Crikey's Noel Turnbull on the bile directed at Mamdouh Habib:
Now [Habib] is suffering character assassination through leaks and attacks under parliamentary privilege. The most poignant, in the light of the 100,000 plus dead in Iraq, is the accusation that he mixed with people who “killed innocent civilians.” That’s a charge which might be embarrassing for quite a few others as well as Mr Habib.
So Rod Barton, Australian Intelligence Officer, formerly seconded to UNSCOM to verify Iraq's compliance with UN WMD resolutions, has turned whistle-blower. On 15 February's Four Corners he spoke of the advice that he gave the Australian government in the lead up to the recent war:
ROD BARTON: My belief was that they had a few weapons retained from 1991, which will be ageing weapons of limited use. Were they a threat? Well, they may have been of minor threat to their neighbours, because don't forget they didn't really have the delivery systems then, they didn't have an air force. They may have been a minor threat to their neighbours, but a threat to the United States or the UK or Australia? No.
There is a history of labelling people like Rod Barton as, "disaffected" or "unstable" and I'm betting Mr Barton will get both labels. It will also be revealed that he is under investigation for inappropriate behaviour after an office computer he once used was - possibly - the origin of non-departmental-business-related email.
