Difference between revisions of "Paul Moran"

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{{person
 
{{person
 
|wikipedia=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Moran_(photojournalist)
 
|wikipedia=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Moran_(photojournalist)
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|twitter=
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|sourcewatch=https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Paul_Moran
 
|constitutes=journalist,propagandist,spook
 
|constitutes=journalist,propagandist,spook
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|image=
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|image=Paul Moran.webp
 
|interests=Kurdistan
 
|interests=Kurdistan
 
|nationality=Australian
 
|nationality=Australian
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|death_cause=car bomb  
 
|death_cause=car bomb  
 
|death_place=Iraqi Kurdistan,Iraq
 
|death_place=Iraqi Kurdistan,Iraq
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|description=
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|description=Australian spook who worked for the [[Rendon Group]] under journalistic cover. He made a television interview for the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] with an Iraqi [[defector]] that helped create the pretext for the [[2003 Iraq Invasion]]. Died under murky circumstances.
 
|parents=
 
|parents=
 
|spouses=Ivana Rapajic
 
|spouses=Ivana Rapajic
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|end=22 March 2003
 
|end=22 March 2003
 
|employer=Australian Broadcasting Corporation
 
|employer=Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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|description=Also spook working under [[journalistic cover]] for [[Rendon Group]], creating war propaganda. Died in [[2003 Iraq war]] under murky circumstances.
 
}}{{job
 
}}{{job
 
|title=Photographer  
 
|title=Photographer  
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}}
 
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'''Paul William Moran ''' was a freelance photojournalist for the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] and also worked for the [[Rendon Group]].<ref>http://www.paulmoran.org/biography.html</ref><ref>https://www.abc.net.au/corp/memorial/paulmoran.htm</ref>
+
'''Paul William Moran ''' was an Australian spook who worked for the [[Rendon Group]] under [[journalistic cover]]. As a freelance photojournalist for the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]<ref>http://www.paulmoran.org/biography.html</ref><ref>https://www.abc.net.au/corp/memorial/paulmoran.htm</ref>, he made a television interview with an Iraqi [[defector]] that helped create the pretext for the [[2003 Iraq Invasion]], a war Moran himself became a causality in.
  
 
==Background==
 
==Background==
−
Moran was born and raised in [[Adelaide]].<ref>http://www.abc.net.au/corp/memorial/paulmoran.htm</ref> His alma mater was [[Sacred Heart College (Adelaide)|Sacred Heart College]] in Adelaide. He was married to Ivana Rapajic and the couple had a daughter who was born one month before Moran's death at the age of 39.<ref>http://www.paulmoran.org/biography.html</ref>
+
Moran was born and raised in [[Adelaide]].<ref>http://www.abc.net.au/corp/memorial/paulmoran.htm</ref> His alma mater was [[Sacred Heart College (Adelaide)|Sacred Heart College]] in Adelaide. He was married to Ivana Rapajic.<ref>http://www.paulmoran.org/biography.html</ref>
  
 
==Career==
 
==Career==
−
Paul Moran was a freelance cameraman for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. In 1990, he moved to [[London]], and it was here that he made his initial [[Middle East]] contacts.{{Doing what}}
+
Paul Moran was a freelance cameraman for the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]. In 1990, he moved to [[London]], and it was here that he made his initial contacts for work in the [[Middle East]].  
  
−
==Rendon Group==
+
Moran started work for the propagandist [[Rendon Group]], whose clients included the [[CIA]], [[the Pentagon]] and the [[Iraqi National Congress]] (INC). Moran spent time in [[Kosovo War|Kosovo in 1999]] as a photographer for what he described at the time as a "human rights" website, the [[Balkan Information Exchange]], which was being set up by the Rendon Group.
−
Moran also started work for the propagandist [[Rendon Group]],, whose clients included the [[CIA]], [[the Pentagon]] and the [[Iraqi National Congress]] (INC). Moran spent time in [[Kosovo War|Kosovo in 1999]] as a photographer for what he described at the time as a "human rights" website, the [[Balkan Information Exchange]], which was being set up by the Rendon Group.
 
  
−
The INC, given its name by [[John Rendon]] himself, was formed just after the [[first Gulf War]] (1990-91) as a loose coalition of [[Iraqi]] and [[Kurdish]] groups opposed to [[Saddam Hussein]], whose original purpose was to gather information, distribute [[propaganda]] and recruit [[dissidents]].<ref name=PRWatch/>
+
The INC, given its name by [[John Rendon]] himself, was formed just after the [[first Gulf War]] (1990-91) as a loose coalition of [[Iraqi]] and [[Kurdish]] groups opposed to [[Saddam Hussein]], with an original purpose to gather information, distribute [[propaganda]] and recruit [[dissidents]].<ref name=PRWatch/> Moran helped to set up a television station for the INC.<ref name=scoop>https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0912/S00185.htm</ref>
  
−
Moran had on behalf of the Rendon Group used his experience as a cameraman to train Kurds in the use of hidden cameras to covertly film military activities. <ref name=PRWatch/>
+
Moran had on behalf of the Rendon Group used his experience as a cameraman to train Kurds in photographic [[espionage]], to covertly film Iraqi military activities.<ref name=Bamford>https://universityofleeds.github.io/philtaylorpapers/vp01ba9b.html</ref>
  
−
==Iraqi WMDs==
+
==Iraqi WMD propaganda==
−
Paul Moran made a television interview with [[Adnan Ihsan Saeed al Haideri|al-Haideri]] in December [[2001]], a [[defector]] who claimed he'd worked at illegal chemical, biological and nuclear facilities around [[Baghdad]]<ref>https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/special-reports/iraq-intelligence/article24463927.html</ref>. The revelations made about the - fictitious - [[WMD]]s was aired initially by the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] (ABC), another of Moran’s regular employers. Thus given [[credibility]], it was then picked up spread by the rest of the world's [[corporate media]].  
+
In December [[2001]], Paul Moran made a television interview with [[Adnan Ihsan Saeed al Haideri|al-Haideri]], a [[defector]] who claimed he had worked at illegal chemical, biological and nuclear facilities around [[Baghdad]]<ref>https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/special-reports/iraq-intelligence/article24463927.html</ref>. The revelations made about the - fictitious - [[WMD]]s were aired initially by the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] (ABC), another of Moran’s regular employers. Thus given [[credibility]], the lie was then picked up spread by the rest of the world's [[corporate media]].  
  
−
Along with [[Judith Miller]]’s front page article in the [[New York Times]] about WMDs, the interview paved the way the invasion by 'proving' George Bush and Tony Blair's case, and in helping sway a significant level of public opinion in both the US and Britain in favor of the invasion<ref name=PRWatch>https://archive.is/F4KKd</ref>.
+
Along with [[Judith Miller]]’s front page article in the [[New York Times]] about WMDs, the interview paved the way the invasion by 'proving' [[GWB|George Bush]] and [[Tony Blair]]'s case, and in helping sway a significant level of public opinion in both the US and [[Britain]] in favor of the invasion<ref name=PRWatch>https://archive.is/F4KKd</ref>.
 +
 
 +
Moran received the tip for the defector from [[Zaab Sethna]]. [[James Bamford]] describes how "Sethna knew he could count on the trim, thirty-eight-year-old journalist: A former INC employee in the Middle East, Moran had also been on Rendon's payroll for years in 'information operations,' working with Sethna at the company's London office on Catherine Place, near [[Buckingham Palace]]."<ref name=Bamford/>
 +
 
 +
Several things indicate that the al-Haideri propaganda interview to a large extent was an Australian intelligence operation; including the use of Australian "media" operatives, and the use of a government channel to give the interview a sheen of credibility. Al-Haideri also received asylum in [[Adelaide]], [[South Australia]], right afterwards.<ref>https://www.prwatch.org/node/5509</ref>
  
 
==Death==
 
==Death==
−
Moran worked for the ABC of Australia and he was travelling from [[Sulaymaniyah]] to a base that had been struck by US missiles and belonged to the [[Ansar al-Islam]] on 22 March 2003. His group just arrived at a check point and Moran was shooting video when a car bomb exploded in a passing taxi{{how}}, killing Moran and injuring [[Eric Campbell (reporter)|Eric Campbell]]. Three or four other people besides Moran died at the checkpoint in Khurmal and 23 others in addition to Campbell were injured. The Ansar al-Islam were accused of carrying out the car bomb attack in response to the earlier US attack.<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/22/international/worldspecial/22CND-KURDS.html</ref><ref>http://www.spacedaily.com/2003/030402191536.1jg2pccl.html</ref><ref>https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/mar/24/tvnews.iraqandthemedia1</ref>
+
Moran worked for the ABC of Australia and he was travelling from [[Sulaymaniyah]] to a base belonging to [[Ansar al-Islam]] that had been struck by US missiles on 22 March 2003.  
 +
 
 +
His group just arrived at a Kurdish-controlled checkpoint in the city of Sulaymaniyah, and Moran was shooting video when a [[suicide car bomb]] exploded in a passing taxi{{how}}, killing Moran and injuring ABC's [[Eric Campbell]]. Three or four other people besides Moran died at the checkpoint in Khurmal and 23 others in addition to Campbell were injured.  
 +
 
 +
Ansar al-Islam was accused of carrying out the car bomb attack in response to the earlier US attack.<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/22/international/worldspecial/22CND-KURDS.html</ref><ref>http://www.spacedaily.com/2003/030402191536.1jg2pccl.html</ref><ref>https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/mar/24/tvnews.iraqandthemedia1</ref>
 +
 
 +
==Problems around death==
 +
In is not clear how the car bomb was arranged on such short notice, or why it was necessary with a suicide attack, or if the main target indeed was Moran. The [[CIA]] has traditionally given covert support to groups like [[Ansar al-Islam]].
 +
 
 +
The death of Moran came at a convenient time for Rendon.
 +
 
 +
In [[2007]], the ABC’s Freedom Of Information Coordinator [[Joan McKain]], rejected a request for Moran’s personnel file under Section 41 (1) of the Freedom Of Information Act.<ref name=scoop/>
 +
 
 +
The mastermind behind the attack was allegedly [[Mullah Krekar]] of [[Ansar al-Islam]], an Iraqi Kurd living in exile in [[Norway]].<ref name=scoop/> [[Chris Warren]], the Federal Secretary of the [[Media Entertainment Alliance of Australia]] (Australian Journalists Association) asked Australia's Attorney General to investigate Mullah Krekar and his links to UN-listed terrorist organisation Ansar al-Islam. The [[Australian Federal Police]] replied on request in 2007 that "At this stage the AFP has not received a formal referral concerning the death of Mr Moran and therefore has not commenced an investigation."<ref>https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0912/S00185.htm</ref>
  
 
{{SMWDocs}}
 
{{SMWDocs}}
 
==References==
 
==References==
 
{{reflist}}
 
{{reflist}}

Latest revision as of 22:04, 15 May 2023

Person.png Paul Moran   SourcewatchRdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
(journalist, propagandist, spook)
Paul Moran.webp
Born30 May 1963
Died22 March 2003 (Age 39)
Iraqi Kurdistan, Iraq
Cause of death
car bomb
NationalityAustralian
PartnerLynn McConaughey
SpouseIvana Rapajic
InterestsKurdistan
Australian spook who worked for the Rendon Group under journalistic cover. He made a television interview for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation with an Iraqi defector that helped create the pretext for the 2003 Iraq Invasion. Died under murky circumstances.

Employment.png Freelance photojournalist

In office
2002 - 22 March 2003
EmployerAustralian Broadcasting Corporation
Also spook working under journalistic cover for Rendon Group, creating war propaganda. Died in 2003 Iraq war under murky circumstances.

Employment.png Photographer Wikipedia-icon.png

In office
1990 - 22 March 2003
EmployerRendon Group

Paul William Moran was an Australian spook who worked for the Rendon Group under journalistic cover. As a freelance photojournalist for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation[1][2], he made a television interview with an Iraqi defector that helped create the pretext for the 2003 Iraq Invasion, a war Moran himself became a causality in.

Background

Moran was born and raised in Adelaide.[3] His alma mater was Sacred Heart College in Adelaide. He was married to Ivana Rapajic.[4]

Career

Paul Moran was a freelance cameraman for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. In 1990, he moved to London, and it was here that he made his initial contacts for work in the Middle East.

Moran started work for the propagandist Rendon Group, whose clients included the CIA, the Pentagon and the Iraqi National Congress (INC). Moran spent time in Kosovo in 1999 as a photographer for what he described at the time as a "human rights" website, the Balkan Information Exchange, which was being set up by the Rendon Group.

The INC, given its name by John Rendon himself, was formed just after the first Gulf War (1990-91) as a loose coalition of Iraqi and Kurdish groups opposed to Saddam Hussein, with an original purpose to gather information, distribute propaganda and recruit dissidents.[5] Moran helped to set up a television station for the INC.[6]

Moran had on behalf of the Rendon Group used his experience as a cameraman to train Kurds in photographic espionage, to covertly film Iraqi military activities.[7]

Iraqi WMD propaganda

In December 2001, Paul Moran made a television interview with al-Haideri, a defector who claimed he had worked at illegal chemical, biological and nuclear facilities around Baghdad[8]. The revelations made about the - fictitious - WMDs were aired initially by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), another of Moran’s regular employers. Thus given credibility, the lie was then picked up spread by the rest of the world's corporate media.

Along with Judith Miller’s front page article in the New York Times about WMDs, the interview paved the way the invasion by 'proving' George Bush and Tony Blair's case, and in helping sway a significant level of public opinion in both the US and Britain in favor of the invasion[5].

Moran received the tip for the defector from Zaab Sethna. James Bamford describes how "Sethna knew he could count on the trim, thirty-eight-year-old journalist: A former INC employee in the Middle East, Moran had also been on Rendon's payroll for years in 'information operations,' working with Sethna at the company's London office on Catherine Place, near Buckingham Palace."[7]

Several things indicate that the al-Haideri propaganda interview to a large extent was an Australian intelligence operation; including the use of Australian "media" operatives, and the use of a government channel to give the interview a sheen of credibility. Al-Haideri also received asylum in Adelaide, South Australia, right afterwards.[9]

Death

Moran worked for the ABC of Australia and he was travelling from Sulaymaniyah to a base belonging to Ansar al-Islam that had been struck by US missiles on 22 March 2003.

His group just arrived at a Kurdish-controlled checkpoint in the city of Sulaymaniyah, and Moran was shooting video when a suicide car bomb exploded in a passing taxi[How?], killing Moran and injuring ABC's Eric Campbell. Three or four other people besides Moran died at the checkpoint in Khurmal and 23 others in addition to Campbell were injured.

Ansar al-Islam was accused of carrying out the car bomb attack in response to the earlier US attack.[10][11][12]

Problems around death

In is not clear how the car bomb was arranged on such short notice, or why it was necessary with a suicide attack, or if the main target indeed was Moran. The CIA has traditionally given covert support to groups like Ansar al-Islam.

The death of Moran came at a convenient time for Rendon.

In 2007, the ABC’s Freedom Of Information Coordinator Joan McKain, rejected a request for Moran’s personnel file under Section 41 (1) of the Freedom Of Information Act.[6]

The mastermind behind the attack was allegedly Mullah Krekar of Ansar al-Islam, an Iraqi Kurd living in exile in Norway.[6] Chris Warren, the Federal Secretary of the Media Entertainment Alliance of Australia (Australian Journalists Association) asked Australia's Attorney General to investigate Mullah Krekar and his links to UN-listed terrorist organisation Ansar al-Islam. The Australian Federal Police replied on request in 2007 that "At this stage the AFP has not received a formal referral concerning the death of Mr Moran and therefore has not commenced an investigation."[13]


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References

  1. ↑ http://www.paulmoran.org/biography.html
  2. ↑ https://www.abc.net.au/corp/memorial/paulmoran.htm
  3. ↑ http://www.abc.net.au/corp/memorial/paulmoran.htm
  4. ↑ http://www.paulmoran.org/biography.html
  5. ↑ a b https://archive.is/F4KKd
  6. ↑ a b c https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0912/S00185.htm
  7. ↑ a b https://universityofleeds.github.io/philtaylorpapers/vp01ba9b.html
  8. ↑ https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/special-reports/iraq-intelligence/article24463927.html
  9. ↑ https://www.prwatch.org/node/5509
  10. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/22/international/worldspecial/22CND-KURDS.html
  11. ↑ http://www.spacedaily.com/2003/030402191536.1jg2pccl.html
  12. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/mar/24/tvnews.iraqandthemedia1
  13. ↑ https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0912/S00185.htm
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