informage

The recent report Iran, Its Neighbours and the Regional Crises by Chatham House (a UK foreign policy thinktank described by SourceWatch as "at the centre of the British Establishment") has received a good degree of media attention. In particular much note has been made of the opening sentence:

There is little doubt that Iran has been the chief beneficiary of the war on terror in the Middle East.

Less attention has been drawn to the further analysis of the report, in particular their characterisation of Iran's foreign policy:

Iranian regional foreign policy, which is often portrayed as mischievous and destabilizing, is in fact remarkably pragmatic on the whole and generally aims to avoid major upheaval or confrontation.

Consider that this is the closest thing to the official view of the UK establishment when examining media alarmism around Iran's growing strength in the region.

"There exists at the present time among the Jews dispersed over Europe a strong notion that the time is approaching when their nation is to return to Palestine. It would be of manifest importance to the Sultan to encourage the Jews to return and settle in Palestine because the wealth that they would bring with them would increase the resources of the Sultan's dominions, and the Jewish people if returning under the sanction and protection at the invitation of the Sultan would be a check upon any future evil designs of Egypt or its neighbours. I wish to instruct your Excellency strongly to recommend to the Turkish government to hold out every just encouragement to the Jews of Europe to return to Palestine."

(Lord Palmerston, soon to be UK Prime Minister, 1840).

Scheming smoothtongued scumbag.

I’m stating the obvious when I say I haven’t been keeping my blog very up to date recently. Just look down and you can see that. In the meantime I do post links of interest to my delicious account which you can also see down on the right.

Later…