British sailors held in Iran

British sailors held in Iran

Written by Yvonne Ridley

Tuesday, 03 April 2007

I must confess that the events of the last few days involving British woman Faye Turney and her Royal Navy shipmates have filled me with mixed emotions. Faye is a captive of the Iranian Government and I can't help drawing parallels with my days as a prisoner of the Taliban way back in September 2001. Like Faye, I was simply doing my job and just like her I ended up being plastered across the world's newspapers portrayed as a victim of an evil, brutal regime. Funnily enough, I went tresspassing too. Although to be fair to Faye she might not have realised she was entering Iranian waters whereas I was caught banged to rights for my illegal trip into Afghanistan without a passport and visa. And, just like Faye, once my captors realised I was a nicotine addict, they kept me topped up in cigarettes for the duration of my ordeal. Mercifully, the Taliban did not parade me with fag in gob for the media, that would have been too cruel ... my mother would never have forgiven me! She despised my cigarette habit and would certainly not have approved of me puffing away in public, stressed or otherwise. I do hope Faye's ordeal does come to a rapid end. It is not much fun being anyone's prisoner but she should count her blessings that she's in the hands of the Iranians. Imagine if she had been caught by the Americans? By now she would have been shaved, shackled and sodomised at the very least in her first week of capitivity. She would almost certainly be wearing an orange jumpsuit after being thrown into a rat-infested cage via a rendition flight to Guantanamo. I just thank God that she was, like me, captured by an evil, brutal regime instead of the US military! George Bush and Tony Blair's indignation over her arrest, and the Western tabloid outpourings regarding Faye's black headscarf has certainly been something to behold. Although, with regard to the head covering, to a certain extent, I can see their point - by contrast the Taleban issued me with a rather fetching little hijab, a sort of autumnal blend of colours. Black can be too drab without the right accessories. Muslims don't have any such fashion dilemmas when they find themselves in the hands of the British or the Americans because there's nothing like a good old fashioned hood over the head to hide your blushes, and some sticky tape across your mouth will certainly curtail such anti-social and potentially life-threatening habits like smoking. We only know this because those nice folk from the US and British military were thoughtful enough to take lots of pictures and videos of their treatment of prisoners in Abu Ghraib, Basra, Guantanamo and elsewhere. How thoughtful, as I say, to hide their identities and prevent them from being publicly paraded in the same way as Faye and her naval colleagues. And of course a hood over the head would have stopped them from talking publicly infront of the cameras about how they strayed into Iranian waters under the orders of the UK military. Mind you, the Brits appear to have become regular little chatterboxes haven't they? According to declassified US documents Khalid Sheikh Mohamed had to be coaxed with CIA watersports before he overcame his shyness. I wonder if like the Australian David Hicks, the British naval crew will be allowed to enjoy five years in solitary confinement before being charged with anything? Given the choice, what do you think Faye and her mates would prefer - Western justice Bush and Blair-style or Islamic justice? Just in case you are struggling with an answer, here are some clues to help you supplied by my man in Virginia who has outlined below some of the CIA's Enhanced Interrogation Techniques. All have been tried and tested on Muslim detainees at secret locations on military bases in regions from Asia to Eastern Europe. * The Belly Slap: A hard open-handed slap to the stomach designed to cause pain, but not internal injury. * Long Time Standing: Prisoners are forced to stand, handcuffed and with their feet shackled to an eye bolt in the floor for more than 40 hours. * The Cold Cell: The prisoner is left to stand naked in a cell kept near 50 degrees. Throughout the time in the cell the prisoner is doused with cold water. * Water Boarding: The prisoner is bound to an inclined board, feet raised and head slightly below the feet. Cellophane is wrapped over the prisoner's face and water is poured over him. Unavoidably, the gag reflex kicks in and a terrifying fear of drowning leads to almost instant pleas to bring the treatment to a halt. CIA officers who subjected themselves to the water boarding technique lasted an average of 14 seconds before caving in. They said al Qaida suspect Khalid Sheik Mohammed, won their admiration when he was able to last between two and two-and-a-half minutes before begging to confess. According to Larry Johnson, a former CIA officer and a deputy director of the State Department's office of counterterrorism: "What real CIA field officers know firsthand is that it is better to build a relationship of trust … than to extract quick confessions through tactics such as those used by the Nazis and the Soviets." Ah, ha. So now we know. Those devious Iranians are trying to build up a relationship of trust with their captives by acting in a civilised manner.

Well another year over short-sword fighting in defence of Political Islam

Well another year over short-sword fighting in defence of Political Islam

Written by Yvonne Ridley

Thursday, 03 January 2008

I’m not usually one for naming names, but I’ll make an exception in Ed Hussain’s case … I’m not sure if someone has given every village idiot my email or telephone number but it seems as though I’ve been inundated by fools who know nothing about Islam but think they do; those who should know better and don’t and various forms of pond life who attack Muslims with their every breath. Sadly, the fashion for being Islamophobic is stronger than ever in the media and it doesn’t help when you have more self-confessed extremists and Islamists scuttling to kiss and tell their stories than a pack of WAGS* passed their sell-by date. Don’t those folk from Panorama (so eager to broadcast confession from so-called extremists) realise that viewers are finding yet another so-called self-flagellating funds coming out rather boring. This unburdening of the soul from confused brothers (it’s always brothers isn’t it?) is about as interesting as counting deck chairs in London’s Hyde Park. I’m not usually one for naming names, but I’ll make an exception in Ed Hussain’s case … after all he wrote a load of rubbish about me in his book without so much as picking up the phone for a well informed chat. He says I embraced Islamism and not Islam – bearing in mind I’ve never met him how can he make such an arrogant statement? I’m not sure about his credibility as a reliable source either … this is Ed the Confessor after all - a man who was in the thrall of Omar Bakri Muhammad for a few years before he finally realised that may be there was something fake about the sheikh! The Ed Hussains of this world have, like any Kings Cross hooker, a short shelf life and I believe he will find out just how fickle is the media. Like yesterday’s fish and chip papers he will be consigned to the bin while another fantasist with a book to flog takes his place. I’m sure there will be more in 2008. When his phone stops ringing and he’s no longer invited as the token Muslim to cocktail parties by the Notting Hill set or the even more fickle Islington crowd, maybe then he will have time to reflect on the damage he’s done to the Muslim community. And I’m not talking about Muslims like myself who can usually stand up for themselves. I’m talking about those quiet, timid brothers and sisters who are afraid as they turn every street corner for fear of being confronted by some Islamophobic thug with hate in his eyes … a hate inadvertently fuelled by the likes of Ed Hussain and his ilk. And that hatred is very real. Sometimes the hatred is spawned from an irrational fear that every Muslim must be a terrorist in the making. Ah yes, I can hear the squeals of protest now. Look, I’m not the one burying my head in the sand. Yes, terrorism is real and people die through terrorism but let’s get it into perspective. The cause of terrorism is NOT Islam and here’s the proof. There were 498 terrorist attacks across Europe in 2006 but the truth is Islamists carried out only ONE of them. The Basque Separatist group ETA topped the league table with 136 terrorist strikes resulting in the death of two in Madrid. Now given the perpetual warnings in our daily newspapers, radio bulletins and TV channels these statistics might come as a surprise but if you want to check out the full report, it is available on Europol’s website. The reality is that had Islamists been behind 136 attacks we would have read it on the front pages of every daily newspaper across Europe and Ed Hussain would have been in every TV newsroom opining on the latest statistics while plugging his book. My late great Aunt Lizzie had a fantastic saying and it is something Ed Hussain should take on board. In fact, since the season of goodwill is in full swing take it free of charge, bro: “Say now't and people will just think you’re stupid. Open your mouth and they’ll know you’re stupid.” Terrorism in Europe as these latest statistics show has no connection with Islam or Islamists. And as for what is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan – well it was the Americans who brought in the advent of suicide bombers as well as the new wave of al-Qaida recruits. It is a fact. Suicide bombing is a new phenomenon in those countries and came on the scene long after Uncle Sam set up camp. American and British foreign policy have done more to radicalise young people than any ranting cleric. Instead of feigning concern about the actions of those who are (legitimately under international law) defending Muslim lands abroad, perhaps Ed Hussain and the other Uncle Toms might like to take some responsibility next time a sister is attacked in the street because some yob sees her hijab and thinks she’s a Muslim extremist. *WAGS – Wives and girlfriends of sporting celebrities.

Benazir Bhutto's Assassination

Benazir Bhutto's Assassination

Written by Yvonne Ridley

Tuesday, 01 January 2008

she was largely ignored by America’s political elite for more than a decade until about 18 months ago. The West adored Benazir Bhutto. She, spoke fluent English, was educated at Harvard and Oxford and she was not an Islamic fundamentalist. There were no frenzied, flag-burning demonstrations where the main chant was: ‘death to America’ at any of her rallies. This endeared her to Western leaders in just the same way as it made many of her own people view her with suspicion. As far as some Pakistani voters were concerned she was 'America 's choice' at a time when anti-Americanism is at an all-time high in Pakistan. Yet her return to the international political arena is a bit of a puzzle when you think about it. After all, she was largely ignored by America’s political elite for more than a decade until about 18 months ago. The media rarely bothered her unless it was to mock her appalling performance as the twice-failed Pakistan Prime Minister. And during that period out of the political glare, a much more intrusive spotlight focused on the seemingly endless litigation in Spanish, Swiss and British courts over allegations of corruption. But her political comeback coincided with a rise in American criticism of Pakistan. There has been a concerted campaign in the right wing American media to portray Pakistan as yet another Muslim country which needs to be pacified and civilized by US military intervention. During my most recent visits to America I’ve switched on TV or picked up newspapers to read about those talking openly about Washington contemplating regime-change in Islamabad. Much of this came after what appeared to be the Pakistani leadership's refusal to cooperate with American foreign policy on China, Iran, and Afghanistan. Bhutto waving to the crowds shortly before her death America obviously needed a new best friend in the corridors of power. British-Pakistani historian, writer and political commentator Tariq Ali summed it up perfectly recently when he wrote: “Arranged marriages can be a messy business. Designed principally as a means of accumulating wealth, circumventing undesirable flirtations or transcending clandestine love affairs, they often don't work. Where both parties are known to loathe each other, only a rash parent, desensitised by the thought of short-term gain, will continue with the process knowing full well that it will end in misery and possibly violence. That this is equally true in political life became clear in the recent attempt by Washington to tie Benazir Bhutto to Pervez Musharraf.” Assuming Tariq Ali is right, US propelled negotiations brought back Benazir from her self-imposed exile. But far from acting like a virginal bride, Benazir waded in to the bear pit of Pakistan politics with the gusto of a champion, bare knuckle fighter. Her disastrous return, marked by the trademark destruction of a suicide bomber killing 130 of her supporters, failed to deter her. Hard as nails she continued to tackle her opponents and detractors head-on. She called for Pakistan's feared intelligence service, the ISI, to be 'restructured', using the arguments of neo-cons and rightwing, US think-tanks. And in a press conference during her house arrest in Lahore in November she went as far as asking Pakistan army officers to revolt against the army chief. Whatever you think of Benazir or her politics, surely her assassination deserves a thorough investigation to bring those responsible to justice? This call was seen as an attempt to destroy the all powerful military from within – this was regarded as treachery beyond belief by some in uniform. It was a brave and reckless call. After all, you don’t wander into the lair of the beast making loud threats unless you have powerful allies ready to protect you. Undaunted, she continued to lash out at her adversaries without fear or favour. She even said she would consider handing over nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadir Khan to international investigators. He is a hero to most Pakistanis. And while some were catching their breath over that announcement, she then went on to say she would allow US forces to operate inside Pakistan. Some regarded it as a killer blow. Hours before her assassination Afghanistan’s leader Hamid Karzai, singled out Bhutto – and not Nawaz Sharif or any other political rivals – for a meeting after ending his official engagements in Islamabad. This was interpreted by many as a clear signal from Karzai to all Pakistanis, and especially to his rival President Pervez Musharraf, that he was endorsing Washington’s darling. Many Pakistanis do not trust Karzai and there are those who regard him as a US installed puppet. America’s Bush Administration must have looked on with admiration as it continued to nudge and push Benazir to the abyss. May be it was pay back time since it was the United States which actively aided Benazir's rise to power in Pakistan in 1988. Of course that political meddling was discreet and confined to diplomatic channels and was never made public. This time, however, the support was so blatant it might even have marked her for assassination. United States Ambassador Anne Patterson and British High Commissioner Robert Brinkley were extremely vocal as they spurred on Benazir and other Pakistani politicians towards what was looking like an extremely dodgy election. Even US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher were shouting their encouragement from the wings along with their boss George W Bush and other western leaders. But they are all silent now, aren’t they? I don’t hear any of them screaming for the United Nations to hold an investigation into the assassination of Benazir, and yet we all heard their calls for an international investigation when former Lebanese leader Rafik Al-Hariri was assassinated. Whatever you think of Benazir or her politics, surely her assassination deserves a thorough investigation to bring those responsible to justice? Sending in a couple of detectives from Scotland Yard does not do justice to her memory or, more importantly, the people of Pakistan. They, above anyone else, need closure to this terrible chapter in their history. Was Washington planning a regime change? If so, then it has seriously backfired with Benazir being sacrificed as a martyr on the altar of Uncle Sam. That makes the Bush Administration just as guilty as the assassin who pulled the trigger on December 27 2007.

Who Helped Osama Bin Laden Escape Tora Bora?

Who Helped Osama Bin Laden Escape Tora Bora?

Written by Yvonne Ridley

Wednesday, 24 March 2004

I had the privilege recently of meeting some brothers who fought in Afghanistan against America and Britain. No doubt if the authorities knew their identity they would be wearing orange jump suits by now, squatting in cages in Guantanamo Bay. One thing that struck me about these brothers was how principled they were ... going on jihad for ideals almost forgotten in a selfish world corrupted by greed and power. The driving force that led them into battle in the mountains and caves of Tora Bora was no different to that which propelled 2800 men AND women from the United States to fight in the Spanish Civil War in 1936. There was no less than 60,000 young people from the West who fought in the International Brigades. Thousands of young Brits also went to take part in the conflict - they even fought on opposing sides depending on their political beliefs. It was the first major military contest between left-wing forces and Fascists. The Republicans fought to maintain the Republic while the Nationalists sought to restore the monarchy. The Republicans, or Loyalists, received aid from France, the Soviet Union, and Mexico while the Nationalists received troops, tanks, and planes from Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. The Spanish Civil War, specifically the anti-Fascist side, became a cause célèbre in the United States. Writers and artists including Ernest Hemingway, Muriel Ruckeyser, and Robert Motherwell paid homage to the struggling Republic while famous Baritone Paul Robeson sang for the international brigades. Rick Blaine, the protagonist of the 1940s film classic Casablanca, struggled against Fascism in Spain, as did Robert Jordan, the main character in Hemingway's novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. In Britain we had George Orwell, author of 1984, who headed out to Spain. The war continued until March 28, 1939, when Nationalist troops, led by General Francisco Franco, overcame the Spanish Republic's forces and entered Madrid. Those young men and women who survived returned home to resume normal lives. They certainly were not treated as terrorists or enemy combatants. Young men and women around the world still go off to follow their ideals and then there are those who serve in the Israeli army, an army which terrorises, murders and maims. But when they finish their active duty, they return home without fear of being persecuted, arrested or detained. The same can not be said for the young Muslim men I met. Their heroics, bravery and the martyrdom of their comrades can never be discussed openly. Yet they all fought for the same sort of ideals and principles as those in the International Brigades. Instead, their derring do and actions can only be whispered about in select circles. Not that these young men want to boast about their actions. It took some time to get Shaheen from the Midlands of England to talk about his time as a jihadi. He went to Afghanistan in the spring of 2001 with the intention of living and working in a pure Islamic state, so sick was he of Western excesses. He says he was inspired to make Hijra in the belief that it was his duty as a sincere Muslim to immerse himself fully in an Islamic way of life. It was a decision which nearly cost him his life – and it has left him with deep emotional scars which will outlast the now fading shrapnel wounds on his left arm. Shaheen, in his mid-20s, was studying in an Afghan madrassa on the outskirts of Jalalabad when George W Bush vowed to invade if the Taliban did not hand over Usama Bin Ladin. It was made clear to Shaheen that he would be expected to take up arms to fight, but any romantic notions he had of becoming a mujahideen were quickly dispelled as he and other ill-equipped men took on the might of the US and British military and the Northern Alliance soldiers. Within weeks of the start of the one-sided war on October 7, 2001, he and several hundred other Taliban and Al Qaida fighters found themselves pinned down in Tora Bora as American B52’s released hundreds of 500lb bombs overhead. “The unit I fought with, although poorly trained, had become experts in the art of firing mortars right into the heart of the opposing forces. The Northern Alliance fought strictly for mercenary and personal revenge reasons, whereas most of the Taliban and foreign fighters were possessed with a religious zeal which terrified our enemies.” Running his hand through his long, dark beard, he paused thoughtfully and added: ‘'Even if some of the brothers did feel scared, they were spurred on by the cowardliness of the Americans who used the Northern Alliance mercenaries as human shields. “When the Americans returned with bursts of semi-automatic fire, we would laugh out loud enough for them to hear or shout takbirs. This was a psychological technique which utilised the American’s own propaganda of fanaticism against them.” Shaheen remembers vividly the day Bin Ladin escaped – he thinks it was around mid-December 2001. “We positioned ourselves in a reverse pincer movement amongst the mountains,” he says, “leaving a central group which fired mortar rounds into the Northern Alliance. As they scattered and lost formation, we picked them off at will. “This prompted the Americans to send in Chinooks and try to drop in soldiers immediately in front of the Northern Alliance line, hoping that the Mujahids would scatter and give the Americans enough time to push the front line forward. “What was happening in fact was that many of the Arab and Chechen Mujahideen had stayed forward to sacrifice themselves so that the Sheikh and his protectors could escape as the Americans concentrated the fighting at the front line. “As the Americans dropped in, the battle-hard Chechens, Arabs, Uzbeks and some Pakistani volunteers were waiting. I saw that the helicopters were so low that RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades] were being used to knock out the fuselage. We took out six helicopters, although the Americans insisted this was due to mechanical failure. “Some of the brothers began to talk of taking the fight back to the times of the Prophet Mohammed and fighting the Americans with swords." I wonder how history will treat Shaheen? Once this War on Terror is discredited, maybe he will be recognised officially as a Mountain Warrior and treated with the same respect as those thousands of young Westerners who went off to fight in the Spanish Civil War.