(not satire – it’s the surreal world of international diplomacy)
With war looming, probably best to bury these links between the UK and Syria – wouldn’t want them embarrassing anyone important, would we?
1) Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Several high-ranking Syrian military officers were trained at top-notch Ministry of Defence training colleges like Sandhurst and other MoD training colleges.
In defence of its decision to train officers from dictatorships such as Syria and other countries known to have abused human rights, the Ministry of Defence said (with apparently not even a trace of irony): “Providing training to the same high standards used by UK armed forces helps to save lives and raise awareness of human rights.“
Given how things have turned out, the MoD will be a bit embarrassed about that I would imagine.
President Assad’s beautiful clothes-horse wife Asma is a Londoner – born and bred in Acton. I’m not being sexist referring to her as a beautiful clothes-horse – that really was her main role in the regime until the uprising made it difficult for western magazines like Vogue to give her any more fawning puff pieces.
And in a surreal bit of diplomatic nonsense, she’s actually banned from entering the EU along with all other high ranking Assad loyalists. Except she’s British – so she can’t be banned from entering her own country. Which means she can’t be banned from the EU at all – except symbolically.
Which is probably just a tad embarrassing.
Margaret Thatcher’s spin master who helped engineer her three election victories was employed by the Syrian government to spin their image, along with other notable despots such as brutal Chilean dictator Pinochet as well as ‘the last dictator of Europe’, Belarus leader Alexandr Lukashenko.
Mind you, after spinning Thatcher for so many years, I would have thought spinning a few tinpot dictators would be an easy task.
Still – a bit embarrassing now that Bell’s own party is about to take us to war with one of his ex-clients.
In the run up to Assad’s official visit to Britain in 2002, the Blair government seriously considered asking the Queen to bestow an honorary knighthood on the Syrian dictator. Of course, this was at a time the Blair government was hoping Assad would be amenable to reforming Syria into a country the West could do business with.
Pretty embarrassing all the same.
One of the oldest and most respected universities in the UK, St Andrew’s accepted over £100,000 raised by Syria’s ambassador to the UK, Dr Sami Khiyami.
It seems academic leaders of this supposedly eminent university weren’t clever enough to have noticed they were receiving money supplied by a dictatorship infamous for its appalling human rights abuses.
Which is probably a bit embarrassing for them, I would think.
6) Jeremy Hunt (and other MPs)
Until 2009, the British Syrian Society – headed by Assad’s father-in-law – regularly organised visits to Syria for UK MPs from all parties.
This includes the present Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt – who declared he had received flights and hospitality worth £1,065 from the British Syrian society for a three-day visit to Syria in May 2007.
Other MPs to have accepted President Assad’s hospitality include David Davies and Brooks Newmark.
Yep. Pretty embarrassing too I’d say.
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None of the Above said:
In the Western democracies foreign ministers are only in place for a few years, in this country they last about 2 1/2 years. President Assad has been in power for 13 years, and succeeded his father, the longevity of these dictators gives them time and experience to manipulate our people, although the frequent changes of personnel mean that occasionally they misjudge things, hence Saddam Hussains misjudgement. Even then, Jack Straw admits in his biography that they had no real plan for what to do once they’d won, lack of experience I guess.
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alan smart said:
You missed out George Galloway. Assad’s apologist supreme in UK.
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nuggy said:
most miltary dictaters were trained at sandhurst ida amin was so was gaddifi
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Nicholas said:
The real “embarrassing” thing (any other emotion would be better, wouldn’t it? Embarrasment is superficial crap isn’t it?) is they are preparing to murder a lot of people over there.
(£10 to the Alan Smart guy if he can seriously substantiate the slur on George Galloway he made above. I’ll trust Tom’s judgement in that regard)
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nedhamson said:
Reblogged this on Ned Hamson Second Line View of the News.
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Stewarth99 said:
I’m not so sure that Idi Amin was Sandhurst educated. I do remember my father telling me that Idi had been a Cpl under him, latrine duties I seem to remember.
Anyway, the British armed forces have a long history of educating kings and dictators in waiting.
The King of Jordan (one of our few friends in that part of the world) was at Sandhurst
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Free Sound Bites (@AbsolutelyFreeB) said:
Neither Amin nor Gaddafi were trained at Sandhurst, you must be thinking of Ian Duncan Smith, who was there in the 1970s.
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nuggy said:
my bad you your right idi amin dident i was thinking of another african dictator
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eddie said:
I’m pretty sure sandhurst trained nazi shits harry and william.
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drew said:
I doubt embarrassment or shame register on the heartless consciousness of those people cited above. Just look at what happened to this country in the past 13 years?
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jed goodright said:
the democratic toryboy at order order isn’t taking any comments that oppose their editors view – WAR, WAR NOW – what a vile and odious gang the toryboys are
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Taffy said:
And how would you describe Blair, Brown, Straw etc. there were no WMD in Iraq. GWB, Rumsfeld and Cheney said jump and new labour said how high.
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rainbowwarriorlizzie said:
Reblogged this on HUMAN RIGHTS & POLITICAL JOURNAL.
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PardisPour said:
I want to know more about Iran’s batshit crazy plan to attack Israel if the USA intervenes in Syria.
I’m not sure how they plan to justify this as being ‘for Syria’ given that Israel is treating shitloads of the Syrian wounded in Isreali hospitals.
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sp4mf15h said:
well for a start Israel is still occupying sovereign Syrian territory in the Golan Heights. Then there is the missile strikes on syrian targets including an airport. Also IDF incursions beyong the Golan Heights.
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Elle said:
The Western world wanted to be fooled by him. Besides first thing to do is strip his wife and children of nationality. A big bkow to her ego. She would stopped be referred too as the british wife of syrian origin. His father in law should not be allowed to practice anymore. Describing the london riots to syrian revolution and yet he still cure patients
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Fiona said:
Weren’t transactions found linking the Sarin gas attack to Britain. I think our government paid for it to be sent out to the rebels (Or Assad’s regime)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2415081/Britain-sent-poison-chemicals-Assad-Proof-UK-delivered-Sarin-agent-Syrian-regime.html
Great piece by the way 🙂 Take Care.
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