The BBC memo about the West’s foreign policy creating the terrorism threat, always a BBC theme but now linked to the immigration crisis in order to create a sense of responsibility and hence an obligation towards the immigrants, has gone viral and is now getting fed into the narrative on many BBC shows. The truth is that it is the BBC’s own anti-war narrative has helped feed the Jihadist cause bolstering the line that the war was illegal and a war against Muslims…Al Qaeda being a mythical threat created by Neo-cons for their own reasons…a narrative picked up by the Muslim world as we can see from this Arab News (‘The Arab world’s most read English daily‘) report:

Al-Qaeda threat used once again to justify war

The old cliché that the first casualty of war is truth has never been so blatantly evident as we witness the making of further wars and conflict. Most Western journalists continue to omit the facts in their news reports and push the government line that all insurgents are linked to “Al-Qaeda”. Very few have actually questioned the existence of Al-Qaeda and the illusive Osama Bin Laden. According to Jason Burke who as The Observer’s chief reporter and author of “Al-Qaeda – casting a shadow of terror” writes: “Al-Qaeda in fact does not exist…..Adam Curtis in his powerful documentary “The Power of Nightmares” argues that whenever one looks for this Al-Qaeda organization from the “mountains in Afghanistan to sleeper cells in America – the British and Americans are pursuing a fantasy.” 

Ironically whilst praising Burke and Curtis the Arab News criticises the BBC for stating “analysts say the attacks bear the hallmarks of groups linked to or at least inspired by Al-Qaeda”.

But Burke is back….with a new book to flog but the same old line about the non-existence of a terrorist threat…The New Threat From Islamic Militancy 

The ‘Afternoon Edition’ programme featured an interview with Jason Burke who is from the Guardian side of the world…the man who told us that Al Qaeda didn’t exist and whose conspiracy theory was the basis for the BBC’s atrocious conspiracy theory series ‘The Power of Nightmares’ which, as said, turned out to be a useful recruiting tool for the Jihadis. Here is Burke’s big claim that Curtis based his film upon:

“The terrorist group al-Qaeda in fact does not exist. It was made up in January of 2001 in order to prosecute Osama bin Laden in his absence. In order to prosecute bin Laden there had to be an organization like the Mafia for which he was a part of. Under the law if such an organization exists then the head of the organization can be prosecuted under the law. So in order to bring the prosecution they made up the organization and called it al-Qaeda. But the organization is fiction. It doesn’t exist. It’s all a huge fraud.”

Here is the BBC blurb for ‘The Power of Nightmares’:

In the past our politicians offered us dreams of a better world. Now they promise to protect us from nightmares.  The most frightening of these is the threat of an international terror network. But just as the dreams were not true, neither are these nightmares.  In a new series, the Power of Nightmares explores how the idea that we are threatened by a hidden and organised terrorist network is an illusion.  It is a myth that has spread unquestioned through politics, the security services and the international media. 

Curiously, the organisation that didn’t exist was in the process of murdering Ken Bigley just as the BBC were telling us they didn’t exist….

So controversial is the tone of his series, that trailers for it were not broadcast last weekend because of the killing of Kenneth Bigley. At the BBC, Curtis freely admits, there are “anxieties”. But there is also enthusiasm for the programmes, in part thanks to his reputation.

Glad to know that Curtis’ reputation (as a BBC lovey) was all that it needed to get this programme made…never mind the facts.

But wait…Al Qaeda was ‘invented in 2001’ by the Americans?  No it wasn’t...it was formally established in 1988 and took that name then….

In March 2002, authorities in Bosnia, Sarajevo, will raid the offices of the Benevolence International Foundation (BIF) due to suspected funding of al-Qaeda. The raid will uncover a handwritten list containing the name of twenty wealthy donors sympathetic to al-Qaeda. The list, referred to as “The Golden Chain,” contains both the names of the donors and the names of the recipients (but does not mention amounts given). Seven of the payments are made to Osama bin Laden.  Most accounts will be vague on what year the Golden Chain document was written; some say 1988.  But counterterrorism “tsar” Richard Clarke will say it dates from 1989. Al-Qaeda is formed in late 1988. Bin Laden conducts two meetings to discuss “the establishment of a new military group,” according to notes that are found later. Notes reveal the group is initially called al-Qaeda al-Askariya, which roughly translates to “the military base.” But the name soon shortens to just al-Qaeda, meaning “the base” or “the foundation.”

As the BBC admits:

Al-Qaeda was founded in 1988 by Bin Laden and Mohammed Atef – believed to have been the organisation’s military commander.

And again:

Al-Qaeda’s origins and links

Al-Qaeda, meaning “the base”, was created in 1989 as Soviet forces withdrew from Afghanistan and Osama Bin Laden and his colleagues began looking for new jihads. The organisation grew out of the network of Arab volunteers who had gone to Afghanistan in the 1980s to fight under the banner of Islam against Soviet Communism. Cells across the world The organisation is thought to operate in 40 to 50 countries, not only in the Middle East and Asia but in North America and Europe.

In western Europe there have been known or suspected cells in London, Hamburg, Milan and Madrid. These have been important centres for recruitment, fundraising and planning operations.

I’m guessing this ‘Al Qaeda’ training manual must have come from somewhere not just out of thin air:

Al Qaeda Training Manual

The attached manual was located by the Manchester (England) Metropolitan Police during a search of an Al Qaeda member’s home. The manual was found in a computer file described as “the military series” related to the “Declaration of Jihad.” The manual was translated into English and was introduced earlier this year at the embassy bombing trial in New York. The Department is only providing the following selected text from the manual because it does not want to aid in educating terrorists or encourage further acts of terrorism.

That’s a look at the past nonsense of Jason Burke and Co….what’s he peddling now?  The Guardian reveals…..

Same old, same old then from Burke. During his interview today he poured scorn onto Theresa May and said she was making up the threat about Islamic terrorism…in the Guardian he makes the same claim:

Theresa May, the British home secretary, said in November 2014 that “the threat we face is now more dangerous than at any time before or since 9/11”. This was an extraordinary and misleading statement.

But Burke is being economical with the truth.  What did he miss out from that quote that was somewhat essential to understanding how May reached that conclusion?…let’s have a look at what she really said, not what Burke made up:

This summer, JTAC – the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre – raised the threat level for international terrorism from ‘substantial’ to ‘severe’. This means that JTAC believes an attack on the United Kingdom is highly likely. The decision to change the threat level was based primarily on developments in Syria and Iraq, where the terrorist group ISIL controls swathes of territory. ISIL and its western fighters now represent one of the most serious terrorist threats we face. So when the security and intelligence agencies tell us that the threat we face is now more dangerous than at any time before or since 9/11, we should take notice.

In what way is that a misleadinhg statement?  She is reporting what the intelligence and security services told her….she isn’t even saying that it is true…just that we should ‘take notice’ of the warning. Burke wants us to believe that there is little to no threat to us in the UK from ISIS and that ‘sleeper cells’ or similar do not exist….

Media in the US reported a network of Isis “sleeper cells” in the “homeland”, and “sleeper agents” in Europe, exactly as they had with al-Qaida in 2002. These claims were, at best, a gross misrepresentation of how either organisation operates and how individuals are radicalised.

Tell that to the relatives of all those killed and injured on 9/11 and 7/7 or who were slaughtered on the beach in Tunisia recently or those who had a very narrow escape on the train in France…never mind Charlie Hebdo and the Jewish supermarket amongst many, many other attacks and attempted attacks. He tells us that there is little to no link to Islam and that really the ‘so-called radicalisation’ (apparently there is no such thing) is just a matter of good chums, old mates going off to war together just like the Pals Battalions in WWI.  Reducing this to a big adventure with your buddies is simplistic and dangerous as it doesn’t tackle the real causes of the non-existent radicalisation….er….as ironically Jason Burke tells us….the importance of recognising the underlying ideology:

The threat posed by al-Qaida was described in apocalyptic terms, and a response of an equally massive scale was seen as necessary. The group’s ideological motivations were ignored, while the individual agency of its leaders was emphasised. If they were killed, the logic went, the problem would disappear. If the importance of the ideas of al-Qaida in the Islamic world was ignored, current analysis misses the resonance of the Isis bid to restore the lost power and glory of Islamic empires.

He denies there is a genuine link to Islam and yet insists we must acknowledge the ideology behind the radicalisation and terrorism.  Let’s start with the BBC admitting that then. Burke says that the threat is barely there…the true threat is the fear created by the mere threat of terrorism and an over-reaction to it:

Terrorism’s greatest effects are thus achieved indirectly, through the reaction it inspires, rather than the actual destruction of life and property. This is why, in that moment when, having read of an attack or the threat of an attack, you experience a sudden pang of fear, you become a victim yourself. The fact that the number of people to have been killed in Britain in terrorist attacks by Islamic militants – 53 (52 during the 7/7 attacks, plus Lee Rigby) – is statistically negligible is irrelevant. To be afraid of terrorism is normal; to be concerned is natural. But it is better to be so in measure and in reason, not in panicked ignorance, and thus win one immediate and important victory.

I guess he’s right…a terrorist state like the Islamic State with its billions of dollars and fanatical supporters around the world pose no threat to anyone, apart from the states of Syria and Iraq….oh but what of Afghanistan as they move in there…or Gaza..or Egypt…Tunisia…Europe…Burma….and the US?  You ony need one man with a small arsenal to create havoc. Nice of the BBC to give these edgy conspiracy theorists like Jason Burke a platform to peddle their schtick…perhaps they should turn it into a film…oh..they already have.

Last day of the month but the first OPEN THREAD of the week! If the BBC is being biased (and when isn’t it?) then here is where you detail it and we can discuss.

The last post ended with this thought about the BBC’s coverage of the migrant crisis…‘Nothing like massaging the truth to cover up your own part in the tragedy of the refugee crisis.’ and it is clear from recent BBC broadcasts that this is a policy that has moved up a gear as the BBC tries to start blaming British foreign policy for the crisis, the point of which is, not only to move the blame from where it belongs,, on the Left and the BBC in part, but also to suggest that if it is British foreign policy that is to blame then we must be responsible for the immigrants and therefore open the borders….clever huh?

Trouble is no one believes that…oh..accept the usual suspect who is an apologist for Islamist extremists anyway.

‘Any Questions’ first question, and I’m sure it was not carefully chosen at all by the BBC, was ‘Is British foreign policy to blame for the migrant crisis?’

Unfortunately, and a great shock to the BBC I’m sure, the right-on panel, almost to a man, said no, it wasn’t to blame.  The one exception was Peter Oborne…he being that apologist for Islamist extremists.

That not withstanding the BBC then ran its ‘Any Answers’ programme…the theme…

Migrant Crisis

The youngest was only about two years old. As the world reels from the news of a lorry full of migrants found suffocated to death in Austria as they tried to enter Europe, we ask to what extent has UK foreign policy over the last fifteen years exacerbated the refugee crisis in Europe?

British foreign policy has nothing to do with the crisis in Syria…other than the fact that we didn’t interfere and try and stop the war….due in part to the BBC’s covering up evidence of Assad’s use of chemical weapons just before the vote in Parliament.  Syria exploded due to internal protests against the government and the harsh government response…along with Assad’s support for ISIS after releasing them from his prisons, which then went out of his control.  Zilch to do with the UK.

Oh and Tory Priti Patel was somewhat outgunned by the Left on Any Questions by a Labour MP, a Miliband supporter and of course, Billy Bragg.  Not saying the BBC, as usual, has loaded the dice against the ‘right winger’ but they have haven’t they?

We had a passing look at the BBC’s role in creating the immigrant crisis the other day. One thing we missed out was the fact that the immigration policy we are forced to adhere to by Europe, and cheerleaded by the BBC, is in fact the reason we cannot take in many genuine refugees.  If we are taking in 330,000 immigrants (379,000 net foreign migrants) we have no resources left to support refugees who may be in genuine need….as the Daily Mail points out…..

While ministers lay down the welcome mat to a net 330,000 arrivals, they refuse to co-operate with a plan to distribute Syrian families around the EU – arguing, with absolute justification, that we take far too many migrants as it is.

Such is the sickening consequence of losing control of our borders. Because we admit so many economic migrants, we are driven to sacrifice our noble tradition of offering a haven to genuine refugees.

Curiously the BBC found a way to mention the Mail’s comment but at the same time to avoid that clearly stated conclusion that mass immigration means we must end the policy of asylum.  Mishal Husain on the Today programme, when looking at what the papers said opened (08:39) with the Daily Mail’s comment title….’The Mail describes this well as a nightmare to shake the conscience of the free world’.   John Humphrys then said, note change in tone, now more upbeat, that ‘the Daily Mail suggests we should take in a ‘fair quota’ of refugees on the strict condition that the UK regains the right to limit migration from within the European Union’.  That of course doesn’t make the explicit link between the mass migration and the inability to take in refugees that the Mail makes…there is no causal link between the two statements by Humphrys….avoiding the difficult conclusion that the mass immigration supported by the BBC is having a huge and negative effect on our repsonse to refugees.

Nothing like massaging the truth to cover up your own part in the tragedy of the refugee crisis.

A couple of facts that the BBC doesn’t trumpet in its tidal wave of ‘sympathetic’ coverage about migrants, in fact it seems to hide that truth under a flurry of untruths about ‘refugees’ whilst shroudwaving about the perilous journeys migrants are ‘forced’ to make.

We keep being told that the UK isn’t doing anything to help Syrian refugees and that we should allow in many more, number not stated of course. But the UK policy is that it is better for the refugees to be helped in the countries they have initially fled to such as Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt and Turkey so that they can easily return home when the conflict ends.  To this end the Government has sent £900 million to support these refugees.

The UN has a target of £8.5 billion…and has apparently reached 41% of that…‘UN donation drive for 2015 has so far only raised 41 percent of the target figures, forcing the World Food Programme to trim its assistance to Syrian refugees in both Lebanon and Jordan.’

The other point is that the BBC keeps telling us that these refugees are ‘forced’ to flee by making dangerous and nightmarish journeys to reach the safety of Europe.  Again this is playing with the truth.  They are certainly refugees but most of them haven’t come directly from Syria, they are coming from refugee camps in the surrounding countries, they have now become economic migrants not asylum seekers.

The Daily Mail published this report about the traffickers in Turkey who advertise for Syrians to go to Europe as the picture at the top of the post shows.  The journeys are entirely unnecessary if the refugees are looking for a safe place…Turkey is a safe place.

The migrants themselves admit this, though they invent a drastic and dramatic ‘choice’ between taking a dangerous journey to Europe or going back into Syria when in fact they could stay in the refugee camp….

‘After escaping a devastating war, frustrated Syrian refugees in aid-starved neighbouring states say they must now choose between joining an exodus to Europe or “returning home to die”. 

A lack of jobs and humanitarian assistance means that many are now giving up on their host nations.

“What do they expect us to do, to die in silence?” said Mohammed al-Hariri, who lives in Jordan’s vast Zaatari desert refugee camp.

“Syrians now have two choices: either to return and die in their country or to emigrate,” he said.

‘

The only sensible answer is to help the refugees on the ground and to do everything possible to end the war in Syria and then help the Syrians return to their own country and rebuild it.  The BBC seems to prefer to abandon Syria and to its fate and empty it of people….and of course it isn’t just Syrian refugees, on top of that the BBC thinks the compassionate and humanitarian response to all problems in the world is to, not sort the problems out, but to turn away without taking any responsibility to find a solution other than to emopty the country of people…coz that’ll of course solves the problem…no people in a country and they can’t be persecuted…job done…let’s hope the Chinese are happy.

One solution to one problem might be to reoccupy Gaza and the West Bank, take them out of the hands of the criminal terrorists of Fatah and Hamas and start to build a Palestinian State economically, politically and socially.   If the will was there it could be done as with Germany and Japan.  The BBC et al keep telling us that the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians is the root cause of all the world’s problems…so step in…Hamas and Fatah are the root cause of the conflict there…crush them and free the Palestinians from the ruthless grip that is destroying their futures.

Perhaps a bit of UN badged neo-colonialism is the answer.

Curious how fast the BBC latched onto the story about Tory ‘Lord Moat’, Douglas Hogg.  This is the same BBC that stubbornly resisted the tidal wave of censure for Jeremy Corbyn due to his close links to those very dubious friends and honoured citizens.  It was only when the coverage from those other sources became embarrassingly widespread and relentless that the BBC realised it couldn’t sit this out and decided to investigate Corbyn’s curious comrades.

Funny how the BBC is always so reluctant to expose such people…Lutfur Rahman being another one that the BBC held back on for a long time.

Wonder what the link is?  Both hard left Labour, both with dodgy links to Islamist extremists.  Yes, I wonder.

Should you ever feel that your sense of moral self was being eroded by the distractions and temptations of everyday life the new priesthood of the BBC, and its acolytes at the Guardian, are here to stiffen the moral fibres and instil a bit of virtuous virtue into you godless, heathen, brutish infidels.

You may be morally lacking, backsliding in your duty to the global humanity as you prevaricate about letting in the odd million ‘refugees’ into your European Eden but wait, tune in and get with the righteous….open your hearts and your borders…show some compassion for your fellow humans in peril and the BBC is here to show you how and why.

The BBC has been shroud waving vigorously as immigrants die in their attempts to reach Europe by various means….the BBC’s latest trick to appeal to your humanity is to spend two days examining, trumpeting, the migrant’s dangerous journeys and asking why they make them in a sensationalist stream of  supposedly guilt inducing moral blackmail, but it is a moral blackmail on the BBC’s terms, they set the parameters and it is they who decide what is the ‘right thing’ to do, they are the moral arbiters passing judgement on you and your own feelings and decisions.

‘They’ being two-bit disc jockeys like the BBC’s Paddy O’Connell who today  launched into a patronising and contemptuous rant against those who dismiss migrants as, er, migrants.  The description apparently dehumanises the migrants…do you not understand that these are ‘humans’?  These are people?  They have feelings, hopes and dreams.  You need to recognise that and help them fulfill their dreams, they must be allowed into Europe and given a safe passage to do so.

Wonder where O’Connell got his hairshirt from?  Strangely in the Guardian today there were these two sanctimonious pieces…

Refugees are human. This simple fact seems to have been forgotten

We deride them as ‘migrants’. Why not call them people?

Just a coincidence I’m sure….Craig at ‘Is the BBC biased?  is obviously wrong as he says…‘No one will ever be able to say that the BBC is ‘the non-inky version of the Guardian’ ever again…’

Curiously I had absolutely no conception of migrants as people, or as human beings who may have suffered in the course of their lives…I always thought of them as cockroaches, parasites, swarms of marauding inhuman insects….thank God the BBC, and little Owen Jones, has enlightened me and shown me the correct path…I now encourage the millions, if not billions of the poorest and most destitute, the miserably oppressed, the victims of tyrants, dictators and brutal regimes worldwide to head to Europe where Owen Jones will feed, clothe, educate, nurse and house you at his own expense.

However, I am actually flattered that such a worthy grandee, such an eminent and renowned intellect as O’Connell should take the time out from his Radio 2 disc jockeying to lecture me on the ethical approach to the migrant, sorry, the human/people/swarm/marauders/victims/preferred term dependent on your political leanings, crisis.

And if you think he isn’t trying to influence, steer and change your mind, should you be opposed to mass immigration, you’d be wrong as he openly admits that the BBC is out to change your mind on the issue when you hear what the BBC has spun. (25 mins)

There was  great rejoicing at BBC Towers yesterday as the bodies of dead migrants were removed from the back of a lorry in Austria.  The timing was exquisite, perfection…what better example could there be to illustrate the start of the BBC’s two day exploration of the perilous journeys that desperate migrants take to break into Europe?…and to top that yet more migrants were found to have died on a boat off the Libyan coast…deep joy….the God’s really were shining on the BBC and their immigration promotional extravaganza!

A few deaths for the greater good, the necessary sacrifice of lives so that others may live…in Europe.  No death will be wasted, every body has a currency in the BBC’s mawkish media manipulation of people’s perceptions as the dead bodies are used as bargaining chips as the BBC tries to persuade a sceptical Public that mass immigration is a good thing, and failing that, to insinuate a mood of moral obligation to ‘do the right thing’…as the BBC sees it.

But who is really responsible for the deaths of these migrants?  The BBC looks to create an image of desperate refugees fleeing danger and embarking on perilous, risky journeys on their flight to safety as they try to get into Europe.  How many of them actually are fleeing such dangers is questionable….many who have fled wars will have been in refugee camps or safe countries already and have been ‘safe’ if not comfortable….and then they’ve looked around and decided the future isn’t bright and decided to become economic migrants and head for Europe, Germany, Sweden, the Uk in particular.

But as I say who is really responsible for their deaths?  The BBC has a case to answer surely?

The BBC has been a powerful anti-Iraq war campaigner effectively helping to restrain fully effective military action to defeat the enemy comprehensively.  The BBC has also been a cheerleader for the Arab Spring, the Arab Spring, along with the premature evacuation of troops from Iraq led to the rise of ISIS especially when the BBC played its part in the vote against military action to force Syria’s Assad to the negotiating table…the result of which we see now as ISIS rampages throughout the Middle East, helped by Assad.  The wars resulting from the Arab Spring have created the immigrant crisis, combine that with the BBC’s normal pro-immigrant rhetoric inviting immigrants into Europe and you have the perfect storm.

The BBC is, in part, I suggest, responsible for the immigrant crisis, the wars in the Middle East and the rise of the Islamic State….and the 70 dead bodies in the back of a lorry in Austria.

Take  a bow Lord Hall.

From Harry’s Place:

The Iraq War: Not Illegal, Not Immoral, and Not Over

The BBC’s total lack of self-awareness is always amusing as it always manages to de-link itself from any reports it makes on ‘The Media’…the BBC not including itself as part of ‘The Media’ when it suits.

Today it asks:

Did French media put lives at risk?

How far can broadcast journalists go in live coverage of terrorist incidents when their reports might influence the course of events or even endanger lives?

In France, the question has particular relevance after two legal investigations were launched into media organisations over their handling of the January attacks in Paris.

This is in relation to the Muslim terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo and the Jewish supermarket.

The BBC seems to have forgotten its own little controversy at that time when Tim Wilcox seemed to suggest that Jews were legitimate targets because of the actions of Israel in Gaza….two problems with that of course…one why does he think there is a problem with anything Israel does and two, why should that impact upon Jews, not even Israelis, living anywhere in the world?

Tim Wilcox’s words could easily be seen as acceptance that Jews are legitimate targets and thus gives the green light to others who wish to attack them.

This is the same BBC that has hidden the Balen Report which may or may not reveal the extent to which biased BBC reporting against Israel demonizes that country and by default Jews, and results in growing anger and attacks against Jews.  Does BBC News kill Jews?  The BBC doesn’t want you to know something about its reporting…can’t be good can it?

Ironically whilst talking about reporters putting lives at risk in the hunt for a scoop only today we had a daft BBC presenter reporting on the funeral of a gangster in Salford where the police would be in attendance.  What did she ask a senior police officer? She’d heard that there would be undercover police at the funeral….so will there be any undercover police at the funeral?   Can’t get much dumber than that….guess their cover is blown no matter what the police had to say on that.

Well, Friday arrives and so does this new OPEN thread to see us off into the wide blue yonder of the weekend! Here is where you detail that latest and most egregious BIAS!