The Green Ribbon

The Green Ribbon review of the year

Well, it's that time of year when journalists like to fob off the public with content from the previous twelve months. I can't see why blogging should be any different, so here's a look back at how the year shaped up the Green Ribbon.

"We are not authorized to engage these little bastards!"

Kathryn Cramer has turned up another Iraq security contractor video, apparently via the contractiraq and AegisIraq sites.

This ones slightly different from the others. There's no shooting, just some kids throwing rocks and what I sincerely hope is idle banter in response.

American_convoy_kids_throwing_rocks.wmv

Denis Donaldson: Agent provocateur?

Niall Stanage makes some significant points about the Stormontgate affair in the Guardian today:

Last Friday, a bombshell dropped. The key figure in the trio, Denis Donaldson, who was Sinn Féin's head of administration at Stormont, owned up to a double life. He said that he had been a paid agent of British intelligence and Northern Ireland Special Branch since the 80s. His exposure turned the accepted version of events on its head. As things stand, the only proven spying operation at Stormont was run by forces of the state. And a paid agent of the state had been pivotal in the unravelling of a democratically elected administration. It is hard to imagine a graver scenario.

The government has sought to ameliorate the fiasco by claiming that the original police operation did indeed uncover stolen documents and that the Stormont raid was given a clean bill of health by Nuala O'Loan, the police ombudswoman. Neither assertion counters the idea that Donaldson could have acted as an agent provocateur. (Guardian)

Pearson on the spot over mercenaries

Craig Murray has spotted an interesting exchange at the Foreign Affairs Select Committee last month, where MPs tried in vain to establish the nature of Government policy towards British mercenaries operating in Iraq.

Incidentally, Murray is the former Foreign official who denounced Tim Spicer as 'extremely difficult to pin down and shifty' over the Arms to Africa, and who later resigned as ambassador to Uzbekistan over human rights abuses by the US-backed regime.

Aegis latest II: US FOI statement

From this week's Irish World:

New questions over Iraq contract

by Tom Griffin

A leading US Senator has backed calls for the Pentagon to reconsider its contract with the company run by former Scots Guards officer Tim Spicer.

The move by Illinois Senator Barack Obama, a rising star of the Democratic Party, comes as documents obtained by the Irish World raise new questions about the decision to award the $293 million security contract in Iraq to Spicer’s firm Aegis Defence Services.

Aegis latest I: Schumer calls for investigation

In this week's Irish Echo, Ray O'Hanlon reports that Senator Charles Schumer is calling for an investigation of the US contract with Aegis Defence Services.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Schumer urged the Department of Defense to direct Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, Stuart Bowen, "to conduct a thorough investigation of these troubling new allegations concerning Aegis."

Schumer wrote that while Aegis had initiated an internal investigation this was "plainly insufficient."

It was self evident, he said, that a contractor with so much to lose should not investigate itself. (Irish Echo)

Operation Firedump II

Alex at The Yorkshire Ranter has a new update on Operation Firedump:

In past posts on TYR, we've often mentioned a BAC-111 aircraft registered 3C-QRF, serial number 61. This plane belongs to the curious Jetline International of Sharjah, who we've discussed quite a bit. Aerotransport.org lists 3C-QRF as operated by Jetline for San Air General Trading, Richard Chichakli's firm, which is now on the UN sanctions blacklist regarding Liberia. Now, unusually, we also know where 3C-QRF is: it's in storage at Baneasa airfield on the edge of Bucharest.

A war on piracy?

Kathryn Cramer has an interesting post on attempts by underwriters to redefine piracy as a war rather than a marine hazard.

Brown's Britain

Gordon Brown returned to the theme of British identity this week, using his Hugo Young Memorial Lecture to make the case for 'a distinctively British set of ideas about ourselves and our role in the world.' (hat-tip to Gareth at the CEP for the link).

In many ways it was an excellent speech, one which obviously reflects sincere and deeply held views.

However, it's impossible to ignore the subtext of Brown's championing of Britishness. If he succeeds in becoming British Prime Minister he will control the government of England on devolved issues which do not effect his Scottish constituents.

Aegis conference moves to UAE

David Isenberg's excellent Yahoo Group, Weapons Trade Observer, picked up an interesting story from the Financial Times of 3 December today.

The timing of this week's postponed Iraq security conference that was meant
to bring together Iraqi ministers and leading providers of armed security in
London was unfortunate, given some of its speakers and sponsors. Organisers
have rescheduled it for Abu Dhabi early next year.

Interior minister Bayan Jabr had top billing. US troops recently discovered
173 prisoners, many starved and abused, at a Baghdad facility run by his
ministry.

One of the event's main sponsors, Aegis Defence, also had a week to forget.
The company, headed by ex-Scots Guards officer Tim Spicer, has launched an
internal investigation after a video appeared on the web apparently showing
armed guards in Iraq shooting from the back of a vehicle at civilian cars. (FT via WepsTrade)

More details about the summit here.