Despite a number of embarrassing political events over the past number of years, Great Britain still likes to regard itself as a forward-thinking, world-leading country and a force for good. Surveys show that the United Kingdom retains a great deal of positive sentiment around the world.

One historian whose work has done a great deal to shatter the myths of empire is Mark Curtis, who joins Alan MacLeod on the Mintcast today. Mark Curtis is a historian and journalist, the co-founder of Declassified UK, an investigative news website dedicated to scrutinizing the powerful.

Described by veteran journalist and filmmaker John Pilger as Britain’s greatest modern historian, Curtis has published a number of groundbreaking books. Among them are “Web of Deceit: Britain's Real Role in the World,” which exposes the fallacy that Britain is a force for democracy and human rights; “Unpeople: Britain's Secret Human Rights Abuses,” which catalogs the country’s imperial crimes up to the present; and “Secret Affairs: Britain's Collusion with Radical Islam,” which explores how the United Kingdom has supported radical and jihadist forces in the Middle East in order to topple secular, independent-minded governments.

Today Curtis lays out how Britain is playing a major role in the devastation in Yemen, funnelling weapons to Saudi Arabia, reloading its jets, and generally doing everything short of pulling the trigger itself. Britain is a major arms dealer around the world, and Saudi Arabia is by far its best customer, responsible for 49% of worldwide sales. The U.K. also plays a key role in propping up other Middle Eastern monarchies such as Qatar, which now operates two joint squadrons with the British Royal Air Force, making it an ever closer ally of London.

Curtis also strongly condemned the imprisonment of Australian publisher Julian Assange, who continues to be held under lock and key in London. Describing the case as a prime example of “imperial arrogance,” he claimed that Assange’s case should concern every member of the British public.

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Episode 50: Episode 50