Corporal Daniel James, 44, a military intelligence officer has been charged under section one (1) (C), of the Official Secrets Act 1911 - that on 2 November this year, for a purpose prejudicial to the safety of the state, he “communicated to another person information calculated to be directly or indirectly useful to the enemy”. (Check how many 44yr old Cpls in Army ?)In his official capacity Mr James is an interpreter for Lieutenant General David Richards, (pic)(currently) the commander of the British contingent of Nato forces in Afghanistan. Danny J is apparently a skilled and fluent
Senior District Judge (what used to be called Stipendary Magistrates) Timothy Workman at Westminster Magistrates Court, remanded him in custody until Wednesday December 27, he had been arrested on Tuesday after the court was cleared and proceedings were held in camera for 2 hours.
Wholly inaccurate diplomatic tittle - tattle claims that this is related to UK inspired surrender of Musa Qala to the Taliban earlier this year. (Update - Maj. Luke Knittig, U.S. Army / chief NATO spokesman in Kabul said "Musa Qala has proved to be a very good deal," said "After the agreement, there were 34 days of calm, which led us to believe the elders had made good on their word." However, he added: "We have our eyes closely on Musa Qala. If we see it being used as a launching pad for attacks, we will go back and address that.")
This resulted in allied squabbling (Update - relying on tribal elders to control the Taliban,) and the sacking of Mohammed Daud as governor of Helmand by President Karzai on 7th December, which was engineered by US forces - some claim the foul hand of the CIA was involved. Daud was instrumental in UK inspired surrender of Musa Qala to the Taliban which Richards was involved in - and some say Welsh Rentagob Howell was anxious to pursue, whilst newly installed GMILF Margaret Beckett (Described variously as Foreign Secretary) looked the other way... did her knitting, planned her next trip to Albi ....
This unseemly row amongst the allies led to the American supreme commander of Nato, General Jim Jones, letting it be known, that Lieutenant-General David Richards "would have been sacked if he had been an American officer". and that he was "too political".
Some claim James got caught as piggy in the middle.
Lord Patel's impeccable sources in Islamabad say nothing will happen and it will all be quietly forgotten as tempers die down. However other sources make a connection to the arrest of an employee of the Afghan Ministry of Defence on suspicion of espionage for the Pakistani secret service ISI, which has not been denied by President Karzai's office. (Pic Danny Boy in shadow of General Richards)
UPDATE 21/12/06 9.00am
BBC peddling 3rd rate 3rd hand "official leaks" that this relates to Iran. Now saying James speaks Dari not Pashtun and re-iterating that information leaked to Iran claiming that this could be a "potential disaster" for NATO - BBC correspondent Gardner on BBC Radio 4 News / PM program "Iran has a highly developed network of informers in Afghanistan"
The Registrar General for Scotland shows that James is the most
popular name for baby boys in Scotland in 2006 , Daniel was 4th, boosted by the performance of Daniel Craig in the new James Bond movie .... apparently.
VERY interesting article Afghanistan close to anarchy, warns general by the well informed Richard Norton-Taylor Saturday July 22, 2006The Guradian concerning what General Richards told a conference at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London.
----------
Anyone noticed that the Prime Minister took his old pal, tennis partner and midget Karaoke King of Brent, Lord Levy with him on his drive by, tour d'horizon of the Gulf but left his ace caravanner behind ? Minding the shop .. or told to mind her own business ?
On September 8th the first suicide bombers hit at US forces in Kabul, the following day Coca Cola opened their bottling plant in Kabul (see Lord Patel post here Sept 11th) it is clear that the NATO / US / UK alliance stated unravelling from that date. No wonder they don't want that all discussed in court in Westminster.
We must however make absoluteley certain that it is the fault entirely, completely, totally, 100% of Iran.
Setting the scene for a UK withdrawal?
ReplyDeleteWhy is Daniel James going through the civilian court system, rather than a Court Martial?
ReplyDeleteHe was a soldier serving in a war zone, and that usually leads to a Court Martial, if he is suspected of helping the enemy.
I believe the authorities want Daniel James to go through a civilian trial, because it is easier to convince a civilian jury to convict, and there is also a lot more scope for corrupt lawyers to distort the evidence. I know this is true because I was found guilty of breaking the Official Secrets Act myself, on very flimsy and false evidence.