UNPEOPLE

Iraqis are in practice regarded as "unpeople" whose deaths matter little in the pursuit of western power; the major block on committing atrocities is the fear of being exposed and ministers will do all they can to cover them up. The public is the major threat to their strategy, which explains why they resort to public deception campaigns. If, as must be expected, atrocities now multiply in Iraq - with Britain complicit - we cannot claim we were not warned.

Mark Curtis
The Guardian

Mark Curtis is currently Director of the World Development Movement, a campaigning organisation that tackles the root causes of poverty and works alongside people in the developing world who are standing up to injustice. His latest book, Unpeople: Britain's Secret Human Rights Abuses is published by Vintage in November 2004.