THE CHILCOT INQUIRY

IT’S heartbreaking when we consider that for all the inquiries we’ve had before today’s Chilcot Report, none of them, despite the millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money that had been spent on them, got anywhere near today’s findings. Sir John Chilcot delivers what must be presumed a very accurate and incisive critique of Tony Blair and his government. It is heart-wrenching in contemplating what the families of the 179 British service personnel killed have gone through, some 13 years since the initial invasion was made. The Chilcot Report contains more than 29.5 million words, contained within thousands of pages.

• The Iraq Inquiry Report

Recommended Reading:

• (Guardian) Veterans’ families push for Blair to face trial over Iraq
• (Guardian) Tony Blair’s statement on Chilcot – what he said and what he meant
• (Guardian) Circumstances of decision to invade Iraq were ‘far from satisfactory’
• Editorial – The Guardian view on the Chilcot report: a country ruined, trust shattered, a reputation trashed

COMMENT

It’s worth highlighting, as the editor has done, that under Saddam Hussein Iraq had contained the various disparate groups. Only after the US-UK invasion of Iraq, and the removal of the Iraqi despot, did we start witnessing the emergence of various extremist groups, the most brutal of which has been Islamic State. The lifting of the lid has allowed fundamentalists to flourish with an increased risk of terrorism to most, if not all, western states. Mr Blair’s decision to wage war in Iraq in 2003 has left a deep scar across the Middle East, with tensions between Sunni and Shia Muslims at an all-time high. The de-Ba’athication of Iraq added fuel to an already powerful burning fire. Western intervention in Iraq has much to answer for.

Yet, we are faced with a lingering question of where do we go from here? International and renowned legal experts, such as the eminent Geoffrey Robertson QC, argue that placing Mr Blair before the International Criminal Court in The Hague is a ‘legal impossibility’. He argues, along with others from his profession, that the Chilcot Report is advisory and should be used as a mechanism by which any future government thinking of waging war takes its cue. That will be painful for the families of the 179 British personnel killed during the Iraq conflict.

There is talk, however, that private prosecutions may now follow. Although claims would be settled by the Ministry of Defence (and not Tony Blair) some form of restitution and recompense is still possible. Perhaps the basis of any future claim would be on the assumption that the intelligence relied upon in waging war was so fundamentally flawed that no British soldier should ever have been committed in fighting such an unnecessary war in the first place.

– a copy of this comment, albeit slightly amended, was posted to Guardian Live, 07 July 2016 at 10:25 am

Excerpt:

The Economist: ‘Iraq’s Grim Lessons’, July 6 2016

“Mr Blair never had any doubts that the intelligence assessments of Iraq’s WMD and missile programmes were accurate. The belief that the Iraqi regime had chemical and biological weapons, was determined to preserve and enhance them, and had developed sophisticated methods of concealment was deeply ingrained.”