All in the breeding

READERS of this column may remember that I revealed last month that David Manning, a top civil servant involved in planning the Iraq war, was joining Lockheed, the massive arms firm who profited from the war.

Manning was Blair's foreign policy adviser and helped him get Britain into the war, even though leaked memos show that he knew that the WMD "case was thin."

This story was a world exclusive, but some of you may have noticed that the story has not been picked up anywhere else. This is because Manning is trying to hush up his Lockheed deal.

News of his association with the firm came through papers released by the advisory committee on business appointments, a board that advises top civil servants on whether there is anything sleazy about their new jobs.

However, the committee has withdrawn those papers "with apologies" to Manning, saying that they were published following "miscommunication at official level."

The committee cannot comment further, but I can tell you that this means that Manning did seek clearance from the committee for his Lockheed jobs but is not ready to announce them yet - the committee only normally releases its advice after the appointments have become public knowledge.

Some official confusion meant that the Manning advice was released too soon. It may be that Manning has since decided not to take up the jobs.

However, as the committee cleared the new jobs without argument, this seems unlikely. Of course, it may be that Manning was worried that the press would attack his new job, but unfortunately I am not sure that condemnation from the Morning Star would be enough to shift a man who was willing to plan a war he apparently knew was based on untruths.

So, the most likely explanation is that he is just biding his time. Remember, you read about his new job here first.

Lockheed is very excited about the sales generated by its involvement in Manning's war and it has published a special brochure on its contribution to Operation Iraqi Freedom which says that it was "at the forefront contributing weapon systems" to the Iraq war.

This included planes, missiles and targeting systems from F-16 jets to the ground-based "multiple launch rocket system."

This is a modern version of Stalin's Organ, the Soviet lorry with a brace of missile launchers on the back.

Lockheed tells us that its rocket launcher sends a "ripple" of missiles to destroy the "enemy." Lockheed also proudly notes that it actually started the war.

One of theirs, a "stealthy F-117 nighthawk" plane, "opened the allied operation with a strike aimed as Saddam Hussein's leadership." Lockheed does not say that this "strike" completely missed its target and instead killed scores of civilians eating in a restaurant.

Manning is used to mixing with Lockheed.

After 2003, Manning became Britain's ambassador to Washington and the honorary chairman of the British American Business Association.

This group gave Manning a lavish black tie farewell dinner when he retired last year. Lockheed was a "gold sponsor" of the event. Other sponsors of Manning's dinner included arms firms BAE, Raytheon and EDS, all of which also made money by helping take lives in Iraq.

So, the arms industry has been feting and celebrating Manning for some years now.

They are obviously attracted to his fine British mind - Manning was educated at Ardingley college, a public school with a strong Christian ethos, and Oriel College, Oxford.

He went on to serve in the Foreign Office for three decades. Only a man with this intellectual preparation could know that, according to leaked memos, "the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy" in Iraq and still help drive the scheme forward.

The Buzz of a knighthood

SOME of the men who helped run the Iraq war have not done as well as David Manning.

In 2006, the Queen gave an honorary knighthood to US air force general T Michael "Buzz" Moseley for "contributions to international relations," meaning his role helping to bomb Iraq and Afghanistan.

The US establishment loves these royal trinkets even more than their British cousins. The main political parties in the US are defined by their antagonism to the Queen.

The Republicans may believe in many bad causes, but they should at least be committed to republicanism, which began when settlers in America kicked out the Queen's predecessors. The Democrats' name, meanwhile, suggests that they should be interested in democracy, not royalty.

However, the US establishment is happy to forget these basic principles when baubles are on offer.

General Buzz became Sir Buzz, but his new title did not stop him making a mess that ended his career and almost destroyed a significant slice of the US.

In June, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates sacked the same General "Buzz" Moseley, because, in scenes reminiscent of Dr Strangelove, Buzz had allowed a B-52 bomber to fly six nuclear warheads across the US without telling the crew that the atom bombs were on board.

Not only did the crew fly around a nuclear-armed bomber without knowing about their deadly cargo but the bombs also went missing for days after the flight, causing panic in military circles.

Demanding General Buzz's job, Gates described the incident as "a significant failure" and "troubling."