Blank









British Chief Police Investigator in Basra dies
under mysterious circumstances
He was responsible for the investigation into the
two Elite SAS men disguised as Arab "terrorists"
by Michel Chossudovsky

Blank









British Chief Police Investigator in Basra dies
under mysterious circumstances
He was responsible for the investigation into the
two Elite SAS men disguised as Arab "terrorists"
by Michel Chossudovsky

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=CHO20051017&articleId=1100

Captain Ken Masters, British chief police investigator in Basra died under mysterious
circumstances. The cause of death was not mentioned. According to a Ministry of
Defense spokesman, his death was "not due to hostile action" nor to natural causes.
Ken Masters was Commanding Officer of the Special Investigation Branch of the Royal
Military Police. He was "responsible for the investigation of all in-theatre serious
incidents, plus investigations conducted by the General Police Duties element of the
Theatre Investigation Group." (Statement of Britain's Ministry of Defense, 16 Oct
2005).
In this capacity, Captain Masters was responsible for investigating the circumstances
of the arrest of two undercover elite SAS men, wearing Arab clothing, by Iraqi police
in Basra. forces on September 19 (London Times (17 Oct 2005)..
"The Ministry of Defence refused to reveal details about his [Masters] work but it is
believed he was involved in the inquiry into the dramatic rescue of two SAS soldiers
held in a prison in Basra." (Daily Mail, 16 Oct 2005)
The two British undercover "soldiers", who were driving a car loaded with weapons and
ammunition, were subsequently "rescued" by British forces, in a major military
assault on the building where they were being detained:
"British forces used up to 10 tanks " supported by helicopters " to smash through the
walls of the jail and free the two British servicemen."
The incident, which resulted in numerous civilian and police casualties has caused
political embarrassment.
Several media reports and eyewitness accounts suggested that the SAS operatives were
disguised as Al Qaeda "terrorists" and were planning to set off the bombs in Basra's
central square during a a major religious event.
On the 14th of October, Britain formally apologized to Iraq and confirmed that it
"will pay compensation for injuries and damage caused during the storming by the army
of a police station in Basra in the operation to release two SAS soldiers" (The
Scotesman, 15 Oct 2005). In the British raid on the prison, 7 Iraqis were killed and
43 were injured .(The Times, op cit)
"Compensation to the families of alleged Iraqi victims who died during the fracas
depended on the official investigation being carried out by Captain Masters and his
team." (ibid)
Captain Ken Masters died in Basra on the 15th. According to the MoD "the
circumstances [of his death ] were not regarded as suspicious."
The reports casually suggested that Masters might have been suffering from "stress",
which could have driven him to commit suicide. In the words of a Defense analyst
quoted by the BBC:.
"Capt Masters was part of quite a small outfit and his job would have been quite
stressful. It's quite an onerous job..... I think, [there is] quite a lot of stress
involved" (BBC, 16 October 2005).
The Daily Mail (17 Oct 2005), however, tends to dismiss the suicide thesis "Little is
known of his private life and it is said to be unlikely that the pressures of work
would have led him to commit suicide."
British statements concerning the "rescue operation"

The attack on the 19th of September to "rescue" the two SAS men was launched under
the command of Brig John Lorimer. In a statement, Lorimer said that the purpose of
the raid was to ensure the safety of the two SAS men: .
"... I had good reason to believe that the lives of the two soldiers were at risk and
troops were sent to the area of Basra near the police station to help ensure their
safety. ... "Later in the day, however, I became more concerned about the safety of
the two soldiers after we received information that they had been handed over to
militia elements. As a result I took the difficult decision to order entry to the
Jamiat police station. By taking this action we were able to confirm that the
soldiers were no longer being held by the IPS. An operation was then mounted to
rescue them from a house in Basra."
(The Times, 20 Oct 2005
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7374-1788850,00.html )
Ironically, Brig Lorimer's account was challenged by the US appointed interim
government. Iraqi interior minister Baqir Solagh Jabr, in an interview with the BBC
"denied that the Iraqi police had handed over the SAS men to the local militias, as
Brigadier Lorimer had stated....'That is not right, totally not right,' he said. He
accused Brigadier Lorimer of reacting to 'rumour' when he ordered his men to storm
the police station and said that the building where the SAS men had been found was
actually part of the police station" ( The Independent, 12 Oct 2005).
In a subsequent declaration, Lorimer said that the police in Basra were involved in
terrorism, and were being supported by Iran (This alleged link to Iran is now denied
by British Defense officials).
Lorimer also said that that the two arrested undercover SAS men had been
investigating torture and abuse within the prison: The SAS men had been "given the
task of trying to establish who was behind the reign of terror at the jail" (quoted
in the Daily Telegraph, 16 Oct 2005). According to Lorimer the prison was a "very
nasty place". (Ibid)
The Investigation
The citizens of Basra witnessed the arrest. Civilians were killed and inhured when
British forces under the command of Brig Lorimer led the military assault on the
prison. Al Jazeera reported the circumstances of the arrest in an interview with
Fattah al-Shaykh, member of the Iraqi National Assembly:
If you really want to look for truth, then we should resort to the Iraqi justice away
from the British provocations against the sons of Basra, particularly what happened
today when the sons of Basra caught two non-Iraqis, who seem to be Britons and were
in a car of the Cressida type. It was a booby-trapped car laden with ammunition and
was meant to explode in the centre of the city of Basra in the popular market.
However, the sons of the city of Basra arrested them. They [the two non-Iraqis] then
fired at the people there and killed some of them. The two arrested persons are now
at the Intelligence Department in Basra, and they were held by the National Guard
force, but the British occupation forces are still surrounding this department in an
attempt to absolve them of the crime. (Al Jazeera TV 20 Sept 2005).
Nobody in Basra believes that the two arrested SAS men were "working undercover
against militants linked to Iran":
"The Iraqi police stopped a car with two foreigners dressed as Arabs, and full of
weapons and explosives," he said. "There have been terrorist attacks and explosions
in Basra - of course the police wanted to investigate.".... Mr Hakim dismissed as
"propaganda" reports that the soldiers were working undercover against militants
linked to Iran. Officials in Basra have called for an espionage trial for the two in
an Iraqi court. British soldiers' legal immunity "does not apply when they are out of
uniform", Mr Hakim said. (Mr. Hakim is a leading official in Iraq's largest Shia
Muslim party, quoted in the Financial Times, 29 Sept 2005)
Was the British military blocking Captain Masters police investigation?
There were apparent disagreements between British military commanding officers and
the military police officials dispatched to the war theater in charge of
investigating the actions and behavior of military personnel. (The Independent 17 Oct
2005).
Was pressure put to bear on Captain Masters by the Ministry of Defense? According to
Michael Keefer, the British Army led by Brig Lorimer was determined
"to remove these men from any danger of interrogation by their own supposed allies in
the government the British are propping up—even when their rescue entailed the
destruction of an Iraqi prison and the release of a large number of prisoners,
gun-battles with Iraqi police and with Al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army militia, a large popular
mobilization against the British occupying force, and a subsequent withdrawal of any
cooperation on the part of the regional government—tends, if anything, to support the
view that this episode involved something much darker and more serious than a mere
flare-up of bad tempers at a check-point."
(See Michael Keefer,
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=KEE20050925&articleId=994 )
Captain Ken Masters had a mandate to cooperate in his investigations, with the
civilian Iraqi authorities. As part of his mandate he was to investigate "into
allegations that British soldiers killed or mistreated Iraqi civilians". Specifically
in this case, the inquiry pertained to the circumstances of the British assault on
the prison on 19 September. The press reports and official statements suggest that
the assault on the prison was authorized by the Ministry of Defense.
General Sir Michael Jackson, Chief of the General Staff was in Basra a few days prior
to Captain Masters untimely death to deal explicitly with the matter.
While in Basra, he no doubt also had meetings with both Brig Lorimer and Captain
Masters. General Jackson has upheld the rescue of the elite SAS men:
"Let me make it clear that it was important to retrieve those two soldiers."

--
_____________________________________________________

I intend to last long enough to put out of business all *****-suckers
and other beneficiaries of the institutionalized slavery and genocide.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The army that will defeat terrorism doesn't wear uniforms, or drive
Humvees, or calls in air-strikes. It doesn't have a high command, or
high security, or a high budget. The army that can defeat terrorism
does battle quietly, clearing minefields and vaccinating children. It
undermines military dictatorships and military lobbyists. It subverts
sweatshops and special interests.Where people feel powerless, it
helps them organize for change, and where people are powerful, it
reminds them of their responsibility." ~~~~ Author Unknown ~~~~
___________________________________________________