Friday, May 21, 2004
The $200 million dollar Troy movie will be hitting the big screens tonight and is set to be the summers blockbuster. For plenty of cinema-goers, the prospect of seeing Brad Pitt as a hero is enough to encourage them to see the film. The film is hoped to win Oscars just as Gladiator did in 2001. But many others will want to know whether there is any truth in it all. Did Troy exist?
The "book of the film" is The Iliad, written in 800BC by the blind Greek poet Homer.
It's a story of the triumphs and tragedy of the legendary Trojan War, Troy begins as the passion of lovers Prince Paris of Troy (Orlando Bloom) and Queen Helen of Sparta (Diane Kruger) ignites a war between the Trojans and the united tribes of Greece. When the two civilizations clash, renowned warrior Achilles (Brad Pitt) emerges as the key to the Greeks’ victory or defeat over the Trojan Army, which is led by Troy’s noble champion, Prince Hector (Eric Bana), and protected by the city’s seemingly invincible walls. Source imbd.com
But Professor Brian Rose, an archaeologist from the University of Cincinnati, has been trying to separate fact from this fiction for decades.
He says the Troy legend is as relevant today as it was to the ancient Greeks.
"Look at the story - it talks about a coalition of forces heading off to fight in the East, a conflict between East and West. Who would not recognise that today?" Source bbc
However some critics believe that the film has not been up to scratch and Bradd Pitt is disapointing. Ty Burr from the Boston Globe thinks "the actor's portrayal of the Greek warrior Achilles as a predatory Bronze Age rock star is the center around which this surprisingly lumbering $200 million disappointment revolves. More Hollywood than Homer -- and not very good Hollywood, at that -- Wolfgang Petersen's epic reimagining of the Trojan War falls far short of the pop grandeur of "Gladiator," let alone the sinewy perfection of "The Iliad." At its intermittent best, "Troy" suggests a primitive pro-wrestling smackdown with epochal consequences. At its worst, it's a throwback to the ham-fisted sword-and-sandal international coproductions of the early 1960s: "The 300 Spartans" with better sets. Barely." Source Yahoo Movie Reviews
BBC critics believe "It's only when the walls of Troy are breeched that the film becomes a little unsteady, largely because its key conflict has already been resolved. Even so, Troy remains a hugely entertaining film, sprinkled with moments of brilliance. Surely the gods will look upon it and smile." Source BBC Reviews
The "book of the film" is The Iliad, written in 800BC by the blind Greek poet Homer.
It's a story of the triumphs and tragedy of the legendary Trojan War, Troy begins as the passion of lovers Prince Paris of Troy (Orlando Bloom) and Queen Helen of Sparta (Diane Kruger) ignites a war between the Trojans and the united tribes of Greece. When the two civilizations clash, renowned warrior Achilles (Brad Pitt) emerges as the key to the Greeks’ victory or defeat over the Trojan Army, which is led by Troy’s noble champion, Prince Hector (Eric Bana), and protected by the city’s seemingly invincible walls. Source imbd.com
But Professor Brian Rose, an archaeologist from the University of Cincinnati, has been trying to separate fact from this fiction for decades.
He says the Troy legend is as relevant today as it was to the ancient Greeks.
"Look at the story - it talks about a coalition of forces heading off to fight in the East, a conflict between East and West. Who would not recognise that today?" Source bbc
However some critics believe that the film has not been up to scratch and Bradd Pitt is disapointing. Ty Burr from the Boston Globe thinks "the actor's portrayal of the Greek warrior Achilles as a predatory Bronze Age rock star is the center around which this surprisingly lumbering $200 million disappointment revolves. More Hollywood than Homer -- and not very good Hollywood, at that -- Wolfgang Petersen's epic reimagining of the Trojan War falls far short of the pop grandeur of "Gladiator," let alone the sinewy perfection of "The Iliad." At its intermittent best, "Troy" suggests a primitive pro-wrestling smackdown with epochal consequences. At its worst, it's a throwback to the ham-fisted sword-and-sandal international coproductions of the early 1960s: "The 300 Spartans" with better sets. Barely." Source Yahoo Movie Reviews
BBC critics believe "It's only when the walls of Troy are breeched that the film becomes a little unsteady, largely because its key conflict has already been resolved. Even so, Troy remains a hugely entertaining film, sprinkled with moments of brilliance. Surely the gods will look upon it and smile." Source BBC Reviews
Movie Details
Troy
Pitt looks pretty, but the star makes a strained Achilles in lumbering 'Troy'
By Ty Burr, Globe Staff
Boston Globe
Published: 05/14/2004
There is indeed a legendary beauty in "Troy" -- a face that brings the ancient world to its knees, a being whose grace is such that grown men feel stupid and ashamed in its presence. I speak, of course, of Brad Pitt.
The actor's portrayal of the Greek warrior Achilles as a predatory Bronze Age rock star is the center around which this surprisingly lumbering $200 million disappointment revolves. More Hollywood than Homer -- and not very good Hollywood, at that -- Wolfgang Petersen's epic reimagining of the Trojan War falls far short of the pop grandeur of "Gladiator," let alone the sinewy perfection of "The Iliad." At its intermittent best, "Troy" suggests a primitive pro-wrestling smackdown with epochal consequences. At its worst, it's a throwback to the ham-fisted sword-and-sandal international coproductions of the early 1960s: "The 300 Spartans" with better sets. Barely.
The actors -- some miscast, some swaggeringly vivid -- do what they can, but what's missing from the experience is the poetry only a director can bring to an enterprise this sprawling. Petersen, the German filmmaker who came to prominence with 1981's "Das Boot" and has since given us big, stolid studio fare such as "Air Force One" and "The Perfect Storm," plods from scene to scene with high seriousness and a stunning lack of inspiration. Where's Peter Jackson when you really need him? Or Homer, for that matter? Fans of classic literature, prepare to have conniptions: Forced to choose between a narrative refined over the course of 500 years of oral transmission and the rules of modern screenwriting laid down over the last 15, the filmmakers have, big surprise, opted for the latter. Out go the gods and goddesses who play crucial roles in "The Iliad," and in come story beats and character arcs. Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson) dies halfway through because the film needs a Big Death just then; even more perplexing, this Trojan War lasts three weeks instead of 10 years because, really, who has the time?
To be fair, Zeus, Hera, and the other Olympians have been written out because modern audiences don't believe in them. We worship movie stars instead. And so "Troy" offers up Brad Pitt on the half-shell as an oft-unclad Achilles, the fiercest and sulkiest warrior of the 12th century BC. The actor doesn't give a bad performance, as such, but there's little immediacy to this legendary figure -- even during the pell-mell battle sequences, Achilles has the posed beauty of one of the more intelligent male models. His encampment love scenes with the captive Trojan royal priestess Briseis (Rose Byrne) focus almost entirely on Brad the laconic stud odalisque.
As pretty boys go, Orlando Bloom goes a little deeper as Paris, the lovestruck Trojan prince who starts the whole mess by falling for Helen (Diane Kruger), the trophy wife of Spartan king Menelaus, and carrying her back to Troy against all common sense. Bloom is young enough to believably play naive infatuation and clever enough to turn Paris into an idealistic son of privilege whose knees turn to jello when the going gets tough. The scene won't endanger the actor's teen-dreamboat status, but the best, if not the only, laugh in all of "Troy" is Paris's expression of sheer terror when Menelaus comes charging at him like a steroid-addled bull.
Kruger as Helen? She's lovely enough -- a face to launch, I don't know, 274 ships -- although I kept forgetting she wasn't Robin Wright Penn. Brian Cox makes a rip-roaring warlord of Agamemnon, Menelaus's brother and boss of all bosses in ancient Greece; maybe he doesn't sacrifice a daughter to get a fair wind here, but he gets to spit out lines like "Peace is for women and the weak" and hold down the macho end zone. In fact, the war of wills between Agamemnon and Achilles feels like a struggle between a winning coach and his pampered star quarterback; maybe that's not what Homer envisioned, but he had the misfortune to live before Monday Night Football.
Look fast and you'll glimpse Tyler Mane as Ajax, Achilles' hulking warrior pal; Julie Christie as Achilles' mom, Thetis; and Garret Hedlund as his headstrong cousin, Patroclus. Even Peter O'Toole gets wheeled out to play King Priam of Troy, and if Petersen keeps cutting to ludicrous, goggling close-ups of the actor when his sons are battling the Greeks, the old lion gets the scene his legendary status merits toward the end, when he confronts Achilles in the younger man's tent and shows the whelp what acting is.
I've saved the most watchable for last: Sean Bean makes a canny and trustworthy Odysseus of Sparta, although even Cecil B. DeMille himself might have resisted the scene in which the character sees a soldier carving a wooden toy horse and -- say! -- the light bulb goes on over his head. And Australian actor Eric Bana thoroughly atones for last summer's "The Hulk" with his performance as Hector, Paris's older brother and the most capable and most tragic figure in the entire saga.
"Troy" has been shot in greasy, lemon-yellow tones that don't disguise the unconvincing CGI effects, and only Bana -- and to a lesser extent Saffron Burrows as his wife, Andromache -- break through the waxy buildup to become figures both life-size and larger than life. You feel the pain of loss in their relationship more than anywhere else in the film, a loss that's both personal and imperial. Helen? She'll always have Paris.
Much of "Troy" feels more familiar than $200 million ought to (and that includes James Horner's tinny, bombastic music, apparently a rush job after a score by the estimable Gabriel Yared was rejected). The first major battle sequence, with Achilles and his hand-picked Myrmidons storming the Trojan beach, might be exciting if it weren't a flagrant carbon copy of the D-Day opener in "Saving Private Ryan." The final scenes, with Achilles searching the dying Troy for Briseis, suggest "Titanic." In between, the film settles into a fairly invigorating action rut dragged down by dialogue that sounds pre-dubbed into English. "This war will never be forgotten, nor will the heroes who fight in it!" is a typical offhand comment.
"Troy" keeps harping on the Glory That Lasts for Centuries, as if to nudge us in the ribs to point out that, yes, we do remember the names of Hector and Achilles and Agamemnon and Andromache three millenia later. But that alone isn't enough to make a movie that might be remembered in 10 years. For that you need the kind of storytelling alchemy that separates great films from the hollow, wooden ones. Even a blind man could see that.
Ty Burr can be reached at tburr@globe.com.
Troy
Directed by: Wolfgang Petersen
Written by: David Benioff, Homer
Starring: Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, Eric Bana, Brian Cox, Diane Kruger,
Peter O’Toole, Brendan Gleeson, Sean Bean, Saffron Burrows
At: Boston Common, Fenway, suburbs
Running time: 163 minutes
Rated: R (graphic violence, sexuality/nudity)
source yahoo movie reviews
Troy
Pitt looks pretty, but the star makes a strained Achilles in lumbering 'Troy'
By Ty Burr, Globe Staff
Boston Globe
Published: 05/14/2004
There is indeed a legendary beauty in "Troy" -- a face that brings the ancient world to its knees, a being whose grace is such that grown men feel stupid and ashamed in its presence. I speak, of course, of Brad Pitt.
The actor's portrayal of the Greek warrior Achilles as a predatory Bronze Age rock star is the center around which this surprisingly lumbering $200 million disappointment revolves. More Hollywood than Homer -- and not very good Hollywood, at that -- Wolfgang Petersen's epic reimagining of the Trojan War falls far short of the pop grandeur of "Gladiator," let alone the sinewy perfection of "The Iliad." At its intermittent best, "Troy" suggests a primitive pro-wrestling smackdown with epochal consequences. At its worst, it's a throwback to the ham-fisted sword-and-sandal international coproductions of the early 1960s: "The 300 Spartans" with better sets. Barely.
The actors -- some miscast, some swaggeringly vivid -- do what they can, but what's missing from the experience is the poetry only a director can bring to an enterprise this sprawling. Petersen, the German filmmaker who came to prominence with 1981's "Das Boot" and has since given us big, stolid studio fare such as "Air Force One" and "The Perfect Storm," plods from scene to scene with high seriousness and a stunning lack of inspiration. Where's Peter Jackson when you really need him? Or Homer, for that matter? Fans of classic literature, prepare to have conniptions: Forced to choose between a narrative refined over the course of 500 years of oral transmission and the rules of modern screenwriting laid down over the last 15, the filmmakers have, big surprise, opted for the latter. Out go the gods and goddesses who play crucial roles in "The Iliad," and in come story beats and character arcs. Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson) dies halfway through because the film needs a Big Death just then; even more perplexing, this Trojan War lasts three weeks instead of 10 years because, really, who has the time?
To be fair, Zeus, Hera, and the other Olympians have been written out because modern audiences don't believe in them. We worship movie stars instead. And so "Troy" offers up Brad Pitt on the half-shell as an oft-unclad Achilles, the fiercest and sulkiest warrior of the 12th century BC. The actor doesn't give a bad performance, as such, but there's little immediacy to this legendary figure -- even during the pell-mell battle sequences, Achilles has the posed beauty of one of the more intelligent male models. His encampment love scenes with the captive Trojan royal priestess Briseis (Rose Byrne) focus almost entirely on Brad the laconic stud odalisque.
As pretty boys go, Orlando Bloom goes a little deeper as Paris, the lovestruck Trojan prince who starts the whole mess by falling for Helen (Diane Kruger), the trophy wife of Spartan king Menelaus, and carrying her back to Troy against all common sense. Bloom is young enough to believably play naive infatuation and clever enough to turn Paris into an idealistic son of privilege whose knees turn to jello when the going gets tough. The scene won't endanger the actor's teen-dreamboat status, but the best, if not the only, laugh in all of "Troy" is Paris's expression of sheer terror when Menelaus comes charging at him like a steroid-addled bull.
Kruger as Helen? She's lovely enough -- a face to launch, I don't know, 274 ships -- although I kept forgetting she wasn't Robin Wright Penn. Brian Cox makes a rip-roaring warlord of Agamemnon, Menelaus's brother and boss of all bosses in ancient Greece; maybe he doesn't sacrifice a daughter to get a fair wind here, but he gets to spit out lines like "Peace is for women and the weak" and hold down the macho end zone. In fact, the war of wills between Agamemnon and Achilles feels like a struggle between a winning coach and his pampered star quarterback; maybe that's not what Homer envisioned, but he had the misfortune to live before Monday Night Football.
Look fast and you'll glimpse Tyler Mane as Ajax, Achilles' hulking warrior pal; Julie Christie as Achilles' mom, Thetis; and Garret Hedlund as his headstrong cousin, Patroclus. Even Peter O'Toole gets wheeled out to play King Priam of Troy, and if Petersen keeps cutting to ludicrous, goggling close-ups of the actor when his sons are battling the Greeks, the old lion gets the scene his legendary status merits toward the end, when he confronts Achilles in the younger man's tent and shows the whelp what acting is.
I've saved the most watchable for last: Sean Bean makes a canny and trustworthy Odysseus of Sparta, although even Cecil B. DeMille himself might have resisted the scene in which the character sees a soldier carving a wooden toy horse and -- say! -- the light bulb goes on over his head. And Australian actor Eric Bana thoroughly atones for last summer's "The Hulk" with his performance as Hector, Paris's older brother and the most capable and most tragic figure in the entire saga.
"Troy" has been shot in greasy, lemon-yellow tones that don't disguise the unconvincing CGI effects, and only Bana -- and to a lesser extent Saffron Burrows as his wife, Andromache -- break through the waxy buildup to become figures both life-size and larger than life. You feel the pain of loss in their relationship more than anywhere else in the film, a loss that's both personal and imperial. Helen? She'll always have Paris.
Much of "Troy" feels more familiar than $200 million ought to (and that includes James Horner's tinny, bombastic music, apparently a rush job after a score by the estimable Gabriel Yared was rejected). The first major battle sequence, with Achilles and his hand-picked Myrmidons storming the Trojan beach, might be exciting if it weren't a flagrant carbon copy of the D-Day opener in "Saving Private Ryan." The final scenes, with Achilles searching the dying Troy for Briseis, suggest "Titanic." In between, the film settles into a fairly invigorating action rut dragged down by dialogue that sounds pre-dubbed into English. "This war will never be forgotten, nor will the heroes who fight in it!" is a typical offhand comment.
"Troy" keeps harping on the Glory That Lasts for Centuries, as if to nudge us in the ribs to point out that, yes, we do remember the names of Hector and Achilles and Agamemnon and Andromache three millenia later. But that alone isn't enough to make a movie that might be remembered in 10 years. For that you need the kind of storytelling alchemy that separates great films from the hollow, wooden ones. Even a blind man could see that.
Ty Burr can be reached at tburr@globe.com.
Troy
Directed by: Wolfgang Petersen
Written by: David Benioff, Homer
Starring: Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, Eric Bana, Brian Cox, Diane Kruger,
Peter O’Toole, Brendan Gleeson, Sean Bean, Saffron Burrows
At: Boston Common, Fenway, suburbs
Running time: 163 minutes
Rated: R (graphic violence, sexuality/nudity)
source yahoo movie reviews
Wolfgang Petersen
Troy
Interviewed by Stella Papamichael
I was slumped in my chair watching beautiful woman No.168, saying, "Who's she? That's only 212 ships. Not good enough. Next!"
German director Wolfgang Petersen made his name internationally with the 1981 submarine drama Das Boot. Since then he's helmed such Hollywood action movies as In The Line Of Fire, Air Force One, and The Perfect Storm. Now he takes on perhaps the greatest story of them all, an adaptation of Homer's epic poem The Iliad. Relaying the legend of the Trojan War, the very epic Troy sees Petersen working with an impressive ensemble cast that includes Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Brian Cox, and Peter O'Toole.
Is The Iliad a story that's very close to your heart?
Oh, yeah. Absolutely. When I was a boy I became an Achilles fan because I was in a school where we learned old Greek and Latin, and then The Iliad came along and there was Achilles. And Achilles was for me like a James Dean or a Marlon Brando - he was the ultimate rebel. He just lived by his own rules and nobody else's, and he would not accept any kind of authority. He was my guy, he was wonderful. When you're 15 or 16, that's what you need.
So, you grew up with the story, but how did the film come together so many years later?
Now, so many years later, Warner Bros said they'd developed a story based on The Iliad and I really thought, Oh my God, this is what I want to do! I said if there's a script that's any good - we know it's a difficult thing to get the mighty thing of The Iliad into a screenplay - if it's any good, I want to do it. And boy, it was good. It was very good. And then right away, Brad Pitt said he wanted to play Achilles, and within a few weeks the whole project was already done. So I mean, from about two years ago till now, the whole thing was done. It's a very short period of time. So now we're sitting here talking about this movie and I had no idea that after reading it when I was 16 that this would eventually come to me. It was just like a dream. A dream come true!
Helen of Troy is famed for being the "face that launched a thousand ships", but you had to embark on a worldwide talent search to find her [Diane Kruger]. Did you deliberately steer clear of casting a well-known actress?
Yeah. Helen was very known in her time, but nobody had seen her - she was somewhere hidden in Sparta. That's why I thought it would be great to find a new face. There's no baggage there, she's just Helen from Sparta. It was a long, long search of course, and we went across the world. It was a very, very hard job to watch 3000 beautiful women [laughs]. No, I'm kidding. I didn't see all 3000, just 200 or so. I was slumped in my chair watching beautiful woman No.168, in that cynical mode and saying, "Who's she? That's only 212 ships. Not good enough. Next!" All of a sudden Diane Kruger popped up and I was upright in my chair. I said, "Oh my God. I think she could be it." She was so beautiful and a great actress, I mean, I was so moved by what she was doing. She had that thing in her eyes that you cannot explain, when you look right into the soul of somebody. The studio agreed after a bit of nudging, and arm-twisting, and nudging again - because a big name was on their wish list. But we insisted and the rest is history.
So what was the thinking behind casting Brad Pitt as Achilles?
It makes a lot of sense that you have a big superstar like Brad Pitt for Achilles, because Achilles was definitely a superstar, like a pop star, or a rock star of his time. And we needed a beautiful man like Brad because Achilles was such an attractive and beautiful looking man.
And Hector?
Actually it's a funny story because Diana [Rathburn, producer] said to me: "I saw somebody on the street and I think it was Eric Bana, who's doing Hulk right now, and he look great. He could play Hector." But I'd just seen Chopper, and he was like a monster, you know? Eric was 50 pounds heavier than he is now, so I said, "He should play Hector? What's wrong with you Diana?" And she was saying, "No, no. He's lost weight. He looks great." So he came to my office and it was wonderful. I mean, I fell in love with Eric immediately because he looked great. I like Australians also, and right away he was the character because he's such a noble guy and so honest. He talked about his family and his kids and so on. I thought, He is ideal for Hector. So you have a superstar [Brad Pitt] and an actor like Eric, who is not a star yet, but who will be, maybe, in two weeks?
Of course Orlando Bloom is another a star on the rise. How did you see him fitting into the part of Paris?
This guy walked into our room, here at The Dorchester, and he had this unbelievable smile on his face and all this black hair and I said, "Who's that?" And they told me that's the guy from The Lord Of The Rings, and I said "Who from The Lord Of The Rings?" I had no idea because I'd seen him with all this long blond hair. But he was so beautiful, young and smiling, and very clever I must tell you - the way he talked about the part of Paris. He absolutely saw that it was a risky part because Paris is a coward. But Paris was also a very famous man and all the girls loved him, because he was such a beautiful young playboy type. So Orlando Bloom for that part? Pretty good. Then later on when I saw downstairs how all these girls were outside the hotel screaming that Orlando is here, I said "OK, I think this is a good choice!" A very good choice.
Peter O'Toole is fantastic in the film. How important was it for you to have an actor of his status in the role of Priam?
From the very beginning, I had the feeling that since this is a movie in the tradition of the great David Lean films - at least I saw it like that - that it would be just a wonderful nod to these kinds of movies, and to David Lean, to get Peter O’Toole. But not only because of that. He is one of the great, great actors of all time, and with what he brings with him as actor - I think he's now 50 years in this business - he would add something to the role of Priam that probably no one else can. We met in this hotel here [The Dorchester] and it was just a wonderful experience; he was sitting there with his scarf around the shoulder and his endless legs everywhere. A real movie star! I was very impressed.
Is it true he asked you for the role of Achilles?
Ah, yes! [Laughs]
souce bbc
Troy
Interviewed by Stella Papamichael
I was slumped in my chair watching beautiful woman No.168, saying, "Who's she? That's only 212 ships. Not good enough. Next!"
German director Wolfgang Petersen made his name internationally with the 1981 submarine drama Das Boot. Since then he's helmed such Hollywood action movies as In The Line Of Fire, Air Force One, and The Perfect Storm. Now he takes on perhaps the greatest story of them all, an adaptation of Homer's epic poem The Iliad. Relaying the legend of the Trojan War, the very epic Troy sees Petersen working with an impressive ensemble cast that includes Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Brian Cox, and Peter O'Toole.
Is The Iliad a story that's very close to your heart?
Oh, yeah. Absolutely. When I was a boy I became an Achilles fan because I was in a school where we learned old Greek and Latin, and then The Iliad came along and there was Achilles. And Achilles was for me like a James Dean or a Marlon Brando - he was the ultimate rebel. He just lived by his own rules and nobody else's, and he would not accept any kind of authority. He was my guy, he was wonderful. When you're 15 or 16, that's what you need.
So, you grew up with the story, but how did the film come together so many years later?
Now, so many years later, Warner Bros said they'd developed a story based on The Iliad and I really thought, Oh my God, this is what I want to do! I said if there's a script that's any good - we know it's a difficult thing to get the mighty thing of The Iliad into a screenplay - if it's any good, I want to do it. And boy, it was good. It was very good. And then right away, Brad Pitt said he wanted to play Achilles, and within a few weeks the whole project was already done. So I mean, from about two years ago till now, the whole thing was done. It's a very short period of time. So now we're sitting here talking about this movie and I had no idea that after reading it when I was 16 that this would eventually come to me. It was just like a dream. A dream come true!
Helen of Troy is famed for being the "face that launched a thousand ships", but you had to embark on a worldwide talent search to find her [Diane Kruger]. Did you deliberately steer clear of casting a well-known actress?
Yeah. Helen was very known in her time, but nobody had seen her - she was somewhere hidden in Sparta. That's why I thought it would be great to find a new face. There's no baggage there, she's just Helen from Sparta. It was a long, long search of course, and we went across the world. It was a very, very hard job to watch 3000 beautiful women [laughs]. No, I'm kidding. I didn't see all 3000, just 200 or so. I was slumped in my chair watching beautiful woman No.168, in that cynical mode and saying, "Who's she? That's only 212 ships. Not good enough. Next!" All of a sudden Diane Kruger popped up and I was upright in my chair. I said, "Oh my God. I think she could be it." She was so beautiful and a great actress, I mean, I was so moved by what she was doing. She had that thing in her eyes that you cannot explain, when you look right into the soul of somebody. The studio agreed after a bit of nudging, and arm-twisting, and nudging again - because a big name was on their wish list. But we insisted and the rest is history.
So what was the thinking behind casting Brad Pitt as Achilles?
It makes a lot of sense that you have a big superstar like Brad Pitt for Achilles, because Achilles was definitely a superstar, like a pop star, or a rock star of his time. And we needed a beautiful man like Brad because Achilles was such an attractive and beautiful looking man.
And Hector?
Actually it's a funny story because Diana [Rathburn, producer] said to me: "I saw somebody on the street and I think it was Eric Bana, who's doing Hulk right now, and he look great. He could play Hector." But I'd just seen Chopper, and he was like a monster, you know? Eric was 50 pounds heavier than he is now, so I said, "He should play Hector? What's wrong with you Diana?" And she was saying, "No, no. He's lost weight. He looks great." So he came to my office and it was wonderful. I mean, I fell in love with Eric immediately because he looked great. I like Australians also, and right away he was the character because he's such a noble guy and so honest. He talked about his family and his kids and so on. I thought, He is ideal for Hector. So you have a superstar [Brad Pitt] and an actor like Eric, who is not a star yet, but who will be, maybe, in two weeks?
Of course Orlando Bloom is another a star on the rise. How did you see him fitting into the part of Paris?
This guy walked into our room, here at The Dorchester, and he had this unbelievable smile on his face and all this black hair and I said, "Who's that?" And they told me that's the guy from The Lord Of The Rings, and I said "Who from The Lord Of The Rings?" I had no idea because I'd seen him with all this long blond hair. But he was so beautiful, young and smiling, and very clever I must tell you - the way he talked about the part of Paris. He absolutely saw that it was a risky part because Paris is a coward. But Paris was also a very famous man and all the girls loved him, because he was such a beautiful young playboy type. So Orlando Bloom for that part? Pretty good. Then later on when I saw downstairs how all these girls were outside the hotel screaming that Orlando is here, I said "OK, I think this is a good choice!" A very good choice.
Peter O'Toole is fantastic in the film. How important was it for you to have an actor of his status in the role of Priam?
From the very beginning, I had the feeling that since this is a movie in the tradition of the great David Lean films - at least I saw it like that - that it would be just a wonderful nod to these kinds of movies, and to David Lean, to get Peter O’Toole. But not only because of that. He is one of the great, great actors of all time, and with what he brings with him as actor - I think he's now 50 years in this business - he would add something to the role of Priam that probably no one else can. We met in this hotel here [The Dorchester] and it was just a wonderful experience; he was sitting there with his scarf around the shoulder and his endless legs everywhere. A real movie star! I was very impressed.
Is it true he asked you for the role of Achilles?
Ah, yes! [Laughs]
souce bbc
Reviewed by Stella Papamichael
Updated 20 May 2004 Contains strong battle violence
An epic in the truest sense of the word, Troy is inspired by Homer's tragic poem The Iliad - a mythic rendering of an ancient war fought between Greeks and Trojans. Director Wolfgang Petersen retells the tale with swagger and grit, while a buff and burnished Brad Pitt leads the assault as the warrior hero Achilles. No doubt this is pure Hollywood sensation, but it's also poignant storytelling, acutely sensitive to the themes of human frailty at the heart of its source.
Pubescent lust is the trigger for war, with playboy Prince of Troy Paris (Orlando Bloom) stealing away the beautiful Helen (Diane Kruger) from Spartan King Menelaus (Brendon Gleeson). His actions inadvertently provide Menelaus' brother, and King Of Kings, Agamemnon (a deliciously canny Brian Cox) with a convenient excuse to invade Troy, thus securing his hold over the Aegean Sea.
To ensure victory he calls upon Greece's premier fighting machine, Achilles - portrayed with fitting celestial vanity by megastar Pitt. Reluctant to spill the blood of thousands for what he sees as a quarrel between two men, Achilles is finally swayed into battle by the promise of immortality. Laying in wait for him is Paris' older and much wiser brother, Hector (a scene-stealing role for the magnetic Eric Bana). Where Achilles is puffed with arrogance, Hector is essentially decent - defining qualities that will ultimately prove the chinks in their respective armour.
"HEART-STOPPING TENSION"
Keeping the Olympian gods out of the frame, screenwriter David Benioff opts for ground-level realism, preserving the mythology through the deeply held superstitions of his characters. Petersen shoots the battle scenes in accordingly down-and-dirty style, most memorably the showdown between Hector and Achilles - the resounding clang of sword striking shield amplifying heart-stopping tension.
The steely gaze of Peter O'Toole, as Trojan King Priam, is used to similarly penetrating effect during a last appeal to Achilles' conscience. A pivotal moment of The Iliad, it's also a standout scene here, with O'Toole heading the pack of sterling performances. Note too, a quietly confident Sean Bean as Odysseus.
It's only when the walls of Troy are breeched that the film becomes a little unsteady, largely because its key conflict has already been resolved. Even so, Troy remains a hugely entertaining film, sprinkled with moments of brilliance. Surely the gods will look upon it and smile.
source bbc
Updated 20 May 2004 Contains strong battle violence
An epic in the truest sense of the word, Troy is inspired by Homer's tragic poem The Iliad - a mythic rendering of an ancient war fought between Greeks and Trojans. Director Wolfgang Petersen retells the tale with swagger and grit, while a buff and burnished Brad Pitt leads the assault as the warrior hero Achilles. No doubt this is pure Hollywood sensation, but it's also poignant storytelling, acutely sensitive to the themes of human frailty at the heart of its source.
Pubescent lust is the trigger for war, with playboy Prince of Troy Paris (Orlando Bloom) stealing away the beautiful Helen (Diane Kruger) from Spartan King Menelaus (Brendon Gleeson). His actions inadvertently provide Menelaus' brother, and King Of Kings, Agamemnon (a deliciously canny Brian Cox) with a convenient excuse to invade Troy, thus securing his hold over the Aegean Sea.
To ensure victory he calls upon Greece's premier fighting machine, Achilles - portrayed with fitting celestial vanity by megastar Pitt. Reluctant to spill the blood of thousands for what he sees as a quarrel between two men, Achilles is finally swayed into battle by the promise of immortality. Laying in wait for him is Paris' older and much wiser brother, Hector (a scene-stealing role for the magnetic Eric Bana). Where Achilles is puffed with arrogance, Hector is essentially decent - defining qualities that will ultimately prove the chinks in their respective armour.
"HEART-STOPPING TENSION"
Keeping the Olympian gods out of the frame, screenwriter David Benioff opts for ground-level realism, preserving the mythology through the deeply held superstitions of his characters. Petersen shoots the battle scenes in accordingly down-and-dirty style, most memorably the showdown between Hector and Achilles - the resounding clang of sword striking shield amplifying heart-stopping tension.
The steely gaze of Peter O'Toole, as Trojan King Priam, is used to similarly penetrating effect during a last appeal to Achilles' conscience. A pivotal moment of The Iliad, it's also a standout scene here, with O'Toole heading the pack of sterling performances. Note too, a quietly confident Sean Bean as Odysseus.
It's only when the walls of Troy are breeched that the film becomes a little unsteady, largely because its key conflict has already been resolved. Even so, Troy remains a hugely entertaining film, sprinkled with moments of brilliance. Surely the gods will look upon it and smile.
source bbc
Plot Summary for
Troy (2004)
Page 10 of 31
In the year 1193 B.C., Paris, a prince of Troy woos Helen, Queen of Sparta, away from her husband, Menelaus, setting the kingdoms of Mycenae Greece at war with Troy. The Greeks sail to Troy and lay siege. Achilles was the greatest hero among the Greeks, while Hector, the eldest son of Priam, King of Troy, embodied the hopes of the people of his city.
Summary written by wanax514
In 1193 B.C., Prince Paris (Bloom) of Troy makes a beautiful Greek woman, Helen (Kruger), fall in love with him, and convinces her to follow him away from her husband, Menelaus, the king of Sparta, setting the two nations at war with each other, as the Achaean Greeks lay siege to Troy, led by Agamemnon (Cox). Bana plays Hector, the greatest Trojan warrior; Byrne plays Briseis, a Trojan vestal virgin who is taken by and married to Achilles and later appropriated by Agamemnon, causing strife amongst the Greeks.
Summary written by Austin4577@aol.com
Troy takes two legends onto the silverscreen--Helen of Troy and Achilles. At the end years of war, Princes of Troy Hector and younger brother Paris make peace with Menelaus, uniting Sparta and Troy for the future. It isn't until the following morning when the brothers depart that Paris reveals to Hector that he has fallen in love with Helen, Menelaus' wife and Spartan Queen, and she is on the ship back to Troy. Menelaus discovers her gone and with his all-powerful brother Agamemmenon, ruler of Polydeuces. Agamemmenon's best warrior, Achilles, is the rumored-to-be-immmortal whose quest for glory has led his name to be echoed among people for thousands of years. A thousand ships go after Helen and Sparta vows that all of Troy shall burn...
Source imbd.com
Brian Cox ... Agamemnon
Peter O'Toole ... Priam
Brendan Gleeson ... Menelaus
Saffron Burrows ... Andromache
Rose Byrne ... Briseis
Julie Christie ... Thetis
Garrett Hedlund ... Patroclus
Julian Glover ... Triopas
Nathan Jones
Alex King ... Apollonian Guard
Behind the camera:
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Screenwriters: David Benioff
An epic chronicle of the triumphs and tragedy of the legendary Trojan War, Troy begins as the passion of lovers Prince Paris of Troy (Orlando Bloom) and Queen Helen of Sparta (Diane Kruger) ignites a war between the Trojans and the united tribes of Greece. When the two civilizations clash, renowned warrior Achilles (Brad Pitt) emerges as the key to the Greeks’ victory or defeat over the Trojan Army, which is led by Troy’s noble champion, Prince Hector (Eric Bana), and protected by the city’s seemingly invincible walls.
Source entertainment.net
Peter O'Toole ... Priam
Brendan Gleeson ... Menelaus
Saffron Burrows ... Andromache
Rose Byrne ... Briseis
Julie Christie ... Thetis
Garrett Hedlund ... Patroclus
Julian Glover ... Triopas
Nathan Jones
Alex King ... Apollonian Guard
Behind the camera:
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Screenwriters: David Benioff
An epic chronicle of the triumphs and tragedy of the legendary Trojan War, Troy begins as the passion of lovers Prince Paris of Troy (Orlando Bloom) and Queen Helen of Sparta (Diane Kruger) ignites a war between the Trojans and the united tribes of Greece. When the two civilizations clash, renowned warrior Achilles (Brad Pitt) emerges as the key to the Greeks’ victory or defeat over the Trojan Army, which is led by Troy’s noble champion, Prince Hector (Eric Bana), and protected by the city’s seemingly invincible walls.
Source entertainment.net
Throughout time, men have waged war. Some for power, some for glory, some for honor – and some for love.
In ancient Greece, the passion of two of literature’s most notorious lovers, Paris, Prince of Troy (ORLANDO BLOOM) and Helen (DIANE KRUGER), Queen of Sparta, ignites a war that will devastate a civilization. When Paris spirits Helen away from her husband, King Menelaus (BRENDAN GLEESON), it is an insult that cannot be suffered. Familial pride dictates that an affront to Menelaus is an affront to his brother Agamemnon (BRIAN COX), powerful King of the Mycenaeans, who soon unites all the massive tribes of Greece to steal Helen back from Troy in defense of his brother’s honor.
In truth, Agamemnon’s pursuit of honor is corrupted by his overwhelming greed – he needs to conquer Troy to seize control of the Aegean, thus ensuring the supremacy of his already vast empire. The walled city, under the leadership of King Priam (PETER O’TOOLE) and defended by mighty Prince Hector (ERIC BANA), is a citadel that no army has ever been able to breach. One man alone stands as the key to victory or defeat over Troy – Achilles (BRAD PITT), believed to be the greatest warrior alive.
Arrogant, rebellious and seemingly invincible, Achilles has allegiance to nothing and no one, save his own glory. It is his insatiable hunger for eternal renown that leads him to attack the gates of Troy under Agamemnon’s banner – but it will be love that ultimately decides his fate.
Two worlds will go to war for honor and power. Thousands will fall in pursuit of glory. And for love, a nation will burn to the ground.
Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Radiant production, in association with PLAN B, a Wolfgang Petersen film, Troy, starring BRAD PITT and ERIC BANA. The film also stars ORLANDO BLOOM, DIANE KRUGER, BRIAN COX, SEAN BEAN, BRENDAN GLEESON and PETER O’TOOLE. A UK/MALTA Co-Production, Troy is directed by WOLFGANG PETERSEN, produced by WOLFGANG PETERSEN, DIANA RATHBUN and COLIN WILSON; the screenplay is by DAVID BENIOFF; the cinematographer is ROGER PRATT BSC; the production designer is NIGEL PHELPS; and PETER HONESS A.C.E. is the editor. Music by JAMES HORNER.
Source Warner Brothers
In ancient Greece, the passion of two of literature’s most notorious lovers, Paris, Prince of Troy (ORLANDO BLOOM) and Helen (DIANE KRUGER), Queen of Sparta, ignites a war that will devastate a civilization. When Paris spirits Helen away from her husband, King Menelaus (BRENDAN GLEESON), it is an insult that cannot be suffered. Familial pride dictates that an affront to Menelaus is an affront to his brother Agamemnon (BRIAN COX), powerful King of the Mycenaeans, who soon unites all the massive tribes of Greece to steal Helen back from Troy in defense of his brother’s honor.
In truth, Agamemnon’s pursuit of honor is corrupted by his overwhelming greed – he needs to conquer Troy to seize control of the Aegean, thus ensuring the supremacy of his already vast empire. The walled city, under the leadership of King Priam (PETER O’TOOLE) and defended by mighty Prince Hector (ERIC BANA), is a citadel that no army has ever been able to breach. One man alone stands as the key to victory or defeat over Troy – Achilles (BRAD PITT), believed to be the greatest warrior alive.
Arrogant, rebellious and seemingly invincible, Achilles has allegiance to nothing and no one, save his own glory. It is his insatiable hunger for eternal renown that leads him to attack the gates of Troy under Agamemnon’s banner – but it will be love that ultimately decides his fate.
Two worlds will go to war for honor and power. Thousands will fall in pursuit of glory. And for love, a nation will burn to the ground.
Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Radiant production, in association with PLAN B, a Wolfgang Petersen film, Troy, starring BRAD PITT and ERIC BANA. The film also stars ORLANDO BLOOM, DIANE KRUGER, BRIAN COX, SEAN BEAN, BRENDAN GLEESON and PETER O’TOOLE. A UK/MALTA Co-Production, Troy is directed by WOLFGANG PETERSEN, produced by WOLFGANG PETERSEN, DIANA RATHBUN and COLIN WILSON; the screenplay is by DAVID BENIOFF; the cinematographer is ROGER PRATT BSC; the production designer is NIGEL PHELPS; and PETER HONESS A.C.E. is the editor. Music by JAMES HORNER.
Source Warner Brothers
Thursday, May 20, 2004
IRAQ WEDDING MASSACRE
Iraqi officials last night said an American helicopter fired on a wedding party in western Iraq killing more than 40 people, including many women and children, in another damaging setback for the US occupation. The attack took place in the small town of Qaim in Iraq's western desert bordering Syria early on Tuesday.
Distraught family members struggled to wrap their loved ones in shrouds, according to Islamic tradition, before burying them.
US occupation authorities-reeling from the prison abuse scandal in which US soldiers are accused of sexually humiliating and torturing Iraqi prisoners-denied they had targeted a wedding.
Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, deputy director of operations for the US military in Iraq, told Aljazeera that the occupation had "intelligence" that there was no wedding taking place at the time. Source Al Jazeera
It is unclear if gunfire was fired at the wedding - a tradition in the Arab world as a form of celebration - which prompted US fire.
In July 2002, an American air strike on an Afghan wedding party killed 48 civilians. It is also a tradition in the Central Asian nation to fire gunshots in a show of jubilation.
An unidentified man said he was from the village and that there had been an air strike as residents celebrated a wedding.
"They hit two homes where the wedding was being held and then they leveled the whole village," he said. "No bullets were fired by us, nothing was happening." SourceReuters
A U.S. military statement on Wednesday's operation said "coalition forces came under hostile fire and close air support was provided." It said troops found weapons, Iraqi and Syrian money, foreign passports and a satellite communications system.
Kimmitt said there were no indications the victims of the attack had been celebrating a wedding.
The U.S. military has already faced international outrage this month after photographs emerged showing American soldiers abusing Iraqis.
U.S. military policeman Jeremy Sivits, 24, was jailed for a year on Wednesday and discharged from the army for bad conduct after he admitted sexually humiliating prisoners.
The scandal has battered the image of the United States across the Arab world and prompted calls from around the globe forAmerica to hand over real power to Iraqis.
U.S. Troops Raid Chalabi's Headquarters in Iraq
Thu May 20, 2004 07:21 AM ET
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Top News
U.S. Army Disputes 'Wedding' Deaths in Iraq
Israel Defies World Outcry, Expands Gaza Offensive
U.S. Troops Raid Chalabi's Headquarters in Iraq
MORE
By Luke Baker
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. troops raided a house used by Governing Council member Ahmad Chalabi and searched his party offices in Baghdad on Thursday, piling pressure on the former Pentagon favorite now increasingly shunned by Washington.
Squads of soldiers, backed by Iraqi police, sealed off the neighborhood around the headquarters of the Iraqi National Congress (INC) and a nearby house used by Chalabi for meeting officials, removing computers, files and other equipment.
INC spokesman Haider Moussawi said the troops also wanted to arrest two party members but were told by Chalabi they were not present. Chalabi, who returned from exile after the fall of Saddam Hussein as a potential future leader, was not detained.
"They have been putting political pressure on us for weeks. It's part of an attempted character assassination and it's politically motivated, but it won't work," Moussawi said.
"When someone stands up independently and puts his views firmly it appears the Americans don't like it, it scares them."
Moussawi said he did not know what the raid was related to, but called it a worrying development. "They think they can do whatever they want. They didn't even have a warrant."
U.S. officials said on Tuesday the Pentagon had cut off some $340,000 a month in funding to Chalabi's INC party, payments that were made in part for intelligence gathered by the INC.
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said the decision "was made in light of the process of transferring sovereignty to the Iraqi people."
"We felt it was no longer appropriate for us to continue funding in that fashion," he told a U.S. Senate hearing.
"There's been some very valuable intelligence that's been gathered through that process that's been very valuable for our forces. But we will seek to obtain that in the future through normal intelligence channels."
source google news
Occupation bombs Iraq wedding party
Thursday 20 May 2004, 12:22 Makka Time, 9:22 GMT
Many casualties were buried in a mass grave
Related:
40 Iraqis killed as 'US bombs wedding'
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More than 40 Iraqis have been killed in a US helicopter bomb attack on a huge tent where a wedding party was in progress.
The attack took place in the small town of Qaim in Iraq's western desert bordering Syria early on Tuesday, reported Aljazeera's correspondent. APTN syndicated footage of a mass grave being filled with the casualties, including children.
Distraught family members struggled to wrap their loved ones in shrouds, according to Islamic tradition, before burying them.
The International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) condemned the excessive use of force by the US occupation following the attack.
"Even if (you came under) fire, there are rules of proportion in retaliation and the absolute need to prevent civilian casualties," said ICRC spokesperson in Baghdad Nada Dumani.
More embarrassment
US occupation authorities-reeling from the prison abuse scandal in which US soldiers are accused of sexually humiliating and torturing Iraqi prisoners-denied they had targeted a wedding.
More pain: Iraqis continue to
suffer under the occupation
Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, deputy director of operations for the US military in Iraq, told Aljazeera that the occupation had "intelligence" that there was no wedding taking place at the time.
Kimmit said the warplanes targeted a "safe house" for foreign fighters. Residents of the small town said 31 members from a single family had been killed. Another five people are in critical condition.
Bodies were also filmed being unloaded in the largest nearest town, Ramadi.
It is unclear if gunfire was fired at the wedding - a tradition in the Arab world as a form of celebration - which prompted US fire.
In July 2002, an American air strike on an Afghan wedding party killed 48 civilians. It is also a tradition in the Central Asian nation to fire gunshots in a show of jubilation.
source al jazeera
Thursday 20 May 2004, 12:22 Makka Time, 9:22 GMT
Many casualties were buried in a mass grave
Related:
40 Iraqis killed as 'US bombs wedding'
Tools:
Email Article
Print Article
Send Your Feedback
More than 40 Iraqis have been killed in a US helicopter bomb attack on a huge tent where a wedding party was in progress.
The attack took place in the small town of Qaim in Iraq's western desert bordering Syria early on Tuesday, reported Aljazeera's correspondent. APTN syndicated footage of a mass grave being filled with the casualties, including children.
Distraught family members struggled to wrap their loved ones in shrouds, according to Islamic tradition, before burying them.
The International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) condemned the excessive use of force by the US occupation following the attack.
"Even if (you came under) fire, there are rules of proportion in retaliation and the absolute need to prevent civilian casualties," said ICRC spokesperson in Baghdad Nada Dumani.
More embarrassment
US occupation authorities-reeling from the prison abuse scandal in which US soldiers are accused of sexually humiliating and torturing Iraqi prisoners-denied they had targeted a wedding.
More pain: Iraqis continue to
suffer under the occupation
Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, deputy director of operations for the US military in Iraq, told Aljazeera that the occupation had "intelligence" that there was no wedding taking place at the time.
Kimmit said the warplanes targeted a "safe house" for foreign fighters. Residents of the small town said 31 members from a single family had been killed. Another five people are in critical condition.
Bodies were also filmed being unloaded in the largest nearest town, Ramadi.
It is unclear if gunfire was fired at the wedding - a tradition in the Arab world as a form of celebration - which prompted US fire.
In July 2002, an American air strike on an Afghan wedding party killed 48 civilians. It is also a tradition in the Central Asian nation to fire gunshots in a show of jubilation.
source al jazeera
In Washington, senators grilled top generals in Iraq over whether a drive for intelligence may have prompted abuse.
Abizaid said on Wednesday mistreatment was more extensive than previously acknowledged. He told the Senate hearing the military had investigated 75 cases of abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan since late 2002 but no "culture of abuse existed."
The scandal has battered the image of the United States across the Arab world and prompted loud calls from around the globe for Washington to hand over real power to Iraqis.
U.S.-led forces are struggling against guerrillas, notably militiamen backing rebel Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
Iraq's top Shi'ite religious leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who rarely makes public statements, called on Sadr and U.S.-led forces this week to pull out of the holy cities of Najaf and Kerbala. But Sadr appeared to be ignoring the call.
Hospital sources said at least four Iraqis were killed in fighting in Kerbala on Thursday near one of Shi'ite Islam's holiest sites. Kerbala is one of several southern cities where Sadr's Mehdi Army militia rose up in a rebellion last month.
Loud explosions also echoed across Najaf overnight, as Sadr's militiamen launched mortar attacks on U.S. positions. (Additional reporting by Miral Fahmy in Dubai and Luke Baker in Baghdad)
source reuters
Abizaid said on Wednesday mistreatment was more extensive than previously acknowledged. He told the Senate hearing the military had investigated 75 cases of abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan since late 2002 but no "culture of abuse existed."
The scandal has battered the image of the United States across the Arab world and prompted loud calls from around the globe for Washington to hand over real power to Iraqis.
U.S.-led forces are struggling against guerrillas, notably militiamen backing rebel Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
Iraq's top Shi'ite religious leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who rarely makes public statements, called on Sadr and U.S.-led forces this week to pull out of the holy cities of Najaf and Kerbala. But Sadr appeared to be ignoring the call.
Hospital sources said at least four Iraqis were killed in fighting in Kerbala on Thursday near one of Shi'ite Islam's holiest sites. Kerbala is one of several southern cities where Sadr's Mehdi Army militia rose up in a rebellion last month.
Loud explosions also echoed across Najaf overnight, as Sadr's militiamen launched mortar attacks on U.S. positions. (Additional reporting by Miral Fahmy in Dubai and Luke Baker in Baghdad)
source reuters
its report of the U.S. attack, Al Arabiya showed pictures of several shrouded bodies lined up on a dirt road. Men were shown digging graves and lowering bodies, one of a child, into the pits while relatives wept.
"We received about 40 martyrs today, mainly women and children below the age of 12," Hamdy al-Lousy, the director of Qaim hospital, told Al Arabiya. "We also have 11 people wounded, most of them in critical condition."
An unidentified man said he was from the village and that there had been an air strike as residents celebrated a wedding.
"They hit two homes where the wedding was being held and then they leveled the whole village," he said. "No bullets were fired by us, nothing was happening."
The U.S. military has already faced international outrage this month after photographs emerged showing American soldiers abusing Iraqis held at Baghdad's notorious Abu Ghraib prison.
U.S. military policeman Jeremy Sivits, 24, was jailed for a year on Wednesday and discharged from the army for bad conduct after he admitted sexually humiliating prisoners in the first court martial of soldiers connected to the case.
A U.S. military statement on Wednesday's operation said "coalition forces came under hostile fire and close air support was provided." It said troops found weapons, Iraqi and Syrian money, foreign passports and a satellite communications system.
Kimmitt said there were no indications the victims of the attack had been celebrating a wedding.
In July 2002, a U.S. air strike killed 48 people in Afghanistan during a wedding. A report released by Central Command said the strike was justified because U.S. planes had come under fire.
reuters
"We received about 40 martyrs today, mainly women and children below the age of 12," Hamdy al-Lousy, the director of Qaim hospital, told Al Arabiya. "We also have 11 people wounded, most of them in critical condition."
An unidentified man said he was from the village and that there had been an air strike as residents celebrated a wedding.
"They hit two homes where the wedding was being held and then they leveled the whole village," he said. "No bullets were fired by us, nothing was happening."
The U.S. military has already faced international outrage this month after photographs emerged showing American soldiers abusing Iraqis held at Baghdad's notorious Abu Ghraib prison.
U.S. military policeman Jeremy Sivits, 24, was jailed for a year on Wednesday and discharged from the army for bad conduct after he admitted sexually humiliating prisoners in the first court martial of soldiers connected to the case.
A U.S. military statement on Wednesday's operation said "coalition forces came under hostile fire and close air support was provided." It said troops found weapons, Iraqi and Syrian money, foreign passports and a satellite communications system.
Kimmitt said there were no indications the victims of the attack had been celebrating a wedding.
In July 2002, a U.S. air strike killed 48 people in Afghanistan during a wedding. A report released by Central Command said the strike was justified because U.S. planes had come under fire.
reuters
By Andrew Marshall
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces killed dozens of people in Iraq's western desert, the army said on Thursday, but reports the victims were civilians at a wedding sparked outrage as Washington struggled to contain a prisoner abuse scandal.
Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, deputy director of operations for the U.S. military in Iraq, told Reuters the attack early on Wednesday targeted "a suspected foreign fighter safe house," 16 miles east of the Syrian border.
But Dubai-based Al Arabiya television, quoting eyewitnesses, said the raid on the village of Makr al-Deeb had hit wedding guests and had killed at least 41 civilians.
It quoted a villager denying there had been any celebratory gunfire, a tradition that has caused fatal misunderstandings before in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"At 0300 (1900 EDT Tuesday) we conducted an operation...against suspected foreign fighters in a safe house," Kimmitt said. "We took ground fire and we returned fire."
Asked about reports of dozens killed, he said: "We are not disputing the numbers you are hearing. We estimate that around 40 were killed. But we operated within our rules of engagement."
Washington says the unending violence in Iraq will not delay its handing sovereignty to Iraqis on June 30, but analysts say the handover will not stop Iraq dominating debate during the run-up to November's presidential election.
President Bush said an interim Iraqi president, prime minister and other top ministers should be selected in the next two weeks. He plans to lay out a detailed plan this week for the handover he called "full transfer of sovereignty."
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a close ally under pressure at home to withdraw his troops, came seeking assurances from Bush that Iraqis would take over their own affairs. U.S. officials said security forces would remain under U.S. command.
U.S. General John Abizaid, who oversees military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, predicted a surge in violence after June 30 and leading up to Iraqi polls at the end of the year.
Source reuters
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces killed dozens of people in Iraq's western desert, the army said on Thursday, but reports the victims were civilians at a wedding sparked outrage as Washington struggled to contain a prisoner abuse scandal.
Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, deputy director of operations for the U.S. military in Iraq, told Reuters the attack early on Wednesday targeted "a suspected foreign fighter safe house," 16 miles east of the Syrian border.
But Dubai-based Al Arabiya television, quoting eyewitnesses, said the raid on the village of Makr al-Deeb had hit wedding guests and had killed at least 41 civilians.
It quoted a villager denying there had been any celebratory gunfire, a tradition that has caused fatal misunderstandings before in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"At 0300 (1900 EDT Tuesday) we conducted an operation...against suspected foreign fighters in a safe house," Kimmitt said. "We took ground fire and we returned fire."
Asked about reports of dozens killed, he said: "We are not disputing the numbers you are hearing. We estimate that around 40 were killed. But we operated within our rules of engagement."
Washington says the unending violence in Iraq will not delay its handing sovereignty to Iraqis on June 30, but analysts say the handover will not stop Iraq dominating debate during the run-up to November's presidential election.
President Bush said an interim Iraqi president, prime minister and other top ministers should be selected in the next two weeks. He plans to lay out a detailed plan this week for the handover he called "full transfer of sovereignty."
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a close ally under pressure at home to withdraw his troops, came seeking assurances from Bush that Iraqis would take over their own affairs. U.S. officials said security forces would remain under U.S. command.
U.S. General John Abizaid, who oversees military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, predicted a surge in violence after June 30 and leading up to Iraqi polls at the end of the year.
Source reuters
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chalabi house raid sparks anger
Associated Press
Thursday May 20, 2004
US soldiers and Iraqi police surrounded the Baghdad residence of Iraqi Governing Council member Ahmad Chalabi today and aides claimed the troops had raided the house to search for fugitives.
The aide, Haidar Musawi, accused the Americans of trying to pressure Mr Chalabi, a long-time Pentagon favourite who has recently become openly critical of US plans for how much power to transfer to the Iraqis on June 30.
Mr Musawi said the Americans also raided offices of Mr Chalabi's group, the Iraqi National Congress (INC), which was a nexus for Iraqi political exiles during the Saddam Hussein era and had close ties to US officials, especially in the Pentagon.
"The aim is to put political pressure," Mr Msawi told the media. "Why is this happening at a time when the government is being formed?"
There was no comment from the US military press office. Police sealed off the residence in the city's upmarket Mansour district and would not allow reporters to approach. At least two Humvees could be seen, with a dozen US troops milling about.
US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, have accused Mr Chalabi of trying to interfere with an investigation into alleged corruption of the UN-run oil for food initiative, in which Saddam's government was allowed to sell oil despite international sanctions to buy food and humanitarian supplies.
Critics allege that former regime officials, in collusion with UN figures, skimmed a fortune off the revenues.
Close to Mr Chalabi's residence today, several armed westerners were also seen, wearing flak vests and using sports utility vehicles without license plates - vehicles associated in Iraq with US security.
Some people could be seen loading boxes into vehicles, and neighbours said some members of Mr Chalabi's entourage were taken away.
Salem Chalabi, nephew of Ahmad Chalabi and head of the Iraqi war crimes tribunal, said his uncle told him by telephone that Iraqi and American authorities "entered his home and put the guns to his head in a very humiliating way that reminds everyone of the conduct of the former regime".
The younger Mr Chalabi said the reason for the raid was unclear but "they must be afraid of his political movement".
Abdul Kareem Abbas, an INC official, said Iraqi police entered the Baghdad INC office and said "they were looking for people". Mr Abbas said: "They wanted to make arrests". The police took personal documents belonging to Mr Chalabi and his computer.
"At the beginning, we tried to resist. But we couldn't because they came with US troops," Mr Abbas said.
Another official, Qaisar Wotwot, said the operation was linked to Mr Chalabi's recent comments demanding full Iraqi control of oil revenues and security after the June 30 transfer of power.
"It's a provocative operation, designed to force Dr Chalabi to change his political stance," he said.
Another INC official, who refused to give his name, said the raiding party "didn't tell us what they were looking for and they did not show us a search warrant". No one was arrested, he said.
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Mr Musawi said the US-Iraqi force surrounded Mr Chalabi's residential compound at about 10.30am local time, while Mr Chalabi was inside. They told Mr Chalabi's aides that they wanted to search the house for Iraqi National Congress officials wanted by the authorities.
The aides agreed to let one unarmed Iraqi policeman inside to look around.
"The Iraqi police were very embarrassed and said that they [the Americans] ordered them to come and that they didn't know it was Chalabi's house," Mr Musawi said. "The INC is ready to have any impartial and judicial body investigate any accusation against it. There are American parties who have a list of Iraqi personalities that they want arrested to put pressure on the Iraqi political force." Mr Musawi said the Americans also seized computers from INC offices.
For years, Mr Chalabi's INC had received hundreds of thousands of dollars every month from the Pentagon, in part for intelligence passed along by exiles about Saddam's purported weapons of mass destruction.
Mr Chalabi has come under criticism since large stockpiles of such weapons were never found. Mr Chalabi, a former banker and long-time Iraqi exile, was convicted of fraud in absentia in Jordan in 1992 in a banking scandal and sentenced to 22 years in jail. He has repeatedly denied the charges.
Mr Chalabi has complained recently about US plans to retain control of Iraqi security forces and maintain widespread influence over political institutions after power is transferred from the US-led coalition provisional authority to an Iraqi interim administration at the end of June.
Mr Musawi said Mr Chalabi "had been clear on rejecting incomplete sovereignty ... and against having the security portfolio remain in the hands of those who have proved their failure."
source the guardian
Chalabi house raid sparks anger
Associated Press
Thursday May 20, 2004
US soldiers and Iraqi police surrounded the Baghdad residence of Iraqi Governing Council member Ahmad Chalabi today and aides claimed the troops had raided the house to search for fugitives.
The aide, Haidar Musawi, accused the Americans of trying to pressure Mr Chalabi, a long-time Pentagon favourite who has recently become openly critical of US plans for how much power to transfer to the Iraqis on June 30.
Mr Musawi said the Americans also raided offices of Mr Chalabi's group, the Iraqi National Congress (INC), which was a nexus for Iraqi political exiles during the Saddam Hussein era and had close ties to US officials, especially in the Pentagon.
"The aim is to put political pressure," Mr Msawi told the media. "Why is this happening at a time when the government is being formed?"
There was no comment from the US military press office. Police sealed off the residence in the city's upmarket Mansour district and would not allow reporters to approach. At least two Humvees could be seen, with a dozen US troops milling about.
US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, have accused Mr Chalabi of trying to interfere with an investigation into alleged corruption of the UN-run oil for food initiative, in which Saddam's government was allowed to sell oil despite international sanctions to buy food and humanitarian supplies.
Critics allege that former regime officials, in collusion with UN figures, skimmed a fortune off the revenues.
Close to Mr Chalabi's residence today, several armed westerners were also seen, wearing flak vests and using sports utility vehicles without license plates - vehicles associated in Iraq with US security.
Some people could be seen loading boxes into vehicles, and neighbours said some members of Mr Chalabi's entourage were taken away.
Salem Chalabi, nephew of Ahmad Chalabi and head of the Iraqi war crimes tribunal, said his uncle told him by telephone that Iraqi and American authorities "entered his home and put the guns to his head in a very humiliating way that reminds everyone of the conduct of the former regime".
The younger Mr Chalabi said the reason for the raid was unclear but "they must be afraid of his political movement".
Abdul Kareem Abbas, an INC official, said Iraqi police entered the Baghdad INC office and said "they were looking for people". Mr Abbas said: "They wanted to make arrests". The police took personal documents belonging to Mr Chalabi and his computer.
"At the beginning, we tried to resist. But we couldn't because they came with US troops," Mr Abbas said.
Another official, Qaisar Wotwot, said the operation was linked to Mr Chalabi's recent comments demanding full Iraqi control of oil revenues and security after the June 30 transfer of power.
"It's a provocative operation, designed to force Dr Chalabi to change his political stance," he said.
Another INC official, who refused to give his name, said the raiding party "didn't tell us what they were looking for and they did not show us a search warrant". No one was arrested, he said.
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Mr Musawi said the US-Iraqi force surrounded Mr Chalabi's residential compound at about 10.30am local time, while Mr Chalabi was inside. They told Mr Chalabi's aides that they wanted to search the house for Iraqi National Congress officials wanted by the authorities.
The aides agreed to let one unarmed Iraqi policeman inside to look around.
"The Iraqi police were very embarrassed and said that they [the Americans] ordered them to come and that they didn't know it was Chalabi's house," Mr Musawi said. "The INC is ready to have any impartial and judicial body investigate any accusation against it. There are American parties who have a list of Iraqi personalities that they want arrested to put pressure on the Iraqi political force." Mr Musawi said the Americans also seized computers from INC offices.
For years, Mr Chalabi's INC had received hundreds of thousands of dollars every month from the Pentagon, in part for intelligence passed along by exiles about Saddam's purported weapons of mass destruction.
Mr Chalabi has come under criticism since large stockpiles of such weapons were never found. Mr Chalabi, a former banker and long-time Iraqi exile, was convicted of fraud in absentia in Jordan in 1992 in a banking scandal and sentenced to 22 years in jail. He has repeatedly denied the charges.
Mr Chalabi has complained recently about US plans to retain control of Iraqi security forces and maintain widespread influence over political institutions after power is transferred from the US-led coalition provisional authority to an Iraqi interim administration at the end of June.
Mr Musawi said Mr Chalabi "had been clear on rejecting incomplete sovereignty ... and against having the security portfolio remain in the hands of those who have proved their failure."
source the guardian
Monday, April 26, 2004
Britain's most highest ranking police officer, Sir John Stevens was sent to Paris to find out the truth about Princess Diana's death. The Royal Coroner, Michael Burgess has sent him to prove or disprove the various conspiracy theories that have emerged over the causes of the crash.
The Scotland Yard Commissioner will be retracing Diana's last steps, and looking at the Pont d'Alma tunnel, where the crash happened seven years ago on foot and will be visiting the Ritz hotel where Dodi's and Diana's Limousene was parked outside. He will also be driving the route that they took just before the car accident.
The commissioner says he wants to get a feel for the "detail" of what happened and to do that he has to see the scene for himself. Source The Guardian
Michael Burgess opened and adjourned his inquest into Diana's and Dodi's death in January- six and a half years after her death on August 31 1997.According to British law, an inquest must happen when a body is returned following a death abroad, but the hearing has been delayed by legal complications and a lengthy police investigation in France.
Fayed's father, the Harrods owner Mohamed al Fayed, has repeatedly called for a full UK inquiry into the deaths, insisting that Diana and his son were murdered by the British secret services."It's absolute black and white, horrendous murder," Mr al Fayed told reporters following the formal opening of the separate inquest into his son's death in Reigate outside London. Source The Guardian
After the crown's role in halting Paul Burrell's trial, many suspected that the Queen might be the instigator of a conspiracy, but the butler now helpfully presents her as the possible victim of one. The claim by Princess Diana's ex-Jeeves that the Queen warned him about "powers at work in this country about which we have no knowledge" suggests that conspiracy theorists have infiltrated the very heart of British power. Source The Guardian
However, friends of Diana yesterday called for an end to the speculation surrounding the crash to allow her to 'rest in peace'. The French investigation concluded that Henri Paul, the driver was speeding while on a cocktail of drink and prescription drugs.
The book can never be closed on Diana, Princess of Wales, because she was an historical figure, but I think the book should be closed on all the hysteria.' Source The Guradian
The Scotland Yard Commissioner will be retracing Diana's last steps, and looking at the Pont d'Alma tunnel, where the crash happened seven years ago on foot and will be visiting the Ritz hotel where Dodi's and Diana's Limousene was parked outside. He will also be driving the route that they took just before the car accident.
The commissioner says he wants to get a feel for the "detail" of what happened and to do that he has to see the scene for himself. Source The Guardian
Michael Burgess opened and adjourned his inquest into Diana's and Dodi's death in January- six and a half years after her death on August 31 1997.According to British law, an inquest must happen when a body is returned following a death abroad, but the hearing has been delayed by legal complications and a lengthy police investigation in France.
Fayed's father, the Harrods owner Mohamed al Fayed, has repeatedly called for a full UK inquiry into the deaths, insisting that Diana and his son were murdered by the British secret services."It's absolute black and white, horrendous murder," Mr al Fayed told reporters following the formal opening of the separate inquest into his son's death in Reigate outside London. Source The Guardian
After the crown's role in halting Paul Burrell's trial, many suspected that the Queen might be the instigator of a conspiracy, but the butler now helpfully presents her as the possible victim of one. The claim by Princess Diana's ex-Jeeves that the Queen warned him about "powers at work in this country about which we have no knowledge" suggests that conspiracy theorists have infiltrated the very heart of British power. Source The Guardian
However, friends of Diana yesterday called for an end to the speculation surrounding the crash to allow her to 'rest in peace'. The French investigation concluded that Henri Paul, the driver was speeding while on a cocktail of drink and prescription drugs.
The book can never be closed on Diana, Princess of Wales, because she was an historical figure, but I think the book should be closed on all the hysteria.' Source The Guradian
11am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Top policeman to retrace Diana's last journey
Press Association
Monday April 26, 2004
Britain's most senior policeman was today retracing the last movements of Diana, Princess of Wales, as part of his inquiry into her death.
Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir John Stevens travelled to Paris to see for himself the Pont d'Alma tunnel where Diana's car crashed seven years ago.
As part of his investigations to find out what caused the tragedy Sir John also planned to visit the Ritz Hotel from where Diana's Mercedes limousine set out.
He will then drive the route the car took before it crashed, killing Diana, Dodi Fayed and the driver, Henri Paul. Sir John will also look at the tunnel area on foot.
His visit comes days after images of a dying Diana were broadcast on American television. Her brother Earl Spencer led condemnation of the decision to screen the grainy pictures, which showed Diana slumped in the car and being treated by a doctor after the crash.
Sir John has been asked by the royal coroner, Michael Burgess, to investigate the circumstances of Diana's death.
The commissioner says he wants to get a feel for the "detail" of what happened and to do that he has to see the scene for himself.
He has already appointed a team headed by the deputy assistant commissioner, Alan Brown, to conduct inquiries. They visited the scene with Mr Burgess in February. But Sir John, who is overseeing the investigation, is keen to make sure he is personally involved.
The officers who visited in February met French counterparts who investigated the crash. They are also looking at the 6,000-page report into the tragedy produced by the French judge Herve Stephan.
Mr Burgess opened and adjourned his inquest into Diana's death in January - six-and-a-half years after she died on August 31 1997.
The inquest follows persistent claims from the Harrods owner, Mohamed Fayed, father of Dodi Fayed, that the couple were murdered.
The French investigation concluded that Henri Paul was speeding while high on a cocktail of drink and prescription drugs.
Sir John has been asked by Mr Burgess to prove or disprove the various conspiracy theories that have emerged over the causes of the crash. He is expected to speak personally to the Prince of Wales during his inquiries.
Souce Guardian
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Top policeman to retrace Diana's last journey
Press Association
Monday April 26, 2004
Britain's most senior policeman was today retracing the last movements of Diana, Princess of Wales, as part of his inquiry into her death.
Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir John Stevens travelled to Paris to see for himself the Pont d'Alma tunnel where Diana's car crashed seven years ago.
As part of his investigations to find out what caused the tragedy Sir John also planned to visit the Ritz Hotel from where Diana's Mercedes limousine set out.
He will then drive the route the car took before it crashed, killing Diana, Dodi Fayed and the driver, Henri Paul. Sir John will also look at the tunnel area on foot.
His visit comes days after images of a dying Diana were broadcast on American television. Her brother Earl Spencer led condemnation of the decision to screen the grainy pictures, which showed Diana slumped in the car and being treated by a doctor after the crash.
Sir John has been asked by the royal coroner, Michael Burgess, to investigate the circumstances of Diana's death.
The commissioner says he wants to get a feel for the "detail" of what happened and to do that he has to see the scene for himself.
He has already appointed a team headed by the deputy assistant commissioner, Alan Brown, to conduct inquiries. They visited the scene with Mr Burgess in February. But Sir John, who is overseeing the investigation, is keen to make sure he is personally involved.
The officers who visited in February met French counterparts who investigated the crash. They are also looking at the 6,000-page report into the tragedy produced by the French judge Herve Stephan.
Mr Burgess opened and adjourned his inquest into Diana's death in January - six-and-a-half years after she died on August 31 1997.
The inquest follows persistent claims from the Harrods owner, Mohamed Fayed, father of Dodi Fayed, that the couple were murdered.
The French investigation concluded that Henri Paul was speeding while high on a cocktail of drink and prescription drugs.
Sir John has been asked by Mr Burgess to prove or disprove the various conspiracy theories that have emerged over the causes of the crash. He is expected to speak personally to the Prince of Wales during his inquiries.
Souce Guardian
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Radical cleric 'should be deported'
Diana case handed to senior officer
· Metropolitan police chief puts new man in charge of investigation into Paris crash
· Speculation that Prince Charles will be questioned
Tania Branigan and Rosie Cowan
Thursday January 8, 2004
The Guardian
The Metropolitan police commissioner has appointed a more senior officer to investigate the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, he announced yesterday.
Sir John Stevens said that deputy assistant commissioner Alan Brown would take charge of inquiries into the 1997 crash in Paris which killed Diana and her companion Dodi Al Fayed.
On Tuesday the force had announced that Commander David Armond - previously involved in the investigation of Harold Brown, the royal butler, whose trial for theft collapsed in 2002 - would lead the team. But police sources stressed that he had not, as some newspapers suggested, been involved in the investigation into Diana's former butler Paul Burrell.
The Scotland Yard statement said Sir John had decided it was unfair to ask Commander Armond to lead the inquiry full-time because he had just begun a four-month course at the Royal College of Defence Studies.
He had worked part-time with the royal coroner Michael Burgess prior to the inquest and oversees the Met's Child Protection and Economic Crime units.
It added: "Now that ... the scale of the commitment is clearer, a team under a deputy assistant commissioner is the appropriate command structure. Whilst it is routine for police to be requested to assist coroners ... it is recognised that these particular inquiries will be of a sensitive and high profile nature."
DAC Brown, of the specialist crime directorate, previously headed Operation Trident, which tackled gun crime in the black community.
Sir John said yesterday that "all relevant evidence will be carefully considered", but has yet to meet Mr Burgess to finalise the terms of reference.
Several newspapers speculated yesterday that officers will quiz Prince Charles following the publication of a letter in which his ex-wife alleged that he wanted to stage a car crash involving her.
No evidence has ever been presented to support the claim and a two-year inquiry by French authorities dismissed the idea that anyone could have staged the crash. It blamed the couple's chauffeur Henri Paul, who also died, for driving too fast having drunk heavily.
A police source said it was "premature" to talk about potential interviewees and that the inquiry would probably focus on France.
Prince Charles was cheered by well-wishers as he toured a breast cancer centre in Hereford Haven yesterday, his first public engagement since he was named in the Diana letter.
A Clarence House spokesman said that it would be "as helpful as possible" to police.
John Stalker, a former deputy chief constable of Greater Manchester police, said he believed the police should interview the prince over Diana's allegation because it would be their duty to do so in any such case.
"If you want to be strict about it, this is a possible allegation of conspiracy to murder... [and] police have a duty to at least put it to the person against whom it is made," he said.
Mr Stalker, who investigated the crash for a newspaper, said the French inquiry had been thorough and he believed its findings correct.
He added: "Sir John Stevens is the sort of guy who would like to go down to the bare metal of an investigation and start it all again. But you can't turn the clock back."
Ken Wharfe, a former bodyguard to the princess, said he hoped that the investigation would be the first to look at why her security failed on the night of her death.
The previous royal coroner, Dr John Burton, yesterday attempted to quash persistent rumours that Diana was pregnant by telling the Times newspaper that her post-mortem examination, which he attended, had shown she was not.
Soiurce Guardian
4.30pm update
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Top policeman to investigate Diana death
Staff and agencies
Tuesday January 6, 2004
Coroner Michael Burgess (centre) is surrounded by media during a media opportunity prior to the start of the inquest into the death of Princess Diana. Photograph: Adam Butler/AP
Sir John Stevens, Britain's top policeman, was today asked by the royal coroner to investigate the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
Opening the first formal British inquests into the deaths of the princess and her boyfriend, Dodi al Fayed, coroner Michael Burgess asked the Metropolitan police commissioner to make inquiries into speculation that the couple's deaths were not the result of a straightforward traffic accident.
The princess, her boyfriend and driver were killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997. In 1999 a French inquiry blamed the car's chauffeur, Henri Paul, for the crash. The inquiry concluded that he had taken a cocktail of alcohol and prescription drugs and was driving too fast.
But there has remained speculation in some quarters that something more sinister than dangerous driving was responsible for the princess's death.
Fayed's father, the Harrods owner Mohamed al Fayed, has repeatedly called for a full UK inquiry into the deaths, insisting that Diana and his son were murdered by the British secret services.
"It's absolute black and white, horrendous murder," Mr al Fayed told reporters following the formal opening of the separate inquest into his son's death in Reigate outside London.
An official statement from Clarence House, the official residence of Prince Charles, said the prince and his sons, Princes William and Harry, were "very pleased that the inquest is finally under way". They did not attend the formal opening.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mirror today named Prince Charles as a "senior royal" who Diana believed wanted to kill her in a letter given to her butler, Paul Burrell.
In her letter, written on Kensington Palace headed notepaper, Diana wrote: "This particular phase in my life is the most dangerous - my husband is planning 'an accident' in my car, brake failure and serious head injury ... to make the path clear for him to remarry."
Piers Morgan, the tabloid's editor, admitted that the allegation may be "preposterous" but defended his decision to reveal the name in the letter, saying Charles's name was going to come out in the inquest anyway.
Prince Charles's former press secretary, Colleen Harris, today dismissed the claim as "preposterous" and "absolute nonsense".
"Anyone that works for the prince or knows him will think this is complete and utter rubbish. It is unbelievable," she said.
According to British law, an inquest must happen when a body is returned following a death abroad, but the hearing has been delayed by legal complications and a lengthy police investigation in France.
Opening the proceedings today, Mr Burgess said: "The purpose of this morning's hearing is to open formally the inquiry into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales."
A court clerk then read a list of personal details about Diana and described her death in the early morning of August 31 1997, after the Mercedes she was travelling in crashed at high speed in the Pont D'Alma underpass in Paris.
The inquest was then adjourned until a full hearing could take place at an unspecified date next year.
Announcing the police investigation, Mr Burgess told the hearing: "I am aware that there is speculation that these deaths were not the result of a sad, but relatively straightforward, road traffic accident in Paris.
"I have asked the Metropolitan police commissioner to make inquiries. The results of these inquiries will help me to decide whether such matters will fall within the scope of the investigation carried out at the inquests."
Mr Burgess said he would focus on four key questions: who the deceased person was, and how, when and where the cause of death arose.
Explaining why he was adjourning the proceedings for up to 15 months, Mr Burgess said that judicial proceedings in France, including any appeals, must be concluded before he could have access to documentation compiled by French investigators.
Mr Burgess also expressed regret that the proceedings may "give rise to considerable and possibly unnecessary intrusion into private grief".
Diana's former bodyguard Ken Wharfe today dismissed the possibility that she was murdered.
"I have said this many, many times, the Princess of Wales was killed tragically in nothing more than a mundane road traffic accident," he told ITV television.
"If we look at the conspiracy theories perpetrated by Mohamed al Fayed again, you look at the evidence, there is no evidence here. It is mere speculation," he said.
In 2002, France's highest court dropped manslaughter charges against nine photographers who pursued Diana's car before it crashed or who took photos at the site.
In November, a French court acquitted three photographers in a case brought by Mr Fayed, who alleged they invaded his son's privacy by taking pictures at the crash scene. Prosecutors have appealed that verdict.
Source Guardian
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Top policeman to investigate Diana death
Staff and agencies
Tuesday January 6, 2004
Coroner Michael Burgess (centre) is surrounded by media during a media opportunity prior to the start of the inquest into the death of Princess Diana. Photograph: Adam Butler/AP
Sir John Stevens, Britain's top policeman, was today asked by the royal coroner to investigate the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
Opening the first formal British inquests into the deaths of the princess and her boyfriend, Dodi al Fayed, coroner Michael Burgess asked the Metropolitan police commissioner to make inquiries into speculation that the couple's deaths were not the result of a straightforward traffic accident.
The princess, her boyfriend and driver were killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997. In 1999 a French inquiry blamed the car's chauffeur, Henri Paul, for the crash. The inquiry concluded that he had taken a cocktail of alcohol and prescription drugs and was driving too fast.
But there has remained speculation in some quarters that something more sinister than dangerous driving was responsible for the princess's death.
Fayed's father, the Harrods owner Mohamed al Fayed, has repeatedly called for a full UK inquiry into the deaths, insisting that Diana and his son were murdered by the British secret services.
"It's absolute black and white, horrendous murder," Mr al Fayed told reporters following the formal opening of the separate inquest into his son's death in Reigate outside London.
An official statement from Clarence House, the official residence of Prince Charles, said the prince and his sons, Princes William and Harry, were "very pleased that the inquest is finally under way". They did not attend the formal opening.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mirror today named Prince Charles as a "senior royal" who Diana believed wanted to kill her in a letter given to her butler, Paul Burrell.
In her letter, written on Kensington Palace headed notepaper, Diana wrote: "This particular phase in my life is the most dangerous - my husband is planning 'an accident' in my car, brake failure and serious head injury ... to make the path clear for him to remarry."
Piers Morgan, the tabloid's editor, admitted that the allegation may be "preposterous" but defended his decision to reveal the name in the letter, saying Charles's name was going to come out in the inquest anyway.
Prince Charles's former press secretary, Colleen Harris, today dismissed the claim as "preposterous" and "absolute nonsense".
"Anyone that works for the prince or knows him will think this is complete and utter rubbish. It is unbelievable," she said.
According to British law, an inquest must happen when a body is returned following a death abroad, but the hearing has been delayed by legal complications and a lengthy police investigation in France.
Opening the proceedings today, Mr Burgess said: "The purpose of this morning's hearing is to open formally the inquiry into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales."
A court clerk then read a list of personal details about Diana and described her death in the early morning of August 31 1997, after the Mercedes she was travelling in crashed at high speed in the Pont D'Alma underpass in Paris.
The inquest was then adjourned until a full hearing could take place at an unspecified date next year.
Announcing the police investigation, Mr Burgess told the hearing: "I am aware that there is speculation that these deaths were not the result of a sad, but relatively straightforward, road traffic accident in Paris.
"I have asked the Metropolitan police commissioner to make inquiries. The results of these inquiries will help me to decide whether such matters will fall within the scope of the investigation carried out at the inquests."
Mr Burgess said he would focus on four key questions: who the deceased person was, and how, when and where the cause of death arose.
Explaining why he was adjourning the proceedings for up to 15 months, Mr Burgess said that judicial proceedings in France, including any appeals, must be concluded before he could have access to documentation compiled by French investigators.
Mr Burgess also expressed regret that the proceedings may "give rise to considerable and possibly unnecessary intrusion into private grief".
Diana's former bodyguard Ken Wharfe today dismissed the possibility that she was murdered.
"I have said this many, many times, the Princess of Wales was killed tragically in nothing more than a mundane road traffic accident," he told ITV television.
"If we look at the conspiracy theories perpetrated by Mohamed al Fayed again, you look at the evidence, there is no evidence here. It is mere speculation," he said.
In 2002, France's highest court dropped manslaughter charges against nine photographers who pursued Diana's car before it crashed or who took photos at the site.
In November, a French court acquitted three photographers in a case brought by Mr Fayed, who alleged they invaded his son's privacy by taking pictures at the crash scene. Prosecutors have appealed that verdict.
Source Guardian
Fayed spoken to by Diana inquiry police
Rosie Cowan and Stephen Bates
Friday March 12, 2004
The Guardian
Secret tapes recorded by Princess Diana which describe the moment when she confronted Camilla Parker Bowles were broadcast on US television last night.
In the video interview, Diana claimed to have confronted her husband's lover at a party in 1989. She said she butted into a conversation the prince was having with Mrs Parker Bowles causing him and another man to shoot upstairs "like chickens with no heads".
Diana claimed Mrs Parker Bowles then told her: "You've got everything you ever wanted. You've got all the men in the world fall in love with you and you've got two beautiful children, what more do you want?"
According to the tape, shot secretly in the early 1990s at Kensington Palace, Diana replied: "I want my husband," adding: "I'm sorry I'm in the way ... and it must be hell for both of you. But I do know what's going on. Don't treat me like an idiot."
The first part of the documentary, in which audio tapes of other interviews were played, was watched by a US audience of 17 million.
Meanwhile detectives from Scotland Yard yesterday confirmed that they have interviewed Mohamed Al Fayed as part of the new inquiry into the deaths of Princess Diana and his son, Dodi.
Sir John Stevens, the Metropolitan police commissioner, said officers spoke to the Harrods boss several weeks ago about his belief that members of the British establishment were behind a plot to kill the princess and his son. The pair and a chauffeur, Henri Paul, died when the car they were in smashed into a pillar in a Paris underpass in August 1997.
The tragedy spawned many conspiracy theories, and Michael Burgess, the royal coroner, who opened inquests on Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed on January 6, asked Sir John to oversee an investigation into whether it was anything other than a "sad, but relatively straightforward traffic accident".
Source Guardain
Rosie Cowan and Stephen Bates
Friday March 12, 2004
The Guardian
Secret tapes recorded by Princess Diana which describe the moment when she confronted Camilla Parker Bowles were broadcast on US television last night.
In the video interview, Diana claimed to have confronted her husband's lover at a party in 1989. She said she butted into a conversation the prince was having with Mrs Parker Bowles causing him and another man to shoot upstairs "like chickens with no heads".
Diana claimed Mrs Parker Bowles then told her: "You've got everything you ever wanted. You've got all the men in the world fall in love with you and you've got two beautiful children, what more do you want?"
According to the tape, shot secretly in the early 1990s at Kensington Palace, Diana replied: "I want my husband," adding: "I'm sorry I'm in the way ... and it must be hell for both of you. But I do know what's going on. Don't treat me like an idiot."
The first part of the documentary, in which audio tapes of other interviews were played, was watched by a US audience of 17 million.
Meanwhile detectives from Scotland Yard yesterday confirmed that they have interviewed Mohamed Al Fayed as part of the new inquiry into the deaths of Princess Diana and his son, Dodi.
Sir John Stevens, the Metropolitan police commissioner, said officers spoke to the Harrods boss several weeks ago about his belief that members of the British establishment were behind a plot to kill the princess and his son. The pair and a chauffeur, Henri Paul, died when the car they were in smashed into a pillar in a Paris underpass in August 1997.
The tragedy spawned many conspiracy theories, and Michael Burgess, the royal coroner, who opened inquests on Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed on January 6, asked Sir John to oversee an investigation into whether it was anything other than a "sad, but relatively straightforward traffic accident".
Source Guardain
Top secret US files could hold clues to death of Diana
Jamie Doward, social affairs editor
Sunday January 11, 2004
The Observer
Michael Burgess, the royal coroner, is coming under intense pressure to ask US intelligence agencies to hand over top secret files on Princess Diana which may provide vital clues as to how she died.
The National Security Agency admits it has files on Diana, and there is also speculation that the Central Intelligence Agency may hold useful information for British detectives investigating the car crash which killed Diana, her boyfriend, millionaire playboy Dodi Fayed, and their chauffeur, Henri Paul.
Last night the NSA confirmed to The Observer that it held intelligence on Diana, but stressed it had never actively monitored her movements. 'The National Security Agency does not target British citizens, and any information that NSA holds that references Princess Diana is purely incidental to its collection,' a spokesperson said.
Numerous attempts by Dodi's father, Harrods owner Mohamed al-Fayed, to have the documents made public were thwarted by the US authorities, and this fuelled the conspiracy theories that have rocked the monarchy in recent years.
In November 1998, when pressed under the Freedom of Information Act, the NSA acknowledged there were 182 documents running to 1,056 pages which concerned Diana in the possession of US intelligence agencies.
Of these documents The Observer has established that 39 were classified as Top Secret. The NSA said they were 'classified because their disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security'.
Last week's revelation that Metropolitan Commissioner Sir John Stevens is to investigate allegations that Diana's death was 'not the result of a sad but relatively straightforward traffic accident' has fuelled speculation that Britain's most senior police officer will ask the NSA and other US intelligence agencies to co-operate with the inquest and hand over their files. Acutely aware of the need to protect the inquest's sources, Stevens is to model his investigation on the inquiries he carried out in Northern Ireland into alleged collusion between security forces and loyalist terrorists.
The inquest is expected to cost taxpayers millions of pounds and, depending on the level of co-operation it receives, may take up to 18 months to complete. The French authorities are soon to hand over more than 6,000 pages of unpublished material to their UK counterparts, who are said to have adopted 'a no stone unturned' policy in examining potentially new leads.
When asked if the team reporting to Stevens would request the US files, a spokeswoman for the royal coroner said: 'That's a matter for them.' A spokeswoman for Scotland Yard declined to comment.
An NSA source confirmed that inquiries about the files had been made by various interested parties in the past, but declined to say whether they would be released to the royal coroner if requested.
The contents of the American intelligence documents are the subject of acute speculation. It is believed that several files contain profiles of members of the French underworld who were thought to be in Paris at the time of Diana's death, at least one of whom owned a white Fiat Panda, a car said to have been seen in the tunnel shortly before the fatal crash.
According to documents filed in the US District Court of Columbia, Fayed's investigators and lawyers believe the files may also contain satellite images of Paris taken on the night Diana died - 31 August, 1997. This could provide crucial evidence as to whether any other vehicles entered the underpass at the same time as the Mercedes carrying Diana.
Fayed's lawyers also want to establish whether the NSA has any transcripts of Diana's intercepted telephone calls and whether the French authorities investigating her death asked for forensic assistance from the US government.
In 1999 Fayed enlisted the support of George Mitchell, the US Senator who helped broker the Northern Ireland peace process, to look into allegations that the US authorities were withholding documents relating to Diana's death. Mitchell wrote twice to CIA director George Tenet requesting that the CIA initiate a formal inquiry into the matter. Replying to Mitchell, L. Britt Snider, the CIA's then Inspector General, wrote that he had 'found no information that would shed light on the automobile accident or the deaths of Lady Diana and Dodi Fayed'.
Fayed's former head of security, John Macnamara, is known to have had several meetings with the US Attorney General's office in which he asked whether the US intelligence agencies were monitoring Diana's activities in the months before she died.
After years of lobbying, the NSA has now handed over a few documents to Fayed's team, but sources who have seen them say they are so heavily censored they are 'virtually impossible' to read.
The existence of the files emerged only after Fayed became the subject of an elaborate fraud. Oswald LeWinter, who claimed to be a former CIA operative, plotted to sell Fayed forged intelligence documents relating to the Paris car crash but the $20 million sting operation was exposed, and LeWinter - who maintained the documents were based on authentic originals - went to jail. Subsequent inquiries by private detectives and lawyers hired by Fayed proved a series of classified documents did exist within the vaults of US intelligence services.
Sources close to Fayed say he will be calling for the files to be released to the royal coroner. 'It's an area he would like to be investigated more,' the source said.
The tycoon insists the death of his son and Diana was an 'horrendous murder', resulting from a conspiracy between senior members of the royal family and British intelligence services.
Now, following publication of a letter in which Diana expressed fears Charles was planning her 'murder' in a car crash, the conspiracy theories have gone into overdrive.
The appointment of Stevens was an attempt to quell the rumours, but the coroner's decision to involve Scotland Yard appears to have backfired by raising the possibility that Diana's death may not have been an accident, as the French maintain.
Special reports
The monarchy
The Act of Settlement
The Queen's golden jubilee
The Queen Mother
Useful links
The British monarchy
The Prince of Wales
Royal archive
Kings and queens of England and Scotland
Royal media
Royal Insight - official magazine
The Royals - a weekly cartoon
Royalty Monthly - glossy look at royals around the world
Opponents
Campaign for an elected head of state
Movement against the monarchy
Monarchy out
Observer sections _______________________ BusinessCashCommentFocusInternationalLeadersLettersLifePoliticsReviewScreenSportTravelUK newsSport MonthlyFood Monthly2001 electionPress freedom campaign
Source Guardian
Jamie Doward, social affairs editor
Sunday January 11, 2004
The Observer
Michael Burgess, the royal coroner, is coming under intense pressure to ask US intelligence agencies to hand over top secret files on Princess Diana which may provide vital clues as to how she died.
The National Security Agency admits it has files on Diana, and there is also speculation that the Central Intelligence Agency may hold useful information for British detectives investigating the car crash which killed Diana, her boyfriend, millionaire playboy Dodi Fayed, and their chauffeur, Henri Paul.
Last night the NSA confirmed to The Observer that it held intelligence on Diana, but stressed it had never actively monitored her movements. 'The National Security Agency does not target British citizens, and any information that NSA holds that references Princess Diana is purely incidental to its collection,' a spokesperson said.
Numerous attempts by Dodi's father, Harrods owner Mohamed al-Fayed, to have the documents made public were thwarted by the US authorities, and this fuelled the conspiracy theories that have rocked the monarchy in recent years.
In November 1998, when pressed under the Freedom of Information Act, the NSA acknowledged there were 182 documents running to 1,056 pages which concerned Diana in the possession of US intelligence agencies.
Of these documents The Observer has established that 39 were classified as Top Secret. The NSA said they were 'classified because their disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security'.
Last week's revelation that Metropolitan Commissioner Sir John Stevens is to investigate allegations that Diana's death was 'not the result of a sad but relatively straightforward traffic accident' has fuelled speculation that Britain's most senior police officer will ask the NSA and other US intelligence agencies to co-operate with the inquest and hand over their files. Acutely aware of the need to protect the inquest's sources, Stevens is to model his investigation on the inquiries he carried out in Northern Ireland into alleged collusion between security forces and loyalist terrorists.
The inquest is expected to cost taxpayers millions of pounds and, depending on the level of co-operation it receives, may take up to 18 months to complete. The French authorities are soon to hand over more than 6,000 pages of unpublished material to their UK counterparts, who are said to have adopted 'a no stone unturned' policy in examining potentially new leads.
When asked if the team reporting to Stevens would request the US files, a spokeswoman for the royal coroner said: 'That's a matter for them.' A spokeswoman for Scotland Yard declined to comment.
An NSA source confirmed that inquiries about the files had been made by various interested parties in the past, but declined to say whether they would be released to the royal coroner if requested.
The contents of the American intelligence documents are the subject of acute speculation. It is believed that several files contain profiles of members of the French underworld who were thought to be in Paris at the time of Diana's death, at least one of whom owned a white Fiat Panda, a car said to have been seen in the tunnel shortly before the fatal crash.
According to documents filed in the US District Court of Columbia, Fayed's investigators and lawyers believe the files may also contain satellite images of Paris taken on the night Diana died - 31 August, 1997. This could provide crucial evidence as to whether any other vehicles entered the underpass at the same time as the Mercedes carrying Diana.
Fayed's lawyers also want to establish whether the NSA has any transcripts of Diana's intercepted telephone calls and whether the French authorities investigating her death asked for forensic assistance from the US government.
In 1999 Fayed enlisted the support of George Mitchell, the US Senator who helped broker the Northern Ireland peace process, to look into allegations that the US authorities were withholding documents relating to Diana's death. Mitchell wrote twice to CIA director George Tenet requesting that the CIA initiate a formal inquiry into the matter. Replying to Mitchell, L. Britt Snider, the CIA's then Inspector General, wrote that he had 'found no information that would shed light on the automobile accident or the deaths of Lady Diana and Dodi Fayed'.
Fayed's former head of security, John Macnamara, is known to have had several meetings with the US Attorney General's office in which he asked whether the US intelligence agencies were monitoring Diana's activities in the months before she died.
After years of lobbying, the NSA has now handed over a few documents to Fayed's team, but sources who have seen them say they are so heavily censored they are 'virtually impossible' to read.
The existence of the files emerged only after Fayed became the subject of an elaborate fraud. Oswald LeWinter, who claimed to be a former CIA operative, plotted to sell Fayed forged intelligence documents relating to the Paris car crash but the $20 million sting operation was exposed, and LeWinter - who maintained the documents were based on authentic originals - went to jail. Subsequent inquiries by private detectives and lawyers hired by Fayed proved a series of classified documents did exist within the vaults of US intelligence services.
Sources close to Fayed say he will be calling for the files to be released to the royal coroner. 'It's an area he would like to be investigated more,' the source said.
The tycoon insists the death of his son and Diana was an 'horrendous murder', resulting from a conspiracy between senior members of the royal family and British intelligence services.
Now, following publication of a letter in which Diana expressed fears Charles was planning her 'murder' in a car crash, the conspiracy theories have gone into overdrive.
The appointment of Stevens was an attempt to quell the rumours, but the coroner's decision to involve Scotland Yard appears to have backfired by raising the possibility that Diana's death may not have been an accident, as the French maintain.
Special reports
The monarchy
The Act of Settlement
The Queen's golden jubilee
The Queen Mother
Useful links
The British monarchy
The Prince of Wales
Royal archive
Kings and queens of England and Scotland
Royal media
Royal Insight - official magazine
The Royals - a weekly cartoon
Royalty Monthly - glossy look at royals around the world
Opponents
Campaign for an elected head of state
Movement against the monarchy
Monarchy out
Observer sections _______________________ BusinessCashCommentFocusInternationalLeadersLettersLifePoliticsReviewScreenSportTravelUK newsSport MonthlyFood Monthly2001 electionPress freedom campaign
Source Guardian
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One giant leap for conspiricists
They believe the moon landings were not exactly rocket science
Mark Lawson
Saturday November 9, 2002
The Guardian
It's a key belief of conspiracy theorists that the state has shady powers, and so it was remarkable to be told this week that Britain's head of state may share such fears. After the crown's role in halting Paul Burrell's trial, many suspected that the Queen might be the instigator of a conspiracy, but the butler now helpfully presents her as the possible victim of one. The claim by Princess Diana's ex-Jeeves that the Queen warned him about "powers at work in this country about which we have no knowledge" suggests that conspiracy theorists have infiltrated the very heart of British power.
If she really is a counter-historian - the term that doubters of the official public version of history prefer - then Elizabeth II, while she's waiting for that phone call from former President Kennedy on the Hawaiian island where "they" keep him, will be keen to read the 30,000-word book that Nasa is preparing to answer the frequent allegations in the US that the moon landings were an anti-Soviet publicity stunt filmed in a Hollywood studio.
For three decades, the space industry chose to ignore mutterings about alleged inconsistencies in the footage of the moon landings - the absence of stars in the sky, the fact that the American flag ripples when planted although there's no wind in space - on the basis that no sensible person thought Apollo 11 was a trick. But in the world of counter-history, silence is taken as guilt and polls now show that 20% of Americans believe Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were faking it.
Alternative versions flourish because recent White Houses have so often been caught lying: it's unfortunate for Nasa that the great fraud, Nixon, was the most powerful man on earth at the time the astronauts claimed to have seen it from space. But there are several other reasons why dissent has gathered around this particular event. The first is that the size and mystery of space naturally encourages speculation. The theory that the moonshots happened in a studio is only the second most popular conspiracy theory in the US; the top one is the belief that the American government in the 1940s covered up the landing of extraterrestrials in the New Mexican desert. In the false logic favoured by counter-historians, if the government is capable of pretending that nothing came from space, it's perfectly capable of lying about what went the other way.
A second trigger to scepticism is that, because the space race was abandoned, the lunar walks have left almost no cultural footprints: it's sometimes as if they never happened. Even those of us who watched it on television now sometimes feel as if we dreamed it all. For the paranoid, it's a short step from that perception to the suggestion that perhaps they never did.
Finally, in the topsy-turvy world of the theorists, it's often held that popular fiction contains the facts which the authorities are suppressing, and a successful film - Capricorn One - posits the Apollo hoax. One of its stars was OJ Simpson and, if you're a real grade-one wacko, you believe that the actor was later framed by the LA cops because he was about to reveal that Armstrong's giant leap for mankind occurred on a California lot.
Nasa's volume will take on each of the myths in turn. The absence of stars in the sky? The brightness of the earth and moon prevent these smaller light sources showing on photos. The wind-rippled flag? Aldrin and Armstrong had to corkscrew the pole into the hard moon rock and the fabric is still reacting to this force.
The problem is that these explanations sound so unlikely and unscientific that it's almost more rational to uphold that the moonshot was a movie shoot. And, unfortunately, Nasa will find that it is impossible to change the minds of counter-historians, who work by a convenient double bind in which state authorities which refuse to respond to questions are guilty of a conspiracy of silence, while those who answer back are indulging in a cover-up. The Apollo-Moonies will simply shake their heads in wonder at the sheer energy and expense which the guardians of the space race are putting into sustaining their fiction. The appearance of the book will convince them only that Nasa is badly rattled.
For 34 years after what the American media presented as the assassination of President Kennedy by Lee Harvey Oswald, it was common to observe that Britain lacked any such great public mystery of its own. There doubtless are people in Britain who believe that aliens landed at New Malden in 1947, but the rumour has never taken off in the way that the New Mexico one did. By dying in a car crash which could be regarded by those of such mind as an MI6 assassination aimed at preventing the young princes acquiring a Muslim stepfather, Princess Diana gave the UK its own Dallas '63. Now, through the trial of her butler, she's handed us a potential native Watergate as well. Perhaps it was also Diana's belief that she was being bugged by the security services which turned her former mother-in-law into the conspiracy theorist that she is now claimed to be.
But, you know, I have to say that what worries me is that this whole Nasa book thing is an attempt to distract our attention from what really went on in the Burrell trial. Those rocket scientists will stop at nothing.
Source Guardain
One giant leap for conspiricists
They believe the moon landings were not exactly rocket science
Mark Lawson
Saturday November 9, 2002
The Guardian
It's a key belief of conspiracy theorists that the state has shady powers, and so it was remarkable to be told this week that Britain's head of state may share such fears. After the crown's role in halting Paul Burrell's trial, many suspected that the Queen might be the instigator of a conspiracy, but the butler now helpfully presents her as the possible victim of one. The claim by Princess Diana's ex-Jeeves that the Queen warned him about "powers at work in this country about which we have no knowledge" suggests that conspiracy theorists have infiltrated the very heart of British power.
If she really is a counter-historian - the term that doubters of the official public version of history prefer - then Elizabeth II, while she's waiting for that phone call from former President Kennedy on the Hawaiian island where "they" keep him, will be keen to read the 30,000-word book that Nasa is preparing to answer the frequent allegations in the US that the moon landings were an anti-Soviet publicity stunt filmed in a Hollywood studio.
For three decades, the space industry chose to ignore mutterings about alleged inconsistencies in the footage of the moon landings - the absence of stars in the sky, the fact that the American flag ripples when planted although there's no wind in space - on the basis that no sensible person thought Apollo 11 was a trick. But in the world of counter-history, silence is taken as guilt and polls now show that 20% of Americans believe Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were faking it.
Alternative versions flourish because recent White Houses have so often been caught lying: it's unfortunate for Nasa that the great fraud, Nixon, was the most powerful man on earth at the time the astronauts claimed to have seen it from space. But there are several other reasons why dissent has gathered around this particular event. The first is that the size and mystery of space naturally encourages speculation. The theory that the moonshots happened in a studio is only the second most popular conspiracy theory in the US; the top one is the belief that the American government in the 1940s covered up the landing of extraterrestrials in the New Mexican desert. In the false logic favoured by counter-historians, if the government is capable of pretending that nothing came from space, it's perfectly capable of lying about what went the other way.
A second trigger to scepticism is that, because the space race was abandoned, the lunar walks have left almost no cultural footprints: it's sometimes as if they never happened. Even those of us who watched it on television now sometimes feel as if we dreamed it all. For the paranoid, it's a short step from that perception to the suggestion that perhaps they never did.
Finally, in the topsy-turvy world of the theorists, it's often held that popular fiction contains the facts which the authorities are suppressing, and a successful film - Capricorn One - posits the Apollo hoax. One of its stars was OJ Simpson and, if you're a real grade-one wacko, you believe that the actor was later framed by the LA cops because he was about to reveal that Armstrong's giant leap for mankind occurred on a California lot.
Nasa's volume will take on each of the myths in turn. The absence of stars in the sky? The brightness of the earth and moon prevent these smaller light sources showing on photos. The wind-rippled flag? Aldrin and Armstrong had to corkscrew the pole into the hard moon rock and the fabric is still reacting to this force.
The problem is that these explanations sound so unlikely and unscientific that it's almost more rational to uphold that the moonshot was a movie shoot. And, unfortunately, Nasa will find that it is impossible to change the minds of counter-historians, who work by a convenient double bind in which state authorities which refuse to respond to questions are guilty of a conspiracy of silence, while those who answer back are indulging in a cover-up. The Apollo-Moonies will simply shake their heads in wonder at the sheer energy and expense which the guardians of the space race are putting into sustaining their fiction. The appearance of the book will convince them only that Nasa is badly rattled.
For 34 years after what the American media presented as the assassination of President Kennedy by Lee Harvey Oswald, it was common to observe that Britain lacked any such great public mystery of its own. There doubtless are people in Britain who believe that aliens landed at New Malden in 1947, but the rumour has never taken off in the way that the New Mexico one did. By dying in a car crash which could be regarded by those of such mind as an MI6 assassination aimed at preventing the young princes acquiring a Muslim stepfather, Princess Diana gave the UK its own Dallas '63. Now, through the trial of her butler, she's handed us a potential native Watergate as well. Perhaps it was also Diana's belief that she was being bugged by the security services which turned her former mother-in-law into the conspiracy theorist that she is now claimed to be.
But, you know, I have to say that what worries me is that this whole Nasa book thing is an attempt to distract our attention from what really went on in the Burrell trial. Those rocket scientists will stop at nothing.
Source Guardain
Fayed risks huge lawsuit with appeal against Diana verdict
Harrods owner opens himself to claim for damages from Princess's former bodyguard by demanding reopening of crash inquiry, reports John Arlidge
Links, reports and background: more on Al Fayed
Sunday September 5, 1999
The Observer
Mohamed Al Fayed could be forced to pay heavy damages following his decision to appeal against the findings of the official report into the death of Princess Diana.
Lawyers acting for Trevor Rees-Jones, Diana's bodyguard who survived the crash that killed her two years ago, are set to reopen the case against the Paris Ritz, owned by Fayed, and the limousine company that supplied the car driven by the drunk chauffeur Henri Paul.
Fayed announced on Friday that he would challenge Judge Herve Stephan's decision to clear the paparazzi and pin the blame on Paul. But legal sources said yesterday that an appeal hearing would reopen the entire case, giving Rees-Jones the chance to sue Fayed and the Etoile limousine company.
A source close to the investigation said: 'Fayed may think he is being very clever challenging the findings but his move could back-fire. Instead of kicking up yet more dust to try to exonerate himself, the Ritz and his son Dodi, he may well find that he himself is sued.'
Judge Stephan's report criticised managers at the Paris Ritz and the boss of Etoile. The judge said that the night-manager of the hotel knew Henri Paul had been drinking before he took to the wheel of the Mercedes. He also says Jean Francois Musa, the boss of the Etoile, allowed Henri Paul to drive Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed even though he knew Paul did not have the correct driving licence.
Although the French authorities have so far blocked legal action against the Ritz and Etoile, an appeal hearing could open the way to a legal challenge against Fayed and Musa. Rees-Jones filed a complaint against the Ritz last year 'for endangering the lives of others'. One legal source said last night: 'The French attitude to litigation against the Ritz and Etoile has been ambiguous. It would certainly be challenged in an appeal hearing and could lead to further litigation.'
Christian Curtil, Rees-Jones's Paris-based lawyer, said that although the report did not blame the Ritz directly, he 'believed that liability exists'. He said this week for the first time that Mohamed Fayed had approved Dodi's decision to allow Henri Paul to drive. If the Ritz and the Etoile are found to have been negligent, the damages could be substantial.
But Fayed said yesterday he was a grieving father and would press on with his legal challenge 'to get to the bottom of what really happened'. Laurie Mayer, his spokesman, said: 'He has the resources and the will and has vowed to find out exactly why his son and the others died.'
The move heralds a bitter legal battle which will infuriate the Princess's friends and family. In a taste of the court-room drama to come, Mayer yesterday questioned Rees-Jones's reliability. He dismissed his account of the crash as 'nonsense' and hinted that Rees-Jones himself was partly to blame. 'Trevor Rees-Jones has conveniently remembered now that it is all somebody's else's fault.'
To add to the anguish suffered by Diana's family, Henri Paul's family will also appeal against Judge Stephan's ruling. At the family home in Brittany his father, Jean, said: 'There is a strong link between the actions of the paparazzi and the cause of the crash. Given time, we can prove this.'
However, friends of Diana yesterday called for an end to the speculation surrounding the crash to allow her to 'rest in peace'. Rosa Monckton, one of the Princess's former confidantes, said: 'It was clear from September 1 two years ago, when Henri Paul's blood test showed he was over the limit for alcohol and driving, that this was what had happened. Had Diana been driven by royal protection officers she would have been wearing a seat belt and going much more slowly. They would never have risked a life for the sake of a photograph.'
Asked about Fayed's legal challenge, she said: 'I think he should abide by the judgment and let all those who died rest in peace. He has caused a lot of upset. It's a clear cut and dried case. The book can never be closed on Diana, Princess of Wales, because she was an historical figure, but I think the book should be closed on all the hysteria.'
The latest legal moves have rekindled the controversy surrounding her death. On websites and internet chat rooms yesterday conspiracy theorists continued to search for darker motives behind the crash. Was it MI6 in the pay of the 'racist British establishment'? Did the Israeli secret service play a part? Or was it a dodgy French bloke in a white Fiat Uno, mysteriously never found?
Many observers seized upon the latest television documentary about the deaths presented by Anthony Scrivener QC. He questioned Judge Stephan's decision to absolve the paparazzi so early in the investigation.
Claims that Scrivener was 'chasing myths' provoked a strong reaction from the programme's producer. Richard Belfield, who was also behind another programme suggesting that Paul could have been deliberately blinded by a powerful anti-personnel flashlight before the car entered the Paris underpass and crashed, said: 'We are not pursuing a conspiracy theory and we draw no conclusions but there are still many unanswered questions.'
The main unresolved issue - Judge Stephan's failure to trace the white Uno struck by the Mercedes before it crashed - has given conspiracy theorists ammunition to back up romantic notions that the crash was not an accident.
Sources in the Arab world - encouraged by Fayed's legal challenge - continued to assert yesterday that the Princess was the victim of an assassination carried out by MI6 on the orders of the Queen, who they say was horrified at the prospect of the mother of the future King marrying Dodi Fayed, converting to Islam and bearing Muslim children.
Another theory still popular in the Arab world is that the crash was the work of undercover Israeli agents - assisted by a French intelligence agent in the Fiat Uno. Jerusalem, the story goes, feared that if the Princess married a Muslim, her humanitarian work would bring her to the Palestinian refugee camps of the Middle East, where she and her new husband would criticise Israeli policies.
In recent weeks the battle to uncover the truth has set journalist against journalist. Martyn Gregory, an investigative reporter who has spent the past 18 months re-examining the story, has called for the Independent Television Commission to investigate a controversial ITV documentary into the crash.
Responding to the legal moves and the latest outbreak of conspiracy theorising, Gregory, author of the well-received Diana - The Last Days, said yesterday: 'The Diana conspiracy theories are rapidly becoming as lurid and improbable as some of those surrounding the death of JFK. The difference is that JFK was assassinated whereas Diana died in an avoidable accident.'
Forty-eight hours after the official report was published one thing is clear: Diana's name may be fading but her legend - and the fairy tales surrounding her death - will endure. Whatever her friends do or say, it seems unlikely that a single agreed, provable version of what happened that night in August will ever be accepted.
They don't want you to know this, but...
THE CENTURY'S GREATEST CONSPIRACY THEORIES
JOHN F KENNEDY
The US President, assassinated in Dallas on 22 November 1963, was really assassinated by the CIA.
MEN ON THE MOON
Since Apollo 11 made the first landing on the moon in 1969, conspiracy theorists have claimed the lunar flights were produced by Disney in the Nevada desert on Richard Nixon's orders so he could claim the US had beaten the Soviets in the space race.
SOVIETS IN SPACE
The Russians were the first to land on the moon, and when the Americans did land, they wiped out all trace of their predecessors' prescence.
PEARL HARBOUR
Franklin D Roosevelt provoked the attack, knew about it in advance and covered up his failure to warn the commanders. FDR needed the attack to persuade Hitler to declare war on America, since the public and Congress were against entering the war in Europe.
MARGARET THATCHER
It was the influence of MI5 that brought Margaret Thatcher to power in 1975 when she defeated Edward Heath to become leader of the Conservative Party, and later to win the election in 1979.
MARTIN LUTHER KING
The FBI, not James Earl Ray, assassinated US civil rights campaigner Martin Luther King on 4 April 1968 at the Motel Lorraine in Memphis, Tennessee. He was the target of intensive investigation by the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover.
MARILYN MONROE
Actress Marilyn Monroe did not die of a self-inflicted drug overdose in 1962. Her death from drugs was adminstered by the CIA because she had threatened to expose her affairs with JFK and his brother Bobby. It is also believed her house was bugged either by the the mafia and/or union boss Jimmy Hoffa.
STILL ALIVE
Elvis Presley who lives on in his Hawaiian mountaintop hideaway. Jim Morrison is alive and well and living in Mexico.
THE TITANIC
The ocean liner never sank off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland on its first voyage, on the night of 14-15 April 1912. It was its sister ship, the Olympic, that was deliberately scuppered for the insurance money.
Dorota Nosowicz
Source Guardian
Harrods owner opens himself to claim for damages from Princess's former bodyguard by demanding reopening of crash inquiry, reports John Arlidge
Links, reports and background: more on Al Fayed
Sunday September 5, 1999
The Observer
Mohamed Al Fayed could be forced to pay heavy damages following his decision to appeal against the findings of the official report into the death of Princess Diana.
Lawyers acting for Trevor Rees-Jones, Diana's bodyguard who survived the crash that killed her two years ago, are set to reopen the case against the Paris Ritz, owned by Fayed, and the limousine company that supplied the car driven by the drunk chauffeur Henri Paul.
Fayed announced on Friday that he would challenge Judge Herve Stephan's decision to clear the paparazzi and pin the blame on Paul. But legal sources said yesterday that an appeal hearing would reopen the entire case, giving Rees-Jones the chance to sue Fayed and the Etoile limousine company.
A source close to the investigation said: 'Fayed may think he is being very clever challenging the findings but his move could back-fire. Instead of kicking up yet more dust to try to exonerate himself, the Ritz and his son Dodi, he may well find that he himself is sued.'
Judge Stephan's report criticised managers at the Paris Ritz and the boss of Etoile. The judge said that the night-manager of the hotel knew Henri Paul had been drinking before he took to the wheel of the Mercedes. He also says Jean Francois Musa, the boss of the Etoile, allowed Henri Paul to drive Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed even though he knew Paul did not have the correct driving licence.
Although the French authorities have so far blocked legal action against the Ritz and Etoile, an appeal hearing could open the way to a legal challenge against Fayed and Musa. Rees-Jones filed a complaint against the Ritz last year 'for endangering the lives of others'. One legal source said last night: 'The French attitude to litigation against the Ritz and Etoile has been ambiguous. It would certainly be challenged in an appeal hearing and could lead to further litigation.'
Christian Curtil, Rees-Jones's Paris-based lawyer, said that although the report did not blame the Ritz directly, he 'believed that liability exists'. He said this week for the first time that Mohamed Fayed had approved Dodi's decision to allow Henri Paul to drive. If the Ritz and the Etoile are found to have been negligent, the damages could be substantial.
But Fayed said yesterday he was a grieving father and would press on with his legal challenge 'to get to the bottom of what really happened'. Laurie Mayer, his spokesman, said: 'He has the resources and the will and has vowed to find out exactly why his son and the others died.'
The move heralds a bitter legal battle which will infuriate the Princess's friends and family. In a taste of the court-room drama to come, Mayer yesterday questioned Rees-Jones's reliability. He dismissed his account of the crash as 'nonsense' and hinted that Rees-Jones himself was partly to blame. 'Trevor Rees-Jones has conveniently remembered now that it is all somebody's else's fault.'
To add to the anguish suffered by Diana's family, Henri Paul's family will also appeal against Judge Stephan's ruling. At the family home in Brittany his father, Jean, said: 'There is a strong link between the actions of the paparazzi and the cause of the crash. Given time, we can prove this.'
However, friends of Diana yesterday called for an end to the speculation surrounding the crash to allow her to 'rest in peace'. Rosa Monckton, one of the Princess's former confidantes, said: 'It was clear from September 1 two years ago, when Henri Paul's blood test showed he was over the limit for alcohol and driving, that this was what had happened. Had Diana been driven by royal protection officers she would have been wearing a seat belt and going much more slowly. They would never have risked a life for the sake of a photograph.'
Asked about Fayed's legal challenge, she said: 'I think he should abide by the judgment and let all those who died rest in peace. He has caused a lot of upset. It's a clear cut and dried case. The book can never be closed on Diana, Princess of Wales, because she was an historical figure, but I think the book should be closed on all the hysteria.'
The latest legal moves have rekindled the controversy surrounding her death. On websites and internet chat rooms yesterday conspiracy theorists continued to search for darker motives behind the crash. Was it MI6 in the pay of the 'racist British establishment'? Did the Israeli secret service play a part? Or was it a dodgy French bloke in a white Fiat Uno, mysteriously never found?
Many observers seized upon the latest television documentary about the deaths presented by Anthony Scrivener QC. He questioned Judge Stephan's decision to absolve the paparazzi so early in the investigation.
Claims that Scrivener was 'chasing myths' provoked a strong reaction from the programme's producer. Richard Belfield, who was also behind another programme suggesting that Paul could have been deliberately blinded by a powerful anti-personnel flashlight before the car entered the Paris underpass and crashed, said: 'We are not pursuing a conspiracy theory and we draw no conclusions but there are still many unanswered questions.'
The main unresolved issue - Judge Stephan's failure to trace the white Uno struck by the Mercedes before it crashed - has given conspiracy theorists ammunition to back up romantic notions that the crash was not an accident.
Sources in the Arab world - encouraged by Fayed's legal challenge - continued to assert yesterday that the Princess was the victim of an assassination carried out by MI6 on the orders of the Queen, who they say was horrified at the prospect of the mother of the future King marrying Dodi Fayed, converting to Islam and bearing Muslim children.
Another theory still popular in the Arab world is that the crash was the work of undercover Israeli agents - assisted by a French intelligence agent in the Fiat Uno. Jerusalem, the story goes, feared that if the Princess married a Muslim, her humanitarian work would bring her to the Palestinian refugee camps of the Middle East, where she and her new husband would criticise Israeli policies.
In recent weeks the battle to uncover the truth has set journalist against journalist. Martyn Gregory, an investigative reporter who has spent the past 18 months re-examining the story, has called for the Independent Television Commission to investigate a controversial ITV documentary into the crash.
Responding to the legal moves and the latest outbreak of conspiracy theorising, Gregory, author of the well-received Diana - The Last Days, said yesterday: 'The Diana conspiracy theories are rapidly becoming as lurid and improbable as some of those surrounding the death of JFK. The difference is that JFK was assassinated whereas Diana died in an avoidable accident.'
Forty-eight hours after the official report was published one thing is clear: Diana's name may be fading but her legend - and the fairy tales surrounding her death - will endure. Whatever her friends do or say, it seems unlikely that a single agreed, provable version of what happened that night in August will ever be accepted.
They don't want you to know this, but...
THE CENTURY'S GREATEST CONSPIRACY THEORIES
JOHN F KENNEDY
The US President, assassinated in Dallas on 22 November 1963, was really assassinated by the CIA.
MEN ON THE MOON
Since Apollo 11 made the first landing on the moon in 1969, conspiracy theorists have claimed the lunar flights were produced by Disney in the Nevada desert on Richard Nixon's orders so he could claim the US had beaten the Soviets in the space race.
SOVIETS IN SPACE
The Russians were the first to land on the moon, and when the Americans did land, they wiped out all trace of their predecessors' prescence.
PEARL HARBOUR
Franklin D Roosevelt provoked the attack, knew about it in advance and covered up his failure to warn the commanders. FDR needed the attack to persuade Hitler to declare war on America, since the public and Congress were against entering the war in Europe.
MARGARET THATCHER
It was the influence of MI5 that brought Margaret Thatcher to power in 1975 when she defeated Edward Heath to become leader of the Conservative Party, and later to win the election in 1979.
MARTIN LUTHER KING
The FBI, not James Earl Ray, assassinated US civil rights campaigner Martin Luther King on 4 April 1968 at the Motel Lorraine in Memphis, Tennessee. He was the target of intensive investigation by the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover.
MARILYN MONROE
Actress Marilyn Monroe did not die of a self-inflicted drug overdose in 1962. Her death from drugs was adminstered by the CIA because she had threatened to expose her affairs with JFK and his brother Bobby. It is also believed her house was bugged either by the the mafia and/or union boss Jimmy Hoffa.
STILL ALIVE
Elvis Presley who lives on in his Hawaiian mountaintop hideaway. Jim Morrison is alive and well and living in Mexico.
THE TITANIC
The ocean liner never sank off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland on its first voyage, on the night of 14-15 April 1912. It was its sister ship, the Olympic, that was deliberately scuppered for the insurance money.
Dorota Nosowicz
Source Guardian
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Comment
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Give Diana the inquiry she deserves
It was the Queen who withdrew the princess's security protection
Ken Wharfe
Wednesday October 22, 2003
The Guardian
Although I left Princess Diana's service in 1993, I found her death traumatic. This was not just because of the loss of someone I had felt privileged to work for but also because of the failure to protect her. I had spent six years prepared to protect her with my own life; but eight weeks after coming under Mohamed Al Fayed's protection she was dead.
Mr Fayed insists she was murdered, and the letter written by Diana and produced by Paul Burrell will fuel his conviction. I, too, want answers to questions which have gnawed away at me since Princess Diana's death. But was her prophesy anything more than a ghastly coincidence?
Diana often said she was scared that an accident might be planned for her. This followed a motorcycle crash that killed one of her previous protection officers, Barry Mannakee. She became increasingly anxious, claiming "he was killed by MI5". This was years before Burrell's letter was written.
Diana was not paranoid. The woman I knew was full of fun; almost always in search of laughter, not wallowing in self-pity and tears as she is so often now portrayed by her detractors. But she did sometimes have dark moments, feeling the royals didn't value her public work, that no one would help her with the problem of Camilla Parker Bowles and that "the establishment" regarded her as a problem.
It is of course uncanny that the letter predicts her own death. But there were often uncanny Diana moments. On public visits, I'd see her dive through the crowd with an unerring instinct of finding the most needy person. My background as a hard-headed policeman doesn't normally allow for such things but she did have a sort of sixth sense. In spite of this, in spite of the fact some may have been relieved at her death, and in spite of the unanswered questions around the crash, I don't believe any assassin could have stage-managed the Paris accident.
An assassination attempt would require at least four hours' advanced warning of their movements. There were less than three minutes between the departure and the last change of plans. Dodi and Diana made endless changes, including where they would eat and who would drive.
Had the accident been caused, as Diana predicted, by brake failure, that would have required significant police interference, as would switching Henri Paul's blood sample. Such falsifications would require at least six conspirators. Most importantly, though, Princess Diana died from hitting the front seat. Had her bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, insisted Diana put on her seatbelt she almost certainly would have lived.
When Diana died, she was a top-drawer celebrity at the peak of her career. But even then, she would look for a steer from people as to how to handle situations. Mr Fayed's security had no expertise in dealing with a woman such as a princess. While under my protection, whenever we got in the car she would always say, "I suppose you want me to have this bloody seatbelt on". She needed someone to tell her in the car that night, "Ma'am, do your belt up". But none of the protection officers would in the Fayed system; instructions to back-seat passengers would not be delivered for fear of dismissal.
But there is another much more important unanswered question. Who is ultimately responsible for having exposed her to this security vacuum? When I left Diana's service I felt very strongly that she needed continued protection. At that time she was keen to shed personal protection. Not surprisingly, really, since protection officers such as myself were party to whatever she did, and emerging from the suffocation of royal life she was desperate for what she always called a "normal" life.
But who was responsible for signing away her security? Ultimately, it must have been the Queen. That decision made the princess extremely vulnerable, and the royal family would have known that. Even without assassins, the risks attached to someone who attracted so much public and media interest were enormous. I am sure that Diana said she didn't need protection but it was a major mistake to agree. Somebody at a senior royal level and even at a senior police level should have said that for the foreseeable future they should continue a type of security that would guarantee her safety.
So while I remain sceptical about the idea of murder, I support the call for an inquiry. Not just an inquest which only establishes the cause of death, but a full inquiry which can answer who was ultimately responsible for signing Diana off from security and for the circumstances of her death. The last few months have seen the Hutton inquiry go into great detail about Dr Kelly's death. Why do we have to wait so long to find out what caused the death of someone so loved by the British people?
· Ken Wharfe was Princess Diana's personal protection officer from 1987-93. He is the author of Diana: Closely Guarded Secret.
comment
Source Guardian
Monday, April 19, 2004
WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Becks' amazing confession
I'm so sorry
By Rav Singh
DAVID Beckham has confessed his passionate affair with Rebecca Loos to his devastated wife, the News of the World can reveal.
After days and nights of mounting pressure from worried Victoria, he told her: "I did it. I'm sorry.
"Yes. I did have the affair and I did send Rebecca the txts."
The England captain cracked during an emotionally charged phone call with Posh on Thursday April 8 when he...
ADMITTED he had bedded PA Rebecca.
FOUGHT back tears as he confessed to sending his lover lust-filled txt sex.
BEGGED his wife to give him another chance.
But close friends say Posh has privately confided to them that she is considering a "trial separation".
She is struggling to come to terms with betrayal by the man revered around the globe almost as a saint...until two weeks ago.
Torrid
That was when we first broke the explosive revelations that Beckham had enjoyed a secret, torrid fling in Madrid with 26-year-old Rebecca and had bombarded her with streams of sexually explicit txt messages.
Close pals say Beckham's phone call left Posh absolutely devastated.
And later Becks, 28, phoned a close mate and confided the full extent of his torment.
David told him: "My life is ****ed. I don't know what to do. I love Victoria, but she's really upset. I've let everyone down."
Referring to the affair, he claimed: "It just happened. I don't know what I was doing."
It is the first acknowledgement from the Beckham camp that the News of the World's scoop was 100 per cent right.
However in public Victoria, who was 30 yesterday, continued to play the loyal wife and flew to join David in Spain.
But there was worse to come. Last Sunday—just three days after Beckham's confession, our SECOND world exclusive exposed the Real Madrid star's TWO-YEAR affair with stunning Malaysian-born model Sarah Marbeck, 29.
Just like Rebecca she described nights of passion in luxury hotels and a stream of explicit txt messages. It meant Becks had more explaining to do—because he had only admitted to the one fling.
The close friend told us: "It was the second one, the affair with Marbeck, that really hit Posh for six.
"She just couldn't believe what was happening."
On Monday, the couple secretly flew back to Britain in their private jet for heart-to-heart crisis talks at their Beckingham Palace mansion in Hertfordshire.
Later they claimed the girls' stories—both backed with hard evidence—were "absurd and unsubstantiated".
They also announced that they had instructed lawyers in the matter—then posed for more cosy pictures, embracing tenderly on a quad bike in the back garden.
Next day they returned to Madrid and went out for a very public family lunch with sons Brooklyn, five, and 19-month-old Romeo.
At the same time, Rebecca was preparing to air her story on TV in a Sky One interview. On Thursday night, as more than two million people tuned into Sky to see and hear her open her heart, Posh was deliberately out drinking at a bar with relatives in Verbier, Switzerland.
But friends say she secretly had the programme taped.
Horrible
And when she heard how Rebecca recalled being fed strawberries and kiwi fruit for breakfast by Becks, Victoria exploded. "I can't believe David fed her strawberries," she stormed.
"He's always doing little romantic things like that to me—to hear it from another woman was horrible. It was very personal and made me sick."
But Victoria should have seen it coming. A close friend revealed Becks had already made a partial confession back in January.
"Victoria sussed something was going on the moment the News of the World pictured Rebecca flirting with Beckham last September," said the pal.
"But three months later, even though she'd been sacked and David had switched management companies, she was still concerned.
"David got scared and admitted he had a close relationship with Rebecca, but he didn't go into detail. They hardly spoke for a while but got through it.
"Victoria held her head high and got on with their marriage. It's only in the last few weeks that the strain has started to show. But she hadn't expected the shock of TWO affairs."
Despite private anguish the Beckhams are expected to continue the brave face and are unlikely to publicly confirm any marital difficulties.
The close friend explained: "In any normal relationship, David would have been given the boot.
"But they've worked hard for global domination with their brand—it's business.
"Nevertheless Victoria has told a very close circle she's privately considering a trial separation. She needs time to think."
Yesterday, she was thought to be heading for Madrid after a morning on the slopes.
Becks, whose birthday present for Posh is a £1million pink diamond ring and earrings, was expected to join her after Real's game against Madrid rivals Atletico.
Souce The News of the World
I'm so sorry
By Rav Singh
DAVID Beckham has confessed his passionate affair with Rebecca Loos to his devastated wife, the News of the World can reveal.
After days and nights of mounting pressure from worried Victoria, he told her: "I did it. I'm sorry.
"Yes. I did have the affair and I did send Rebecca the txts."
The England captain cracked during an emotionally charged phone call with Posh on Thursday April 8 when he...
ADMITTED he had bedded PA Rebecca.
FOUGHT back tears as he confessed to sending his lover lust-filled txt sex.
BEGGED his wife to give him another chance.
But close friends say Posh has privately confided to them that she is considering a "trial separation".
She is struggling to come to terms with betrayal by the man revered around the globe almost as a saint...until two weeks ago.
Torrid
That was when we first broke the explosive revelations that Beckham had enjoyed a secret, torrid fling in Madrid with 26-year-old Rebecca and had bombarded her with streams of sexually explicit txt messages.
Close pals say Beckham's phone call left Posh absolutely devastated.
And later Becks, 28, phoned a close mate and confided the full extent of his torment.
David told him: "My life is ****ed. I don't know what to do. I love Victoria, but she's really upset. I've let everyone down."
Referring to the affair, he claimed: "It just happened. I don't know what I was doing."
It is the first acknowledgement from the Beckham camp that the News of the World's scoop was 100 per cent right.
However in public Victoria, who was 30 yesterday, continued to play the loyal wife and flew to join David in Spain.
But there was worse to come. Last Sunday—just three days after Beckham's confession, our SECOND world exclusive exposed the Real Madrid star's TWO-YEAR affair with stunning Malaysian-born model Sarah Marbeck, 29.
Just like Rebecca she described nights of passion in luxury hotels and a stream of explicit txt messages. It meant Becks had more explaining to do—because he had only admitted to the one fling.
The close friend told us: "It was the second one, the affair with Marbeck, that really hit Posh for six.
"She just couldn't believe what was happening."
On Monday, the couple secretly flew back to Britain in their private jet for heart-to-heart crisis talks at their Beckingham Palace mansion in Hertfordshire.
Later they claimed the girls' stories—both backed with hard evidence—were "absurd and unsubstantiated".
They also announced that they had instructed lawyers in the matter—then posed for more cosy pictures, embracing tenderly on a quad bike in the back garden.
Next day they returned to Madrid and went out for a very public family lunch with sons Brooklyn, five, and 19-month-old Romeo.
At the same time, Rebecca was preparing to air her story on TV in a Sky One interview. On Thursday night, as more than two million people tuned into Sky to see and hear her open her heart, Posh was deliberately out drinking at a bar with relatives in Verbier, Switzerland.
But friends say she secretly had the programme taped.
Horrible
And when she heard how Rebecca recalled being fed strawberries and kiwi fruit for breakfast by Becks, Victoria exploded. "I can't believe David fed her strawberries," she stormed.
"He's always doing little romantic things like that to me—to hear it from another woman was horrible. It was very personal and made me sick."
But Victoria should have seen it coming. A close friend revealed Becks had already made a partial confession back in January.
"Victoria sussed something was going on the moment the News of the World pictured Rebecca flirting with Beckham last September," said the pal.
"But three months later, even though she'd been sacked and David had switched management companies, she was still concerned.
"David got scared and admitted he had a close relationship with Rebecca, but he didn't go into detail. They hardly spoke for a while but got through it.
"Victoria held her head high and got on with their marriage. It's only in the last few weeks that the strain has started to show. But she hadn't expected the shock of TWO affairs."
Despite private anguish the Beckhams are expected to continue the brave face and are unlikely to publicly confirm any marital difficulties.
The close friend explained: "In any normal relationship, David would have been given the boot.
"But they've worked hard for global domination with their brand—it's business.
"Nevertheless Victoria has told a very close circle she's privately considering a trial separation. She needs time to think."
Yesterday, she was thought to be heading for Madrid after a morning on the slopes.
Becks, whose birthday present for Posh is a £1million pink diamond ring and earrings, was expected to join her after Real's game against Madrid rivals Atletico.
Souce The News of the World
VICTORIA BECKHAM: THERE WAS NO AFFAIR
Apr 6 2004
By Fiona Cummins, Stephen Moyes In Courchevel And Jan Disley In Geneva
THE Beckhams were back together yesterday - having fun in the snow and trying to shrug off lurid stories about his alleged affair.
As the couple laughed and joked, Victoria declared her faith in her husband and accused his former personal assistant Rebecca Loos of trying to "trap" him.
The day after claims that David and Rebecca had "highly charged and explosive sex" and sent explicit texts, the Beckhams were determined to prove they could ride out the storm.
Victoria told a family friend: "This girl set out to trap David. She sent him lurid texts, but he never replied. There was no affair. She is a lying cow."
The friend said: "David and Victoria sometimes share mobile phones. They knew she was trouble from the start and would try and set him up."
At times at Courchevel, in the Alps near the Italian border, Victoria's smile looked rather strained and she clung tightly to Beckham.
But the England captain appeared relaxed and confident as they played in the snow.
Victoria, 30 on April 17, had flown out on Sunday with their sons Brooklyn, five, and 19-month-old Romeo. Other relatives, including her parents, were with them.
Beckham, 28, who is suspended from Real Madrid's European match tonight, arrived by private jet shortly before midnight on Sunday.
He now plans to stay all week after abandoning plans to cheer on his teammates in Monaco.
The couple emerged from their five- bedroom chalet - reputedly priced at £22,230 for a week - at about 11am.
A grinning Beckham was first, dressed in a sheepskin-trimmed jacket and hat.
Victoria, wreathed in smiles, happily accepted a piggy-back. They larked around, never hinting at any distress - despite the claim of 26-year-old Rebecca's brother in Madrid that she had confessed to the affair.
The Beckhams took a 15-minute stroll, with Victoria's white baseball cap artfully masking her eyes. Unruffled Beckham casually draped an arm around her.
A source said: "They have a well-planned strategy which immediately swings into action on occasions like this."
Another insider said: "They have been through much worse than this. She obviously believes what he has told her."
While Victoria's parents took their grandchildren on to the slopes, the couple went inside to watch DVDs.
The chalet comes with a chef, wine- cellar, surround-sound cinema and with a bathroom and balcony for each bedroom.
Beckham's sports agent Terry Byrne said: "The family are having a nice time and just want to be left alone."
The Spanish newspapers virtually ignored the alleged affair. Beckham has dismissed the story about hotel sex romps with Rebecca as "utterly ludicrous".
She was his PA and helped him to settle into Madrid, where she was raised, after his £25million transfer. She left his sports management company shortly after being pictured with Becks in a nightclub.
source: The Mirror
Apr 6 2004
By Fiona Cummins, Stephen Moyes In Courchevel And Jan Disley In Geneva
THE Beckhams were back together yesterday - having fun in the snow and trying to shrug off lurid stories about his alleged affair.
As the couple laughed and joked, Victoria declared her faith in her husband and accused his former personal assistant Rebecca Loos of trying to "trap" him.
The day after claims that David and Rebecca had "highly charged and explosive sex" and sent explicit texts, the Beckhams were determined to prove they could ride out the storm.
Victoria told a family friend: "This girl set out to trap David. She sent him lurid texts, but he never replied. There was no affair. She is a lying cow."
The friend said: "David and Victoria sometimes share mobile phones. They knew she was trouble from the start and would try and set him up."
At times at Courchevel, in the Alps near the Italian border, Victoria's smile looked rather strained and she clung tightly to Beckham.
But the England captain appeared relaxed and confident as they played in the snow.
Victoria, 30 on April 17, had flown out on Sunday with their sons Brooklyn, five, and 19-month-old Romeo. Other relatives, including her parents, were with them.
Beckham, 28, who is suspended from Real Madrid's European match tonight, arrived by private jet shortly before midnight on Sunday.
He now plans to stay all week after abandoning plans to cheer on his teammates in Monaco.
The couple emerged from their five- bedroom chalet - reputedly priced at £22,230 for a week - at about 11am.
A grinning Beckham was first, dressed in a sheepskin-trimmed jacket and hat.
Victoria, wreathed in smiles, happily accepted a piggy-back. They larked around, never hinting at any distress - despite the claim of 26-year-old Rebecca's brother in Madrid that she had confessed to the affair.
The Beckhams took a 15-minute stroll, with Victoria's white baseball cap artfully masking her eyes. Unruffled Beckham casually draped an arm around her.
A source said: "They have a well-planned strategy which immediately swings into action on occasions like this."
Another insider said: "They have been through much worse than this. She obviously believes what he has told her."
While Victoria's parents took their grandchildren on to the slopes, the couple went inside to watch DVDs.
The chalet comes with a chef, wine- cellar, surround-sound cinema and with a bathroom and balcony for each bedroom.
Beckham's sports agent Terry Byrne said: "The family are having a nice time and just want to be left alone."
The Spanish newspapers virtually ignored the alleged affair. Beckham has dismissed the story about hotel sex romps with Rebecca as "utterly ludicrous".
She was his PA and helped him to settle into Madrid, where she was raised, after his £25million transfer. She left his sports management company shortly after being pictured with Becks in a nightclub.
source: The Mirror
