This Is The Real Truth Network Interviews Dr. Vincent Cable, Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham
Friday October 12th 2001
Dr Vincent Cable has been the Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham since 1997. His website is at www.vincentcable.com
His professional experience includes:-
Chief Economist of Shell International
Head of Economics, Royal Institute of International Affairs
Special adviser to Commonwealth secretary-general Sonny Ramphal
United Nations Association London and South East Region President
Deputy Director Overseas Development Institute
Diplomatic Service
Lecturer in Economics, University of Glasgow
Treasury Official, Government of Kenya
Freelance work for World Bank and UN.
Worked extensively in
India and Latin America
Regular broadcaster and columnist:
The Independent (on economic and political issues)
The Economist blackberry bold mugen 2 battery
In the UK, MPs run "surgeries". These are times when members of their constituency can turn up and ask about any issues which concern them. This Is The Real Truth is very concerned about the "War on Terrorism", and that is the subject we chose to interview Dr Cable about.
In order to understand the interests of the parties, Simon who interviewed Dr. Cable is both a constituent and also voted for him. The reason for voting was one of lesser of three evils. Although notes were taken, due to the amateur aspect of This Is The Real Truth, only the jist of the conversation was able to be recorded. Dr Cable's answers are in red. Also I think my Mum was at school with Dr Cable in York, but I forgot to ask him about that.
We began by asking Why are we at war?
The Americans were attacked. They felt that it was necessary to go after the perpetrators. This is a superficial explanation.
Should people be told about the oil and gas deposits in the surrounding area? Is this a factor that should be taken into account when analysing the motivation behind people?
It is far fetched to think that oil could be a reason for attacking Afghanistan. In the Gulf War it was a factor. At best it is a marginal concern. The evacuation route for the oil is across Russia. The conflict would make matters worse if trying to supply oil from that area. So no, it is not a material concern.
Should people be told about Bush and Cheneys' oil interests and bank accounts linking Bush to the bin Laden family?
There are 52 children in the family. Most oil companies have had business dealings with the family. It is a well known fact that Osama bin Laden is a "western protégé", which is obviously very embarrassing. This is open knowledge and is not being kept hidden.
But is it not worrying when we find out that Dick Cheney has received a pension of $34 million dollars from his oil company as a result of breaking the economic sanctions on Iraq? And is it not worrying when the USA allegedly supplied Saddam Hussein with Anthrax when it suited US foreign policy in the early 80s?
It is quite possible. They're no angels.
We are making alliances with some leaders of dubious moral background. Should we be concerned with the friends we are making as part of the alliance?
In World War 2 Churchill dealt with Stalin, in order to fight Hitler and at the time most people were not concerned what Stalin was up to. The moral justification is that it is the lesser of two evils. Here it is the same scenario, so it is easy to understand why it happens.
The Guardian ran a leader which said "the way Mr Blair is behaving is beginning to become scary." Are you happy with the way in which Blair is conducting his affairs?
I do not agree that Blair is acting unconstitutionally or undemocratically. The Liberal Democrat party largely support Labour. Clare Short is the litmus test - she has argued for humanitarian aid.
This Is The Real Truth has obtained a copy of the UK Government report providing evidence against bin Laden. This Is The Real Truth did not come to the conclusion that there was any evidence directly linking bin Laden to the attacks on the World Trade Centre, although we find him a disturbing person and one who should be brought to justice for actual crimes. Are you concerned that we are going to war when there is no publicly available evidence? You can win Free iphone 4
I agree that there is no direct or DNA evidence, but the "logic of document points to bin Laden." The circumstantial evidence is compelling, which could be used in a court of law. The government "probably do have evidence".
It was a terrible mis-judgement to have trained bin Laden.
Is the UK media coverage of the war balanced, or could it be considered propaganda against the UK population?
For "thinking people", you have plenty of access to alternative view points, such as in The Guardian. This alternative point of view is in the press and on Newsnight [a BBC current affairs television programme]
No one is silencing the critics, we are hearing all sides of the argument.
This Is The Real Truth Network provided Dr Cable with the following
- A hard copy of This Is The Real Truth launch press release
- A hard copy of Thisistherealtruth.net home page
- A hard copy of This Is The Real Truth World Trade Centre special report (home page)
This Is The Real Truth has a copy of a report Silent Weapons for Secret Wars. This has a section which outlines how the Government can distract people from the truth using Media, Schools, Education, Work. This could be a fake document, but it purports to show hyper cynical treatment of the population. We pointed out that Jo Moore has in fact been caught out using the same tactics suggesting that now was a good time to output bad news from the government one hour after the collapse of the world trade centre. If we are hearing all sides of the argument, is it a valid point of view not to believe what Tony Blair is telling us. Is it now right to ask if this is just a one-off bad judgement or indicative of the philosophy of Blair's spin doctors? Хотите купить Аpple Macbook Pro: screen macbook pro. MacBook Air 11 и 13 от 39290руб.
You are right to be critical but not cynical. What Jo Moore did was a disgrace and she should have been dismissed. Stephen Byers will probably be sacked as well.
This Is The Real Truth pointed out that no minister had told the press that on receiving the email they had called for her dismissal. They only seemed to react once the email was in the public domain.
[At the time of the interview, Tony Blair had intervened to say Jo Moore should not be sacked, and said that Stephen Byers should be applauded for his tough stance against Railtrack]
Carrying on the theme of should people believe Tony Blair, we asked if Dr Cable was aware of The Bilderberg Group.
No - what is that?
This Is The Real Truth explained that it was where world leaders, and captains of industry and the media meet in secret.
"But there is nothing wrong with that"
This Is The Real Truth pointed out that Tony Blair has lied about his attending the meetings, and also that other MPs had attended. We pointed out that when the meetings are in secret, and the press do not cover the event, then there could be reasons for being cynical about it. This Is The Real Truth pointed out to Dr Cable that www.thisistherealtruth.com has a link to www.bilderberg.org for more information.
Mr Cable said that he would look into the Bilderberg Group, although it is not known if he shares our concern about these meetings.
For Mr Cable's benefit, more information is available here is a list of attendees between 1982 and 2001. We can not find any Liberal Democrats in this list.
You are now free to analyse Dr Cables answers in light of the other viewpoints and evidence provided by the Network in the War On Terror section. We know about the Bilderberg group, and now Dr Cable has been told about it too. Dr Cable is free to place the documentation provided by This Is The Real Truth in his bin, or he could use it as a resource to educate himself about our leaders. He is free to decide what evidence we should worry about, and what evidence can be rejected.
By getting involved in politics, but while treating our MPs with respect and tolerance whatever their political background, it is still possible to make a difference and raise awareness. Not all MPs know about Israel and China as outlined by Gordon Thomas in his book Seeds of Fire, but they will spend time listening to rational, well argued and well researched questions. Many MPs are still in theory here for our benefit, and they will tolerate questions where the end, especially for young people looking for answers, is to make this world a more informed and positive place.