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Alternative Radio (Aust.) PO Box 780 Morwell Victoria 3848 Australia tel. 61-3-5134-8556 mob. 61-413-597-828 inquiries@araustralia.org |
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www.araustralia.org |
Alternative Radio (Aust.) PO Box 780 Morwell Victoria 3848 Australia tel. 61-3-5134-8556 mob. 61-413-597-828 inquiries@araustralia.org |
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When the British occupied Iraq after World War I, they were not greeted with celebrations. A revolt began almost immediately. It was brutally suppressed. Shaken by the uprising, Lord Curzon, the Foreign Secretary came up with a plan to run Iraq. He said we must create an "Arab facade ruled and administrated under British guidance and controlled by a native Mohammedan, and as far as possible an Arab staff." This should all, he continued, "be veiled by constitutional fictions." Today, the Iraqi Governing Council is a facsimile of Curzon's Arab facade. Paul Bremer is the unofficial viceroy. The names will no doubt be changed but that is the structure of power. However, sooner or later, facades crumble. There are cracks appearing in the empire.
Tariq (Tah-rick) Ali, born in Lahore, Pakistan, is an internationally renowned writer. He is based in London where he is an editor of New Left Review. He's written more than a dozen books on world history and politics. A charismatic speaker, he is in great demand all over the world. In his spare time he is a filmmaker, playwright and novelist. He is the author of The Clash of Fundamentalisms and Bush in Babylon.
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