Secret State 13: Britain shamed by successive nefarious governments

Though continually persuaded that unthinking patriotism is honourable, “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori” – so effectively deconstructed by Wilfred Owen – many observers have become deeply ashamed of their British motherland.

This site has focussed on political-corporate corruption in most of its posts, the revolving door and incompetence irrationally rewarded, but of late the secret state which conceals its shameful truths from its citizens has not been headlined. The last related to HS2, on July 14^th 2013: Secret State 12.

Secret State 13 has been prompted by David Cameron’s admission that Britain’s spying agencies discussed redactions to the CIA torture – enhanced interrogation – report and more explicitly that United States and the UK were found to have trained interrogators in other countries in the use of ‘torture techniques’.

Online, excruciating accounts of these ‘techniques’ may be read, photographs and cartoons may be seen by those who can bear to look at them. The most restrained offering, though no less horrifying is this film, selected for the United Nations’ Film Festival: “Medical professionals were in effect told that their ethical mantra “first do no harm” did not apply, because they were not treating people who were ill. “The report laid blame primarily on the defence department (DoD) and the CIA, which required their healthcare staff to put aside any scruples in the interests of intelligence gathering”.

Italians can hold their heads higher on this account:

The BBC reported that Italy’s courts convicted in absentia 22 CIA agents and imprisoned former intelligence chief Nicolo Pollari and his former deputy Marco Mancini for their roles in ‘kidnapping’ Egyptian cleric, Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr – assisting in extraordinary rendition, the CIA’s practice of transferring terror suspects to countries where torture is permitted. The abducted cleric gave evidence that he was flown to Egypt and tortured.

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Next week a reminder of just a few of the detected Secret State ‘coverups’. The tip of the iceberg which is gradually sinking our ship.

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