We are constantly assured that our governments don’t lie. But in this case the enormity goes beyond a mere cover-up to protect deemed “national security”. That war was a lie from beginning to end.

In fact, the actions in 2003-04 endangered our national security for decades as did other acts of ill-considered military intervention, for example Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan Then and now, all kinds of devious acts are perpetrated in our name as being justified in the national interest. Without more transparency neither we nor the public would know. Take for example the bugging of the Timor Leste cabinet discussions, not for national security, but to protect the private interests of certain local investors which apparently justified prosecuting a government whistleblower for telling the truth.

A current matter is that concerning the detention of a former US pilot, now an Australian citizen, for providing professional aviation training to Chinese personnel in South Africa, involving relatively elderly aircraft about which China would already know heaps. Apparently, that activity justifies the pilot being locked up in solitary confinement pending the outcome of the US’ request for his extradition. To ram it home, the authorities have denied him access to his wife and kids for months keeping them in deadly silence all the while. That kind of inhumanity was perpetrated for US interests alone which haven’t been disclosed for public appraisal. Meanwhile the........

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