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The Web of Deceit: Britain's Real Role in the World

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Mark Curtis exposes British interventions abroad as part of an empirical project, not pursued independently anymore, but actually as a junior partner of the US in the latter's search for full spectrum dominance. This project is sold to the public as being a mission of `good soldiers'.

The fundamental aim of the US and British foreign policies is to benefit a transnational elite (an `overclass') by crushing independent forces outside the elite's control, by keeping crucial economic resources (oil, commodities) in correct hands and by helping disseminate a self-serving economic Gospel (free markets).
These ends justify all means: illegal wars (`people's lives are valueless when they get in the way of elitist interests'), arms sales (`the business of death'), trampling human rights, overthrow democratically elected governments, undermining independent national movements (calling them communist) or supporting dictatorial or fundamentalist regimes. Real democracy is seen as a threat by those elites.
These policies are also pursued via international institutions (WTO) and through monopolistic media, who lie overtly or by omission and are acting as Pravda-like state propaganda (Chalmers Johnson).
The ultimate result is a more unequal, more insecure world and a still lover living standard for the majority of the world population.
The author illustrates his arguments profusely. A few examples: Iraq (oil and control of the Middle East), Afghanistan (oil, military bases), South-Africa and Rhodesia (racism), Malaya (rubber), Kenya (land), Diego Garcia (military bases), British Guyana (sugar, bauxite), Indonesia (oil, nationalism).

But what to do? Promote political and economical democratization, a truly Herculean task.

This book is a must read for all those wanting to understand the Kafkaesk official and media environment we live in.