Berrtie Ahern lie, his secretary tells the truth and Bertie resigns

On Thursday, January 24, 2008 we posted item incorporating concern about the longevity of Mr Bertie Ahern's political career- Peter Hain caught like Al Capone by fucking up his financial records - is Bertie Ahern going down as well ?

Well we now know the answer is YES.

At 10.00 o'clock on the steps of the Government Buildings this morning 56 year old Bertie , who has been Taoiseach (Prime Minister) since June 1997 , leader of Fianna Fáil since 1994 , and member of the Irish Parliament for 31 years handed in his lunch pail .. although he will not leave ofice until 6th May.

Not quite the story he was peddling when a reporter from the Sunday Independent tackled him in the bar of Fagans, in Drumcondra, on Thursday night, where, in the company of friends, he said he, "will not be driven from office by the media."

Compoundin his many lies over many years he said before his clustered friends, "'I have never done anything to corrupt my office' he said. 'I know in my heart of hearts that I have done no wrong and wronged no one.' (RTE video)

Like Tony Blair, a fluent liar, he has been consistenty lying about his personal finances to the Mahon enquiry for years. Last week Gráinne Carruth - Mr Ahern's secretary between 1987 and 1999 , who was paid IR£66 week at the time - admitted lodging money into one of the taoiseach's bank accounts and those of his two daughters. This corroborated the evidence of former bank manager Blair Hughes last week, who provided documentary evidence to the Mahon Tribunal of the hitherto undisclosed sterling lodgements made in 1994 to accounts on Mr Ahern's behalf.

Confronted with the documentary evidence she had made the lodgements, she finally admitted that she had probably handled sterling lodgemets after being warned that perjury at the tribunal could mean penalties of up to two years in jail and fines of up to 300,000 euro.

The Mahon tribunal has found that lodgements to his accounts between 1993 and 1994 were over two-and-a-half times his salary, and also found that he did not operate a bank account while minister for finance.

Mr Ahern said his staff cashed his pay cheques for him and either handed him cash or left bundles of up to IR£1,500 on his desk when he was away.

He also said that other money he received came from friends to help him after a marriage separation and to buy a house. (Detailed account of his preposterous lies at the Sunday Business Post 30th March 2007)

The exact sources of money and amounts remain unclear but the tribunal is investigating lodgements of over IR£100,000 made on behalf of Mr Ahern in the late 1980s to mid-1990s.

The Mahon Tribunal has been sitting since October 1997 and it has finally taken the simple admission of a poorly-paid secretary in floods of tears, frightened of fines and a prison sentence to confess that she lodged large amounts of sterling for her boss to force the lying bastard out of office.

So that's the two architects of the Good Friday Agreement :

1. Forced from office
2. Guilty of gross financial impropriety
3. Caught out in lies, deceit and dishonesty in explaining their complicated financial affairs
4. Consistent attempts to cover up their dishonesty
5. A willingness to drop their office staff in the shit

General Michael Janus Jackson - his failures in leading the Army are raised by ex Colonel Patrick Mercer MP

Tory MP, Patrick Mercer, (Con. Newark) 51, a former Colonel in the Sherwood Forester's (and also a reporter on BBC 4's Today programme) , who is now the Conservative Shadow Minister for Homeland Security has defended General Janus Jackson's interpretation of the post-war bungling in Iraq. He points out that Jackson has to bear responsibility himself for reduction in the size of the Army, which has left Britain less able to prosecute the war on terrorism by military means.

He said:

"What he says is right. The lack of post conflict planning is stunning. However, the reason that we haven't been able to prosecute either the Iraq or Afghanistan campaigns as effectively as we might is that we haven't concentrated our forces. We have a war on two fronts while cutting combat units as a peace dividend for pulling out of Northern Ireland. You can't get away from it: this happened on his watch."

"Before he resigned, General Jackson was instrumental in recommending a new structure for the Army, which led to reductions in the numbers of frontline troops."

Not forgetting a massive shortage of helicopters, WIKI Land Rovers, the appalling Bowman comms, shortages of almost everything,night goggles, sand goggles etc., etc., Troops carried in 42 year old VC 10's, massive logistical problems in theatre - food shortages, ammunition problems, slow medical evacuation, etc., etc.,

More here and here

Letter Daily Telegraph Dec 8th 2006

Sir - I am a Major in the Army who has served in Bosnia and more recently as a military assistant to the General Officer Commanding in Basra. General Sir Mike Jackson's comments in the Dimbleby lecture and his interview on Today left me seething (report, December 7).

If Sir Mike felt so strongly about the topics of over-stretch, equipment, accommodation and pay, why did he not do something about it when he was in a position to do so? If he thought that Afghanistan was going to be bloodier than it has turned out to be, why did he not restructure the fighting force at the time?

Why did he not just say "No" when faced with more deployments and the subsequent overstretch? His comments are an insult to those who have lost their lives in Afghanistan, a conflict he could have affected, but did not have the moral courage to do so.

A poor performance for the top general. If he was in the commercial world, he would not have been entertained for so long. I, like many of my fellow officers and soldiers, have decided to vote with my feet and have sadly resigned my commission after 10 years' service as I cannot see a turning point for the Army. Name and address supplied