Lettergate: The dirty tricks continue
WE have been observing two extreme positions since the revelation of a Letter, Memo, Minutes of Meetings or Notes on March 27, 2022, about an international conspiracy against Imran Khan’s regime.
Either the document is a complete fake or a political stunt. After weeks of investigation, the National Security Council validated its authentication, and the PTI Government invited the opposition parties and their alliances to investigate the document for their satisfaction.
However, they all turned down the invitation and refused to accept the existence of such a document.
The media houses still seem sceptical and raise many questions about its credibility. The people also on social media either mock it or don’t find it substantial.
The PTI followers do not doubt the document authentication as they know their leader, Imran Khan, once came out with the PANAMA leaks scandal, which unmasked many influential politicians.
History reveals conspiracies exist in the name of international politics by privileged countries.
Now and then, we are mapping such conspiracies from Liaqat Ali Khan to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
So, we cannot deny the fact that such power manipulation happens. Let’s go to memory lane and recall a well-known case of one of the British agents.
She worked for GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters, Britain’s signals Intelligence Agency).
One day, more precisely on January 31, 2003, she and her colleagues received an official document through an email from NSA (National Security Agency).
It was about the reflections on Iraq Debates/Votes at the UN. One of the memo lines stated that “the whole gamut of information could give US policymakers an edge in obtaining results favourable to US goals or to head off surprises.
” More explicitly, it stated how powerful nations like the US plan to fix the vote in UN Security Council to invade Iraq.
They clearly stated to blackmail small nations like Angola, Chilli, Bulgaria, and Cameron so they could swing the vote in favour of war.
In the meantime, in every talk show aired on TV, British PM Tony Blair and US President Bush were seen assertive with the claim of linking Saddam Hussain with international terrorism, his involvement and unseen evidence of weapons of mass destruction.
The US Secretary, Mr Colin Powell, was building up a narrative and assuring the media and masses of Al Qaida link with Iraq to make their invasion justified.
The British agent understood the heinous plot of invading a sovereign country based on vague hints of Saddam Hussain’s involvement in chemical or biological weapons.
However, according to the US/UK policies, Saddam’s regime poses a threat to world security and peace.
The agent leaked the highly confidential memo, and on March 2, 2003, the headline was, Revealed: US dirty tricks to win a vote on Iraq war, in Observer, a well-known UK newspaper.
It exposed the conspiracy of the Iraq invasion and Saddam’s regime change. The leaked memo had to go through various stages of scrutiny for its validation.
It was considered fake initially, a forgery or some agency plot against the government. After the publication, the American high officials also refused to accept the memo.
Unfortunately, on March 20, 2003, a joint US/UK military operation to “free the people of Iraq” from the Saddam regime brought collateral damage.
The US/UK failed to get nine votes in UN Security Council to invade Iraq. However, US/UK invasion was declared legal three days before invading against the UN rules and regulations.
As the events unfolded, it was revealed that Lord Goldsmith, a former Attorney General, who later resigned, persuaded Tony Blair how the war in Iraq could be legal.
The UN authorization for the 1991 Gulf war could be reactivated to legitimize a new war with Iraq.
Witnessing the power politics and a failure of American diplomacy, the Deputy Legal Advisor Elizabeth Wilmshurst resigned already.
Britain held a powerful anti-war demonstration even before the memo was leaked.
Politicians have lied to their people and the world about an illegal war. The Superpowers worked together to fix the vote to deceive the world into going to war.
According to the Official Secret Acts 1989, the British agent of GCHQ was charged for disclosing a top-secret intelligence document/a memo about the Iraq invasion’s joint UK/US operation.
However, on 25 February 2004, the charges were withdrawn by the government, and in 2010 the memo was made public.
The noteworthy aspect is the withdrawal of the charges by the government. If they pursued the case in court, they had to provide all the official documents that further exposed their dirty tricks and power games.
The purpose of bringing up the whole incident is to indicate that the conspiracies exist. The White Gaze’s dominance and urge to exercise control on the small and developing nations exist.
There are historical events that provide an insight into their political hypocrisy and power politics.
So, the West cannot overlook the strategic significance of Pakistan. Since 2018 the PTI government has taken up their diplomatic ties in a different direction that might not suit one camp.
The ongoing mega projects in collaboration with China. The newly developing ties with Russia and an independent foreign policy might “pose a threat to peace and security” of the world.
Instead of doubting a document’s existence, we must investigate the significance of this document with relevance to our country and its sovereignty.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Germany.
