Programme Updates
Recording Casualties of Armed Conflict
PUBLISH OR BE LEAKED?
The recent public release by Wikileaks of some 76,000 US military documents, containing hitherto unpublished data on casualties and detailing the conflict in Afghanistan, has re-focused attention on how the civilian casualties of conflict are best documented, and by whom.
In this context, it is particularly timely for Oxford Research Group (ORG) to publish an article, co-written by ORG consultants Hamit Dardagan and John Sloboda, in collaboration with UK Army Colonel, Richard Iron. The article is entitled “In Everyone’s Interest: Recording All The Dead, Not Just Our Own” and will shortly appear in the “British Army Review”, a journal widely read by members of the military in the UK and elsewhere.
The article makes a strong case for military forces collecting and, most crucially, publishing casualty data promptly - within days, rather than months or years. It argues that this is feasible within existing operational structures and that – contrary to the conventional wisdom – such openness is in the interest of all parties. In particular, by making civilian casualties transparent, western militaries can make themselves trusted sources of information rather than be treated with suspicion as they are now.
Verifiable truth will never be arrived at through competing numbers but can only emerge from detailed data that specifies times, places, events and, wherever possible, every individual casualty by name.
ORG has long been calling for transparent and detailed casualty recording to be supported by states and welcomes the recent calls led by Amnesty International for progress on this issue by NATO member governments.
RCAC IN THE MEDIA
On 18 August, John Sloboda appeared at the Frontline Club on a panel discussing “After the troops have gone: What now for Iraq?”. In his presentation, he highlighted the need for comprehensive casualty recording in Iraq and in other conflicts. A podcast of the discussion is available at: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/9003273
ORG's casualty recording initiative was positively mentioned in a comment piece by Charli Carpenter in the New York Times on 11 August, entitled “Collateral Damage Control”.
If you would also like to contact us or support our work, please contact the RCAC team at rcac@oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk.
WARNING AGAINST AN UNSUSTAINABLE APPROACH TO THE IRANIAN NUCLEAR CRISIS
The last ORG newsletter featured a new report by Professor Paul Rogers titled “Military Action Against Iran: Impact and Effects”, warning against a military ‘solution’ to the ongoing crisis over Iran’s nuclear programme. The report received significant international media coverage and debate in over sixty different outlets including the Guardian, Reuters (where it was the fourth most read release on that day), the Los Angeles Times, Channel 4 News and a number of important blogs such as the Huffington Post and Daily Kos. The report was covered in the Israeli and Arab press including the Gulf News, Jerusalem Post and Haaretz (where it was the most read article on the day of release and attracted over a hundred comments). Professor Rogers and Ben Zala spoke about the report’s analysis in a number of radio and TV interviews including the BBC World Service, BBC Persian TV and the Al Hurra satellite network.
Ben Zala discussed the findings of the report at the House of Commons on a panel titled “Iran: Which Way Forward?” on Monday 19 July. The event was organised by the Westminster Committee on Iran and was jointly sponsored by BASIC and ORG. The meeting was well attended by MPs, Lords and other interested parties, and a summary of the discussion has featured in the Maltese Independent (with a shorter version appearing in Prospect Magazine).
RE-THINKING BRITAIN’S DEFENCE AND SECURITY POLICIES
The Sustainable Security Programme team have been working hard on promoting a more holistic, preventive and sustainable approach to UK defence policy as the government undertakes a major defence review process, including:
- the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR);
- a ‘value for money’ appraisal of the plan to replace the Trident nuclear weapons system;
- a revision of the National Security Strategy.
A meeting of the UK Policy Group for Sustainable Security was held on 28 July to discuss the opportunities provided by this review process for exploring the policy implications for the UK of a move towards a sustainable security paradigm. Following the ORG briefing paper “Reviewing Britain’s Security”, released earlier in the year, Paul Rogers and Ben Zala have continued to contribute to the public debate on the defence review discussing the role of the new National Security Council (NSC) and the ongoing controversy over the cost of Trident renewal in the media.
Next month, the Sustainable Security Programme will be submitting evidence to the Defence Select Committee’s inquiry into the SDSR. We will also be holding a roundtable workshop with civil servants, military analysts and academics aimed at looking beyond the 2010 review processes to generate some focused thinking on how Britain can build a new defence and security posture, which addresses the underlying drivers of global conflict in the years ahead.
For more information, or if you would like to make a donation to support this work, please contact Ben Zala at ben.zala@oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk.
Other Announcements
Former ORG Sustainable Security Programme Manager and now freelance writer and researcher, Chris Abbott, has published a new book at the beginning of August, with the title “21 Speeches That Shaped Our World: The People and Ideas That Changed the Way We Think”. In his book, Chris Abbott takes a look at 21 key speeches from influential – and occasionally controversial – figures, from Winston Churchill to Osama bin Laden that have shaped the world. By examining different world views and exploring how they have developed, Chris tries to show how we can come a step closer to understanding others and avoiding the mistakes of the past.
ORG's honorary archivist and historian, Rosie Houldsworth, is launching a new series of films, in which prominent experts and policy-makers talk about how they think the nuclear disarmament agenda may be advanced. For more information, go to: www.talkworks.info.
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