

“That was a statement that was made once and it was thought to be of such little relevance — and perhaps people began quickly to say, ‘I’m not sure about that’ — that it was never used once in all the debates in the House of Commons.”

Her words imply Mr Blair and ministers quietly dropped the allegation yet failed to withdraw it or correct the record. After speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today show Mrs Beckett was challenged by presenter John Humphrys on why the claim had not been corrected in public.

She retorted: “Oh, come on — nobody thought it was relevant. Nobody thought it was a big sweeping statement.”

Little relevance? Not relevant? Not a big sweeping thing? People were not sure about it? At the time, everybody knew immediately, rather than quickly, that it was a crude lie. The lie, made by Blair at the suggestion of his press officer, Alastair Campbell, ignited the mother of all political rows, which was to leave in its wake one suicide, sundry reputations in tatters and arguably the most dishonest official report in British history: the Hutton Report. Two years later the hapless Lord Hutton is still trying to salvage his reputation.

For the next 7 days you can hear Beckett's interview on the BBC Radio 4 Today website under Listen Again for Tuesday 19th December 2006, towards the end of the 08:10-08:25 segment. The BBC does not do transcripts for the programme. Humphrys approached the claim through the recent Carne Ross story. What the Mail report does not convey is how much Beckett was caught unprepared by that and was obviously trying- and failing - to think on her feet.

Tags: Hutton Report, Iraq, Margaret Beckett, Saddam Hussein, WMD.