David Miliband’s murky past

David Miliband’s murky past

By Gilad Atzmon

3 September 2010

Gilad Atzmon remind us of the murky not-so-distant past of former British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who is a leading contender for the Labour Party leadership, from his complicity in “extraordinary rendition” to his support for suspected Israeli war criminals.

”David Miliband was, until recently, listed on an Israeli propaganda site as an “Israeli Hasbara [Propaganda] Author”. Interestingly enough, The Israeli Hasbara site that listed him disappeared on 5 May 2010, a day before the British general election, when it was clear that Gordon Brown’s political career was about to be cast into history. From then on it was obvious that David Miliband would offer himself as a candidate for the Labour leadership. Is it a coincidence?”

Millions of ballot papers were sent out on 1 September to those eligible to vote in the Labour Party leadership election. Symbolically enough, this happened the day Tony Blair, the British prime minister who launched the criminal war in Iraq, published his controversial memoirs.

I am not holding my breath for the Labour Party to make the right decision – this is the same party that failed to curtail Blair’s militant enthusiasm, even when it was plainly clear that the argument for the Iraq war was grounded in a dodgy dossier.
“…it is my duty to remind the Labour Party members who their leading candidate is, what he stands for and what interests he may serve.”

Considering the scale of the atrocities in which we are all complicit thanks to the Labour government, it is my duty to remind the Labour Party members who their leading candidate is, what he stands for and what interests he may serve.

Labour Party members should consider the role allegedly played by their leaders and leading candidate David Miliband in what has come to be known as "extraordinary rendition": knowingly allowing terror suspects to be transferred through British airspace in order for them to be tortured in third countries and to allow British agents to gather information from suspects treated in this way. Miliband also attempted to block public disclosure of intelligence information related to torture allegations in the case of former Guantanamo detainee Binyam Mohamed.

Interestingly enough, the same David Miliband has been preaching to us on ethics recently; here is what he told the Independent on Sunday: "The alternative to an ethical foreign policy is an unethical foreign policy, and I don't believe in an unethical foreign policy.”

I guess that Labour members should ask themselves what is so “ethical” about concealing Britain's involvement in torture.

The Labour Party members also should remember that their leading candidate David Miliband announced his intention to change the law on “universal jurisdiction”. According to the Jewish Chronicle, he was “pushing hard within Whitehall” this. In case we have forgotten, Miliband put much effort into the subject so that suspected Israeli war criminals could avoid justice once landing in the UK.
“…Miliband claimed to know what “British values” are, yet his actions against universal jurisdiction proves the opposite. However, it is apparent that David Miliband certainly knows what Israeli interests are. He has been promoting these interests in our midst for quite a while.

Ironically, in the Independent Miliband claimed to know what “British values” are, yet his actions against universal jurisdiction proves the opposite. However, it is apparent that David Miliband certainly knows what Israeli interests are. He has been promoting these interests in our midst for quite a while.

David Miliband was, until recently, listed on an Israeli propaganda site as an “Israeli Hasbara [Propaganda] Author”. Interestingly enough, The Israeli Hasbara site that listed him disappeared on 5 May 2010, a day before the British general election, when it was clear that Gordon Brown’s political career was about to be cast into history. From then on it was obvious that David Miliband would offer himself as a candidate for the Labour leadership. Is it a coincidence? I honestly do not know the answer and I also do not have the means to check.

Miliband might have been happy to discover that the Israeli Propaganda site ceased to exist. However, he may not be as happy to find out that some of us have saved a PDF image of the site content. I believe that every Labour party member should look at the list of Israeli Propaganda Authors and find their party’s favorite candidate. Every Labour party member should wonder what a Labour leadership candidate is doing on such a list.

To upload the PDF file that David Milband would probably prefer you not to see, click here. I urge Labour party members to circulate this document.

As with Tony Blair, David Miliband supports moral interventionism, as if killing 1.5 million Iraqis in the name of democracy is not enough. In 2008 Miliband maintained that spreading democracy should be a “great progressive project” adding that “the means need to combine both soft and hard power”.

I wonder what is so “progressive” about pushing tribal and reactionary interests in Whitehall? What is so advanced in concealing torture? Is torture “soft” or “hard” power? What is so ethical in attempting to limit the application of universal jurisdiction in Britain? What is moral about killing in the name of democracy? One may wonder how much torture can David Miliband take before he gives up on torturing others? Unlike Shaker Aamer, the Briton who is still incarcerated in Guantánamo Bay, Miliband tells us that the Labour Party “has been punished enough”.

I hope that the Labour Party rids itself of David Miliband and the kind of ideology he promotes. This party is already responsible for enough death and carnage. This party made us all complicit in a colossal war crime. The Labour Party had better depart quickly from its moral interventionism and remind itself what labour ideology is all about.
Gilad Atzmon is an Israeli-born musician, writer and anti-racism campaigner. His latest jazz album, "In loving memory of America", was released on 1 March 2009 and can be purchased here.