The Grand Design?

The last day of January 2011 was a very interesting one at the Dudus COE AKA the Manatt COE:

• For the first salvo we were treated to vintage courtroom drama practised by the silks (QCs). Hugh Small Q.C. locked horns with K.D Knight Q.C., while Frank Phipps Q.C. and Winston Spalding Q.C. indulged in more esoteric interventions.
• Then the fact of the four memoranda took center stage.  The public still has no idea as to the contents.  Instead, the questions focused primarily on the whereabouts, the non-involvement of certain ministries and the usual procedures for such matters.
• For those oblivious to the objectives of this elaborate and detailed enquiry the grand design became evident in the last two questions posed to Ambassador Coye:
• Who was the Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time?
• Who was the Minister of National Security at the time?
• The moment, the pregnant pause and the audience's reaction were more important than the  answers given. Of course the questioner and other attorneys already knew the answer.
• This has to be assessed alongside the context that was painstakingly brought out in evidence.
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had no record of such memoranda; did not participate in its formulation, negotiation or implementation; and was totally ignorant of such until informed by representatives of the US government who refused GOJ request for copies.
• Furthermore there seems to be no record of such memoranda being discussed or ratified by the Cabinet and certainly the memoranda was not brought to Parliament.
• The impression gained is that such were the result of secret deals between the then Minister of National Security and US agencies involved in national security (read CIA, DEA, FBI).
• The stage has been set. Remember those graffiti markings appearing mysteriously and accusing Peter Phillips of being a "CIA agent" and "selling out Jamaica". Now, there is evidence that the records available seem to indicate that Phillips alone and not even his cabinet colleagues were involved or informed.
• That is not all.  If you want further evidence of the grand design then you should have watched CVM nightly news. Minister of Finance Audley Shaw gave notice that it is likely that the Manatt enquiry could "backfire" on the PNP - specifically Peter Phillips when certain information comes out making him regret having called for the COE.