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catman
Joined: 18 Jul 2004
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 Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 6:50 pm Post subject: Chilcot report: Tony Blair's Iraq War case not justified |
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Tony Blair overstated the threat posed by Saddam Hussein, sent ill-prepared troops into battle and had "wholly inadequate" plans for the aftermath, the UK's Iraq War inquiry has said.
Chairman Sir John Chilcot said the 2003 invasion was not the "last resort" action presented to MPs and the public.
There was no "imminent threat" from Saddam - and the intelligence case was "not justified", he said.
Mr Blair apologised for any mistakes made but not the decision to go to war.
The report, which has taken seven years, is on the Iraq Inquiry website.
Prime Minister David Cameron, who voted for war in 2003, told MPs it was important to "really learn the lessons for the future" and to improve the workings of government and how it treats legal advice.
And he added: "Sending our brave troops on to the battlefield without the right equipment was unacceptable and, whatever else we learn from this conflict, we must all pledge this will never happen again."
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn - who voted against military action - said the report proved the Iraq War had been an "act of military aggression launched on a false pretext", something he said which has "long been regarded as illegal by the overwhelming weight of international opinion".
After meeting relatives of British service people killed in Iraq, Mr Corbyn said: "I now apologise sincerely on behalf of my party for the disastrous decision to go to war."
He urged the UK to back moves to give the International Criminal Court "the power to prosecute those responsible for the crime of military aggression".
A spokesman for some of the families of the 179 British service personnel and civilians killed in Iraq between 2003 and 2009 said their loved ones had died "unnecessarily and without just cause and purpose".
He said all options were being considered, including asking those responsible for the failures identified in the report to "answer for their actions in the courts if such process is found to be viable".
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Plain Meaning
Joined: 18 Oct 2014
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| Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2016 10:22 pm Post subject: |
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In a statement to the media, his voice at times cracking with emotion, the former Labour prime minister said the decision to commit troops was the "most agonising and momentous" decision in his decade as prime minister, adding that he would "carry it with me for the rest of my days".
"I feel deeply and sincerely in a way that no words can properly convey the grief and sorrow of those who lost ones they loved in Iraq - whether our armed forces, the armed forces of other nations or Iraqis.
"The intelligence assessments made at the time of going to war turned out to be wrong, the aftermath turned out to be more hostile, protracted and bloody than ever we imagined.... and a nation whose people we wanted to set free from the evil of Saddam became instead victims of sectarian terrorism.
"For all of this, I express more sorrow, regret and apology than you may ever know or can believe." |
Meanwhile, George W. Bush has taken up painting. Now, imagine if Obama had decided to arrange a war inquiry. Would we still be facing Trump? (Yeah, probably so). |
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