OUTSOURCING BRITISH SPOOKS...

 

An editorial accompanying the Mail on Sunday scoop exposing Inter-Mediate’s office inside Syria’s Presidential Palace noted Jonathan Powell is one of several influential figures in Starmer’s government, who were extremely powerful players throughout Tony Blair’s decade-long tenure as Prime Minister. This cabal also includes Peter Mandelson, now London’s ambassador to Washington. The editorial claimed they “are the real forces in British diplomacy”. Foreign Secretary Lammy merely plays “an effectively ceremonial role”, operating according to a script drawn up by Powell, Mandelson, and other behind-the-scenes actors.

While the pair were said to maintain “formidable private networks they are able to mobilise” to direct British government action and policy, “some within 'Downing Street” were reportedly “growing increasingly wary about the influence of these smooth Blairites.” Such is the profusion of powerful individuals with deep and cohering ties to Blair’s Ancien Régime, the Mail on Sunday noted British government apparatchiks are quietly wondering, “at what point…does ‘experience’ and ‘guidance’ become ‘control’?” 

The same must now be asked of Inter-Mediate’s relationship with HTS, and their presumptive governance of Syria. The obvious question of whether Powell is, via his company and position as Starmer’s National Security Advisor, fulfilling his close confidante Blair’s enduring ambition of refashioning West Asia into shapes of Britain’s choosing also looms large. The former Prime Minister’s Institute for Global Change has for example long-called for revolution in Iran, while boasting of cultivating networks of anti-government agitators throughout the region.





Popular posts from this blog

THE AGE OF 'ADMINISTRATIVE' POWER.

Image
Warwick Powell explains  how the administrative state has taken over in Europe... 'Regulatory authorities now determine which organisations qualify as legitimate civil society actors, which media outlets are “trusted,” which research bodies are acceptable partners and which narratives are “foreign-influenced.” These classifications carry decisive material consequences - access to funding, platforms and institutional recognition - yet are framed as neutral, technical assessments... Regulatory authorities now determine which organisations qualify as legitimate civil society actors, which media outlets are “trusted,” which research bodies are acceptable partners and which narratives are “foreign-influenced.” These classifications carry decisive material consequences - access to funding, platforms and institutional recognition - yet are framed as neutral, technical assessments.... In countries such as Georgia and Moldova, the EU has increasingly positioned itself not merely as an obser...
Read more

CHINA....AND WESTERN 'LIBERAL ORIENTALISM'.

Image
  Warwick Powell argues that when we in the west look at China we do so in a patronising way he calls 'Liberal Orientalism'. In doing so we dismiss the Cultural Revolution as an aberration rather than a crucial break with the past. He contrasts China with India - the so-called 'worlds largest democracy' where the form of Government was inherited from British Colonialism and is chaotic. This raises the whole idea of governance. If the aim is effective government, India simply doesn't compare to China.  And so is western democracy the ONLY way in which good governance can be achieved? It clearly is not - especially in the days of mass propaganda dominated by wealth and associated corruption. What the festishisation of western democracy does is place 'democracy' above effective government. People are increasingly irritated by the so-called deomocratic process because it frequently fails to address their needs. 'Liberal Orientalism  differs from classical Or...
Read more