'Every Man In This Village Is a Liar' Megan Stack"Every Man in this Village is a Liar is American war correspondent Megan Stack’s autobiographical account of her time in the Middle East." Additional Resources
Insight Text Guide Text Guide Every man in this village is a liar : an education in war Reviews and a video interview with Megan Stack Megan Stack : an education in war Megan Stack started life as a war correspondent almost accidentally. She was 25 years old, a National Correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, and holidaying in Paris when the 2001 September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center occurred. Her vacation was cut short, she flew in to Afghanistan, and from there Stack officially became a war correspondent. Since then, Stack has been a foreign correspondent in over 22 countries and has covered war in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel and Lebanon. It's an experience she recounts in her book, Every Man In This Village Is A Liar: An Education In War. In this talk at the Byron Bay Writers Festival, Megan Stack discusses her career as a war correspondent. She gives insights into the wars she has covered, many of which still rage on today explaining why in war "You can survive and not survive, both at the same time." Interview with Megan Stack Radio National interview, audio download and transcript. Megan Stack has won numerous prizes for her front line reporting on many wars, and her observations and experiences form the basis of a book and discussion. Here she concentrates on the hostilities between the West and the Muslim world, but also the complex dynamics within each of those worlds during war. From the Byron Bay Writers Festival. "War on terror never really existed" YOUTUBE interview with Megan Stack by Kerry O'Brien Every man in this village is a liar Article in The Guardian - 20 August 2010 Kamila Shamsie is rapt by an evocative account of the 'war on terror' that eventually loses its sense of journalistic detachment. Bush, Blair and the Terrorism Shell Game : Deceit, Scams, and Coercion in the formulation of “Synthetic Terrorism” February 20, 2007 -- “Synthetic Terrorism” is the result of deceitful acts on the part of the Bush administration that later turned criminal, treasonous, and potentially resulting in the most serious crime against humanity since the Holocaust. Tony Blair memoir reveals support for George W. Bush and Guantanamo Bay Tony Blair admires George W. Bush more than almost any other politician in the world and uses his memoir, A Journey, to give a qualified endorsement of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba and the way in which Afghan and Iraqi detainees have been treated. Blair makes secret plea to Bush on Guantánamo Court papers reveal PM's effort to persuade US to send back four British prisoners. Vikram Dodd, The Guardian, Saturday 26 June 2004 President Bush's Speech on Terrorism he transcript of President Bush's speech on terrorism from the White House.6 September 2006 Stone cold justice [Four corners] A joint investigation by Four Corners and The Australian newspaper reveals evidence that shows the army is targeting Palestinian boys for arrest and detention. Reporter John Lyons travels to the West Bank to hear the story of children who claim they have been taken into custody, ruthlessly questioned and then allegedly forced to sign confessions before being taken to court for sentencing. The spies who fooled the world [Four corners] It's now 10 years since forces led by the United States invaded Iraq and overthrew Saddam Hussein. The reason for the invasion was made clear: Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMD). But it's now accepted there were in fact none. So where did the original "evidence" come from and why was it believed? Mission accomplished [Four corners] The plan was simple enough. Drive out Al-Qaeda, install a democratic system of government in Afghanistan, then train police and a military force to protect the country. But when soldiers from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) pull out of Afghanistan in 2014, will the country's security forces be up to the task of maintaining law and order?A growing body of evidence says they won't, raising another unpleasant question: what have soldiers from Australia, the US and Britain, along with many other nations, given their lives for? The battle for Syria [Four corners] The civil war in Syria is a conflict in which claims of human rights abuse and torture are commonplace. The rebels say they are fighting for democracy, alleging Government forces are killing civilians in order to protect a corrupt regime. The Government says the rebels are doing the work of foreign interests, claiming they are dispensing vigilante justice and torture. It is a struggle with no end in sight. · The Guantanamo trap [Four corners] For six years the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba was a key facility in George W. Bush's war on terror. Remote from the American mainland, it was the place where so called "unlawful enemy combatants" were taken to be interrogated in the hope they would assist officials in the fight against terrorism. At its peak the prison held over 550 prisoners. In 2009 the then newly elected American President Barack Obama signed a document that was intended to close the facility. Two years on his orders have not been finally acted on. The President though isn't the only person haunted by the spectre of Guantanamo Bay. Now director Thomas Wallner looks at the jail and the shadow it has cast on the lives of inmates and those who helped run it. It's a deeply disturbing story. · Folowing Bin Laden [Four corners] In the weeks before the death of Osama bin Laden senior US officials claimed that Al Qaeda in Afghanistan had been all but eliminated. Now a courageous Afghan journalist embeds himself with a unit of fighters swearing allegiance to Osama bin Laden. While spending time with them he tries to see if Al Qaeda is making a comeback to the battlefield, how many fighters there are and who is supplying them with weapons and equipment. A careful war. Part 1 [Four corners] A rare and powerful insight into the perspectives of soldiers fighting in Afghanistan and the people they are fighting for A careful war. Part 2 [Four corners] Australian troops head into uncharted territory, trying to win the faith and the trust of a brutalised people in conflict-torn Afghanistan Secret Iraq - Awakening [Four corners] Three years after the invasion of Iraq the country was in turmoil. Insurgents had mounted a brutal resistance against the allied forces, seeing them as invaders not saviours. At the same time religious groups within the country were waging war against each other. This situation created a major opportunity for Al Qaeda to gain a foothold inside Iraq. In part two of this remarkable series we hear how Sunnis first courted, then turned on Al Qaeda and how the U.S. changed its strategic policy. It's a brutal story filled with violence, intrigue and duplicity, all told by the people at the heart of the struggle. In their sights [Four corners] A Four Corners team investigates both the merits and the risks of the "kill-capture" campaign. Its proponents claim that the strategy has been successful in killing enemy commanders, but several missions involving elite Australian soldiers have gone horribly wrong, killing "friendly" local leaders and civilians |
|