Difference between revisions of "Alastair Crooke"

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Former [[Secret Intelligence Service|MI6]] agent and founder of [[Conflicts Forum]].
 
Former [[Secret Intelligence Service|MI6]] agent and founder of [[Conflicts Forum]].
::Born in Ireland in 1949, Crooke was brought up in Africa, mainly on a farm near Harare in what was then Rhodesia, where his father farmed tobacco. He was educated in Switzerland and at St Andrews University. <ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article402174.ece Let’s talk: ex-MI6 man plans terror summit]
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::Born in Ireland in 1949, Crooke was brought up in Africa, mainly on a farm near Harare in what was then Rhodesia, where his father farmed tobacco. He was educated in Switzerland and at St Andrews University. <ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article402174.ece Let’s talk: ex-MI6 man plans terror summit], by [[Stephen grey]], [[The Times]],12 December 2004.</ref>
  
 
==Mi6 career==
 
==Mi6 career==
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::His posting to Ireland in 1975 led to his first role as a British negotiator — with the IRA. Three years later he moved to South Africa where as “first secretary and press officer” he joined mediation with Swapo rebels in Namibia.
 
::His posting to Ireland in 1975 led to his first role as a British negotiator — with the IRA. Three years later he moved to South Africa where as “first secretary and press officer” he joined mediation with Swapo rebels in Namibia.
  
::It was during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, when he was stationed for three years in neighbouring Pakistan, that Crooke first met militant Islamists. The mid-1980s were a wild time on the Afghan frontier, with American money and weapons pouring in to support those fighting the Soviet army. <ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article402174.ece?token=null&offset=12 Let’s talk: ex-MI6 man plans terror summit]</ref>
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::It was during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, when he was stationed for three years in neighbouring Pakistan, that Crooke first met militant Islamists. The mid-1980s were a wild time on the Afghan frontier, with American money and weapons pouring in to support those fighting the Soviet army. <ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article402174.ece?token=null&offset=12 Let’s talk: ex-MI6 man plans terror summit], by [[Stephen grey]], [[The Times]],12 December 2004.</ref>
  
 
==Affiliations==
 
==Affiliations==

Revision as of 23:15, 24 February 2008

Former MI6 agent and founder of Conflicts Forum.

Born in Ireland in 1949, Crooke was brought up in Africa, mainly on a farm near Harare in what was then Rhodesia, where his father farmed tobacco. He was educated in Switzerland and at St Andrews University. [1]

Mi6 career

Crooke has been described as an 'expert in "parallel diplomacy", the use of covert talks when normal channels have broken down', a field which is something of an MI6 specialty. [2] His Conflicts Forum biography states that he has 'direct experience of conflict over a period of 30 years in Ireland, South Africa, Namibia, Afghanistan, Cambodia and Colombia.' [3]

His posting to Ireland in 1975 led to his first role as a British negotiator — with the IRA. Three years later he moved to South Africa where as “first secretary and press officer” he joined mediation with Swapo rebels in Namibia.
It was during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, when he was stationed for three years in neighbouring Pakistan, that Crooke first met militant Islamists. The mid-1980s were a wild time on the Afghan frontier, with American money and weapons pouring in to support those fighting the Soviet army. [4]

Affiliations

Notes