Thursday, 4 December 2014

The ANN Interview:
The Backstory

If you have reached this blog site having already seen the interview, it means you were interested in what I had to say.    Thank you for coming - and welcome!
As you can see by the date on this blog it is written after but before the interview was broadcast throughout The Gulf, The Levant and North Africa.
For more detailed information of my analysis on the different regions, if you are interested and have time, please could you visit the relevant blogs at this website.

When It's Time To Go......It's Time To Go
Not too long ago I was cooking myself breakfast - 3 eggs and a small portion of baked beans - in my pyjamas - when the phone rang.   It was an old colleague.
'Drop everything Patrick and get over to ANN' were the instructions.  I immediately had a flashback to an earlier time when, believe it or not, something eerily similar had occurred – twice.   One time involved me, at very short notice, jumping into a Chinook (parked outside for our convenience) at a base where a member of a Royal family was training for active service, and the second, which I am going into in detail about, was when I was driving in Chelsea and my phone rang.   It was again an old colleague (a different one) from the Atlantic Council  (in the days of the Cold War, called 'Peace Through NATO', of which I was an active member) who greeted me politely asked if I was available (in the next few minutes) to actively support our War effort in the Balkans.  This was at the time of the conflict in former Yugoslavia and I was being asked to represent NATO in the University debating circuit and justify the political decision taken, on behalf of the democratic world, that it should be ordered to intervene, to prevent the massacre of Muslim civilians in the (then) Serbian province of Kosovo.   The latter was one of the most difficult calls I had ever to take in my life.  I was torn between my loyalty to friends (Serb friends) and what I knew to be 'the right thing to do'.   I have never been very religious but at that moment was anguishing like never before and drew upon what little spiritual strength I had to decide what to do within the space of that telephone call.
As a civilian, I was being asked to do my duty at a time when my assistance was required.   I had no doubt that in Serbia, media individuals, with misgivings, were also being likewise called upon, to do similar.
I never debated or hesitated the issue with the caller (AW) just said 'yes' because I knew it was the right thing to do morally, ethically and I knew could never find the inner peace I sought if I did not, at that moment, stand up to be counted.  This was one of my (many) moments in life of truth – the calling to a higher value and ideals far beyond my capabilities as a spiritually failing human being nor of my understanding – but I knew I was doing the right thing, come what may.
Hearts and Minds
At a very prominent University College, I won the debate – no contest - against a very formidable and nationally recognized media individual – who should have 'wiped' the floor with me and won - hands down – as I could tell that the student audience was, initially, highly sceptical and anti-NATO intervention in Kosovo.  That was, until I explained clearly what the issues at stake were.   Then the tide turned.                It happened that the NATO intervention in Kosovo was short-lived so my tasks were concluded successfully in a very short time period and I could return to an anonymous life, but not without regret for the fallen, on all sides.   The lives of the fallen, Christians and Muslims, all wasted by their respective politicians, in the wake of a failure of diplomacy to resolve disputes and squabbles.   And of course many of those fallen, on all sides, represented the youngest, whose future was once the brightest.   There you have it.

'No No-Go Areas!'
So too it was when this colleague called me, whilst in my pyjamas.  It was not difficult to say 'yes' because when he explained to me 'you will be asked your views about ISIS, Afghanistan, the Levant, North Africa, The Gulf, U.S. policy – and you can say it exactly as you see it – no holes barred – no sacred cows -  don't take any prisoners - and don't hesitate to let them know exactly what you think.  You can draw on or mention your personal contacts  and anyone else you want to mention.'  Under many circumstances, on highly controversial topics of an international dimension, you are expected to 'toe the line'.   I do not do many TV nor radio interviews for that simple reason and the fact that I don't want to be leaving the 'politically correct'  station as an 'embarrassment' after the interview concludes.   In addition, there are many networks I will decline for political reasons - because they are indirectly controlled or funded by the governments of countries whose policies or the treatment of women and minorities (Christians) I find odious.   So I am not readily 'available' nor 'easy to get hold of' for interviews these days.
I knew that ANN is one of the reputable of the modern Arab TV networks promoting democratic values, Womens rights, equal opportunities for all, and broadcasting throughout the Levant, The Gulf and North Africa.   It is a modest network with a 'progressive' audience  and not a media network 'bankrolled' by countries I would find a 'problem' to work with - such as Iran or Saudi Arabia.

Within a few minutes of our conversation the phone rang again.  It was someone unfamiliar - but I had been told to expect that call.    'Hello, I am …... can you just drop everything and get down to the studio for an interview?   Come as you are!   When I explained that I was just about to start eating my beans and fried eggs and was, to say the least, rather scantily dressed and might not appear appropriate for a viewing audience in the Muslim Levant, The Gulf and North Africa, should I turn up in my slippers and dressing gown, I could almost hear howls of laughter from the other end of the line.  'Ok! Ok!  Look, could you please get here as soon as you can?'
As soon as I put the phone down I put my breakfast in the oven, got washed and dressed and high-tailed it over to the studio.    It took more time to find an empty taxi (about 8 minutes) and battle our way through traffic to the studio (about 16 minutes) than it did to get washed and dressed and out the door for the interview (about 6 minutes.)
Because we are talking about sensitive political and military environments, I needed to be assured that there were no 'off-limit' areas for discussion.   'No, just say it as you see it Patrick.'   'They really are interested in what you think and how you see things moving forward – or backward - as the case may be.'
Should I mention my interviews with, whom I now believe, with hindsight, were Al Qaeda operatives in the Southern Philippines before 9-11 whilst researching my book there?
Should I alert the Gulf States and Turkey, if I get the chance, to the folly and imminent dangers to their very own stability, emanating from their active or passive support for ISIS and why such is the case?    Should I mention Jack Devine's prophetic article* about Afghanistan, if I get the opportunity?  (See my earlier blog about Afghanistan*, Its Bleak Future, unless action is taken on several issues.)
I made a number of calls during that 16-minute journey to check facts and issues.    Remember I had just got up, had done no homework whatsoever, and was expected, out of the blue, to recall information and details I had not visited recently.   For example, could I mention AK?, a devout Muslim and charismatic Afghan tribal leader in the Loya Jirga (Supreme Tribal Council) whom I met personally at the residence of a colleague and whose integrity and vision for the future of Afghanistan impressed me so much that I drew a comparison to that 'rainbow nation' vision which Nelson Mandela had for all of the people of South Africa - regardless of race, religion, color, tribe, ethnicity or (in the case of Afghanistan) gender. 
'No holes barred Patrick, just say it as you found it' were the words echoing in my thoughts.
That was sufficient.

The taxi arrived at the studio.   The rest you have seen in the ANN interview.


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