So, we had a terrible moment where we had seen organizations follow the story up. And your memo, that you had leaked, was right front and center. Whos that? I said, Im ringing about the GCHQ memo that you sent. Click. Everybody knows it. And I hope that it can get people, Americans, to follow their conscience, and do the right thingstand up for what they believe in., With the world at an even more critical inflection point under controversial leadership, Gun hopes that others might find the courage to speak up if they come across as damning evidence as she dideven if it means temporarily sacrificing comfort. Together they have a 13-year-old daughter. Between the worlds greatest democracy and a murderous dictatorship, it seemed easy to know whom to believe. So I was bailed until . I mean, you were the man of the hour. The western leading man, Sam Elliott, first met his famous actress wife, Katharine Ross, on the set of a movie. Katharine Gun (ne Harwood), 47, is married to Yasar Gn, a Turkish Kurd, with whom she has a 13-year old daughter. And my husband Yasar was still in bed. With no plan and no contacts, a duty solicitor who was well out of her depth was called. AMANPOUR: OK. AMY GOODMAN: You said, May I please speak to Mr. Koza?, MARTIN BRIGHT: May I please speak to Mr. Koza? And they said, We dont give out names. And he says, Excuse me, Mr. Bright.. That does it for our show. Wise man. We had just come from a press conference with the Iraqi information minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, better known as Comical Ali. Life carried on. KATHARINE GUN: No. You didnt. And then, one by one, the American networks pulled out. And I knew that Ed was an extremely experienced journalist. Drawing on more than 100,000 leaked documents, a. The UKs own intelligence, published by Downing Street, produced the Sun headline: Brits 45 mins from doom.. whistleblower and former specialist for Britains Government Communications Headquarters. This is of no use to me at all. And she turned the piece of paper over, and on the back someone had written the header information. It was intended for someone else but had been distributed to everyone in her section. It took two hours for the cops from special branch to reach GCHQ in Cheltenham. This is her story. Now, she was being asked to help get a new war authorised by finding material for the Americans to blackmail and bribe the international community. TINTIN: And now youre upset at being asked to do that to members of the Security Council. I think that speaks rather highly of you. MARTIN BRIGHT: It was NSA 'dirty tricks' at the U.N. Yeah, yeah. That is the only consolation I have A lot of people would welcome that. She tried to stop the impending . . KATHARINE GUN: My husband had absolutely nothing to do with this. They want to interview Martin Bright, because youve got the story of this memo. e-mail; 239. shares. That was when reality hit. Indeed, the Government Communications Headquarterswhich is the equivalent of the U.S.s NSAimmediately began interviewing each person who had received the email. ED VULLIAMY: Well, I put on an American accent, and I said, Can I have Mr. Kozas office, please? Scott Davis was asking the questions.Synopsis: The true story of a British whistleblower who leaked information to the press about an illegal NSA spy operation designed to push the UN Security Council into sanctioning the 2003 invasion of Iraq.A morality tale for the 21st century, Official Secrets tells the true story of British Intelligence whistle-blower Katharine Gun who, during the immediate run-up to the 2003 Iraq invasion, leaked a top-secret NSA memo exposing a joint US-UK illegal spying operation against members of the UN Security Council. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. I asked Mr. Goodman, I asked others, Can you help me find this guy? Because you had to get an extension number. But I watched Blair with his smug smile and his sterile speeches that tell us nothing . Today, she lives in Turkey, with her husband and their child. . In February, Gun attended a demonstration in opposition to the Iraq War. TINTIN: So, you work for the British government. Mr. Koza? Yeah, whos that? We were getting calls from all over the world. After the incident, Katharine struggled to find work, and her husband had grown disillusioned with Britain and then kept away from the general public eye. Katharine Gun was a translator at GCHQ, when she received an email in her inbox from Frank Koza, a leading figure in the American National Security Agency. So, naturally, it's Katharine Gun who's being punished. And truth was having a hard time at The Observer at that point. And thats really where the story started for Ed and myself on The Observer, was process of verification. The daughter of Maurizio Gucci and Patrizia Reggiani was overwhelmed as a child by a wave of tragedy and looked for a gasp of air to breathe, even as sharks circled all around. Now, she tells, Monica Lewinskys Verdict on the Johnny DeppAmber Heard Trial: We Are All Guilty. These Romantic Movies Are Guaranteed To Make You Cry, The Greatest Romantic Comedies That Youll Watch On Repeat, 26 Movies Every Woman Should See At Least Once. You didnt know who Katharine Gun was, who had leaked it, but you had the story of the memo that was going to get the goods on these U.N. Security Council members, which would force them to vote for the invasion of Iraq. And on the face of it, it looked like an extraordinary story. Currently, Katharine Ross is 82 years old as she was born on 29th January 1940. GUN: Thats right. Now, I asked around. But when she arrived for her trial at the Old Bailey, the prosecution dropped the case with no explanation. Acclaimed Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg described Katharine Guns action as the most important and courageous leak I have ever seen. Dan Ellsberg said, No one elseincluding myselfhas ever done what Katharine Gun did: tell secret truths at personal risk, before an imminent war, in time, possibly, to avert it.. I asked her why she decided to leak the memo. Almost a decade ago, the world was gripped with anxiety as it watched the legal proceedings against a young Se. We speak with Katharine Gun; the British journalists who reported on Guns revelations in The Observer newspaper, Martin Bright and Ed Vulliamy; and Gavin Hood, director of Official Secrets.. Gun leaked the memo to the press, setting off a chain of events that jeopardized her freedom and safety, but also opened the door to putting the entire legality of the Iraq invasion on trial. "Official Secrets," which opened Friday in New York and . Hilary Duff and husband Matthew Koma enjoy adorable family day out with their . Theyre basically cooking it. All rights reserved. I had no idea what was going to happen to me and my life kind of came to a standstillit was a struggle emotionally, financially, mentally, said Gun of that time. Within half an hour, the prosecution had decided to drop its case, for reasons that to this day remain mysterious. And I knew that I needed help. Her act of whistle-blowing is portrayed in the recent film Official Secrets . List of Wanted Pages on Real Life Heroes Wiki. He remains on death row as of July 2021, but there have been zero executions in the state of California since a 2006 court . He had no regrets whatsoever about removing Saddam. There was also the question of the plea: would she admit to being guilty or argue her innocence? TINTIN: [played by Peter Guinness] Your supervisor speaks highly of your integrity. The 1967 film Guess Whos Coming to Dinner starred Sidney Poitier and Katharine Houghton as a ne, As the open-hearted matriarch Hattie Mae in Tyler Perrys 2022 film A Jazzmans Blues, Amirah Vann demonstrates a great tenderness and fierce love to b, This story includes spoilers for Saint Omer. Now the public knew. That contact had connections with the antiwar movement. She saw a newspaper advert for GCHQ. He was going in every week to the authorities to prove that he was still a resident and kept an eye on his location to pinpoint where he was. Ross stands at the height of 5 feet 5 inches or 165 cm tall. What Really Happened During the Making of. But as Beyer would soon realize, Finchs past wasnt what she claimedand Beyers own difficult history was up for the taking. In November 2002, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1441, which called on Iraq to get rid of chemical and biological weapons and long-range missiles. MARTIN BRIGHT: No, it was a very unusual situation. KATHARINE GUN: The idea was to gather information that they could use to bribe them or, you know, threaten them into voting yes for the resolution. Martin faced potential charges too. On 5 March Gun confessed to leaking the plot and was arrested for violating the Official Secrets Act. AMY GOODMAN: Well, Martin, you tried that. AMY GOODMAN: So, Katharine, you read this memo. . Katharine Gun's age is listed as 47 years old as of 2021. Her case became awidespread controversy among activists, and many people stepped forward to urge the government to drop the case. AMY GOODMAN: So, youve got it proved. Right away, Katharine knew the significance of this message. AMY GOODMAN: Weve got to make this fast; we have three minutes. Katherine is the eldest of three sisters. MARTIN BRIGHT: Well, but only with a story that you know is true. An insider with courage. MARTIN BRIGHT: Well, I did. And so, we knew that time was short. It looked like a very exciting story. Katherine Louisa Ryan was born on June 30, 1983, to Finbar and Julie McCarthy in the city of Sarnia in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Soon, Katharine was in touch with John Wadham, then Director of Liberty. Two weeks later, on the 15th of February, 2003, a million people took to the streets of London to protest the prospect of Britain joining the war in Iraq. Bush never wanted yet another UN resolution and when one failed to arrive, Blair decided it wasnt needed after all. "This was crossing a red line for me," she says. On one trip to the authorities, they detained Yasar. AMY GOODMAN: The guy at the NSA. The diplomats were from member states of the 2003 Security Council, and they were due to vote on a second United Nations resolution on the future 2003 invasion of Iraq. And you were what? She'd be tried at the High Court; the press and the public would know this whistleblower's name. Is that right, Katharine? GUN: Well, no, I was a recipient alongside about a hundred other recipients of that e-mail. In fact, your husbandwould they attempt to deport him? Youre working on translating Mandarin. AMY GOODMAN: And it is explosive. "But there are things you have to do not for the result but for the principle, because they are right.". The whole issue of Iraq has left us with a legacy, which is not good. ONLINE:YouTube: http://youtube.com/democracynow Facebook: http://facebook.com/democracynow Twitter: https://twitter.com/democracynowInstagram: http://instagram.com/democracynowSoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/democracynow iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/democracy-now!-audio/id73802554 Daily Email Digest: https://democracynow.org/subscribe Sign up for our Daily News Digest today! She revealed the dirty tricks on the UN Iraq war vote to the world. KATHARINE GUN: It was a full nine to 10 months after the event. Yes, in 2003, Gun was working for British intelligencethats GCHQ, the intelligence agency similar to the NSA, the National Security Agencywhen she leaked a memo revealing the United States was collaborating with Britain in collecting sensitive information to hold over U.N. Security Council members to get them to support the Iraq War. AMY GOODMAN: So, but talk about this, your argument to the editors. It was directed by Gavin Hood and the cast comprises Matt Smith, Indira Varma, Rhys Ifans, MyAnna Buring, Jack Farthing, Jeremy Northam, Tamsin Grieg and Conleth Hill. I mean, what are you doing here? MARTIN BRIGHT: Was one of the six nations. Real Life Heroes Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. When Katharine blew the secret off the American-British spy efforts in 2003, her husband was thrown into troubled waters, which few people knew. And yeah, it was just a request from the NSA tofor GCHQ to assist them in bugging the domestic and office communications of the six U.N. Security Council delegates. So, I called him and asked him if he could do anything to help track down Frank Koza, or the reality or otherwise of this individual. Robbie Robertson Reflects on His Legendary Rock Career, Iraq War Whistle Blower Katharine Gun Shares Her Story, Jack Goldsmith Discusses the Limits of Executive Power, + Major support for Amanpour and Company is provided by the Anderson Family Charitable Fund, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim, III, Candace King Weir, Jim Attwood and Leslie Williams, Mark J. Blechner, Seton J. Melvin, Bernard and Denise Schwartz, Koo and Patricia Yuen, the Leila and Mickey Straus Family Charitable Trust, Barbara Hope Zuckerberg, Jeffrey Katz and Beth Rogers, the Filomen M. DAgostino Foundation and. It isn't a crime, it's a responsibility.". MARTIN BRIGHT: The paperthe editorial line was supporting the war, but obviously there were those of us within the paper who didnt. AMY GOODMAN: Twenty-seven years old, working for thewell, for British intelligence. And he had told me over two meetings, A, we know that Saddam Hussein has no weapons of mass destruction. The diplomats were due to vote on a second United . GAVIN HOOD: So, yes, tremendous amount of pressure coming down on these countries, because if Blair and Bush had been able to get that U.N. resolution for the invasion, the weapons of mass destruction issue would have been almost pretty much irrelevant, because theres two legal ways to go to war. KATHARINE GUN: When I saw this email asking GCHQs help to bug the six swing nations to gather a vote for war with Iraq, I was very angry at first and very saddened that it had come to this, and that despite all the talk from both Tony Blair and George Bush about how important it was to get the U.N. on board and to legitimize any kind of aggression, that they were actually going around it in such low-handed manner. Iraq War was in March. On Tuesday, it was her turn to be questioned. Yasar's wife is a British linguist who worked as a translator for the GCHQ, Government Communications Headquarters. But, in 2003, when she came across an email suggesting that the United States and the U.K . Gavin, who worked on the screenplay and is the director. The message requested Katharine's assistance in co-ordinating an illegal US-UK spy operation which would secure UN authorisation for the Iraq invasion. The following Monday, she walked out of work, a printed copy of the email folded up and hidden in her handbag. Several weeks later she was surprised to see the email she had printed out on the front page of a newspaper. Jack Goldsmith, former head of the Office of Legal Counsel under President George W. Bush, discusses the limits of executive power with Christiane Amanpour. As of 2020, Gun and her husband Yasar live in both Turkey and Britain. AMY GOODMAN: Wll, this is the key, absolutely astounding moment. A year after she walked down the aisle, Ross gave birth to their only child, Cleo Rose, on September 17, 1984, in Malibu, California. In 2003, Katharine Gun exposed a plot by U.S. security officials to spy on United Nations members as they ramped up pressure to secure a resolution to go to war with Iraq, and she leaked the classified memo to The Observer newspaper. Yasar Gun is the husband of a British whistleblower, Katharine Gun, who revealed top-secret information. And then they changed their headline, from Condi Rice orders operation at the NSA and GCHQ to British newspaper prints fake memo.. She was angered by how nonchalant the email was in asking GCHQ to carry out an illegal operation but she didnt know what to do. There were a million people in the streets, the Parliamentary Labour party was in revolt, cabinet ministers were resigning; there might be regime change in Britain before it happened in Iraq. Your email address will not be published. Katharine Gun. At the time, I was really focused on the Iraq invasion issue, Gun told Vanity Fair this month, ahead of the August 30 premiere of Official Secrets, an intelligence thriller recounting this terrifying chapter of her life and starring Keira Knightley. KATHARINE GUN: Well, it was a memo from a chap called Frank Koza, who worked at the NSA. The ripple effect from that initial invasion is continually being felt in worldwide institutions, in the U.S. and the U.K. Nobody really has been held responsible for it, and the fact remains that the nation of Iraq is still very much traumatized by what happened. This is Katharines story were talking about, but there is a back story in the film, which plays its part, which is mine, and Ill be quick on this. She was the real-life translator who photocopied . The British governments own lawyers were afraid that without specific UN authorization, the war might be illegal; British soldiers could even be prosecuted for war crimes. Jack Bonneau: Young Entrepreneur Net Worth And Age- His Parents Name Explored, Nancy Cimino Cause of Death, Bio, Family and Chris Cimino, Bobby OJay Net Worth, Real Name, Wedding Pictures, Wife Picture, How Much Money Does Martin Milner Make? But, in 2003, when she came across an email suggesting that the United States and the U.K. governments were intending to blackmail members of the United Nations to authorize an invasion of Iraq, Gunthen just 28felt morally obligated to leak the letter. Katharine wonders whether the powers that be just didn't want an ex-GCHQ employee with all she knew to be cross-examined on the stand. In February 2003, Britain and the US began pushing for a new resolution that would give Saddam a month to disarm or face war. "We just kept waiting in this state of limbo, a constant cloud over my head," she explains. Thanks so much for joining us. KATHARINE GUN: Detective, I dont object to being asked to collect information that could help prevent a terror attack. Martin Bright, youre able to move forward with this story. AMY GOODMAN: That was a clip from Official Secrets. It is based on the whistleblowing investigation by Katharine Gun and Martin Bright. You've never seen war, you've never smelled it! What do you do? This presented a problem. These worries crystalized when GCHQ sent her to San Diego for a conference and she was invited on to an American aircraft carrier. And also, the memo itself contained language that was consistent with intelligence service language, so we had experts look at that, as well. You think this is real, but you do have to track it down. Because I have processed it now, and Im probably a lot more clear in my thinking, explained Gun, who met with Knightley before filming. That level of pressure, stress and attention took its toll. "It worries me, it should worry us all. I do not gather intelligence so the government can lie to the British people. KATHARINE GUN: [played by Keira Knightley] I translated signals intelligence, and I reported anything of interest to my clients. In 2003, Katharine Gun exposed a plot by U.S. security officials to spy on United Nations members as they ramped up pressure to secure a resolution to go to war with Iraq, and she leaked the . But we werewithin The Observer, AMY GOODMAN: Of course, thats the time you should run the fastest to the editor, but. Maybe reporters decided it was a fake, Katharine thought; maybe she'd just entirely misjudged its significance. Ezra Millers Messiah Delusions: Inside. Her story was adapted into the film Official Secrets in 2019. She went home and stewed about the email for the whole weekend. Required fields are marked *. KATHARINE GUN: And then I mailed it to a contact, who then passed it on to a journalist, who then passed it on to Martin Bright. . 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