Secret papers leaked to The Sunday Telegraph show that Tony Blair lied to parliament and the British people over the Iraq war.
He insisted throughout 2002 that no military action was being contemplated, whereas in fact the decision had been taken (probably by George W Bush) in February of that year for a full-scale invasion and for regime change. Needless to say, the need to conceal this information from parliament and from all but a tiny number of officials meant that the planning was, to put it mildly, constrained. As a result, the invasion was under-resourced and lacking in cohesion, which caused significant risk to troops and critical failure in the post war period.
According to the Telegraph, some troops went to war with as little as five bullets, some had to deploy on civilian aircraft carrying their kit as hand luggage. Needless to say some troops had their weapons confiscated by the airport security staff. No. I’m not making it up, and I doubt very much that The Sunday Telegraph is either. Noddy and Toytown are two words that come readily to mind. Shameful and diabolical are two others, perhaps more appropriate.
The operation was so badly planned that commanders noted that the communications system stopped working around midday, because of the heat, and somewhere in the desert was found a container load of skis... yes SKIS!
The papers leaked to The Sunday Telegraph include transcripts of interviews with Army Officers in which they vent their frustration with Ministers and Whitehall Officials. They are revealed on the eve of the Chilcot Inquiry into the war and its aftermath.
It seems to me that it will be rather difficult to whitewash this one as effectively as has been done with so many things in the past. I urge everyone to give the full article a read as there is a great deal more than I have mentioned above, particularly concerning the lack of planning for a post war strategy.
The disrespect that this government has shown to parliament, to the people, but worst of all to our troops is astounding. For that, if for nothing else, they must be removed at the next election.
It seems to me that it will be rather difficult to whitewash this one as effectively as has been done with so many things in the past.
ReplyDeleteIt's fairly common knowledge amongst anyone who takes an interest in Iraq that the war was fought on the basis of the US need to control the Persian Gulf oil producing nations.
The, "Weapons of Mass Destruction", in Iraq that were about to be deployed in 45 minutes to destroy the UK were a complete fiction and that has already been proven and published.
The WMD's were never specified because then the populace could ask relevant questions such as are the WMD's nuclear, chemical or biological and since Iraq never built a nuclear power station or had biological weapon research stations or chemicals left after the UN inspectors had been round or rockets to deliver anything further than a nuclear armed Israel how was Iraq a threat to us?
Leaving the phrase as, "WMD", allowed the populace's imagination to run riot and turned Saddam Hussein into a powerful Doctor Evil in the public imagination.
I think it will be proven that Blair lied, that the war was fought on a fiction and that it was done to give legitimacy to the desire of the US to control all oil reserves in the Gulf through threats or force but I don't think it will make a blind bit of difference. The bulk of the electorate in this country don't seem to care much on issues beyond domestic taxes and public services.
Yes, Doug, you've pretty well summed it up.
ReplyDeleteI think however that the electorate don't much care to see their fellow citizens sent to war in order to let Blair big himslef up with the president of America.
There's may be enough dislike of Blair personally for at least a pretty full condemnation of Blair's part in this. Hopefully he will go down in history as a liar and a cheat, a war monger and at least partially responsible for the murder of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi citizens.
There are, thankfully, many discerning citizens in this country. People who were never fooled by Blair, who knew the invasion of Iraq was a mistake, who were never taken in by the WMD lies. People who marched up and down the country to make clear that the invasion was 'not in our name'
ReplyDeleteBlair may fanny around the world for many years, pretending to be an elder statesman, masquerading as a 'peace envoy' while all the time the stain and stench of his murderous actions will follow him and will inform everyone he meets. Hi is Captain Ahab writ large.
Inquiries will come and go, but the truth remains. We should never have gone in there, and Blair has weakened this country and our position in the world for many years to come, and he knows it.
Yes Sophia, you're right.
ReplyDeleteIf he had been a Balkan leader who had done this, and not America's right hand man, what would have happened?
Maybe it's a bit small minded of me, but I'd like to see him punished.
The punishment must fit the crime, as Ko-ko the Grand High Executioner once said.
ReplyDeleteFrankly I can't think of a punishment fit for Blair, and I have been trying to think of one for six years! The world's problem now is that when a new 'Balkan leader' comes along, wherever in the world he appears, we have no moral authority left with which to challenge him or her.
And let's not forget who bankrolled the invasion, while bankrupting his own country. Old Pa Broon. The Labour party is a War Party. Their politics leads to the deaths of innocent people abroad and the misery of people at home.
That's very true. If the punishment fits the crime here, there wouldn't be much left of Blair.
ReplyDeleteThey have spread their misery far and wide. It will be a good day for everyone when they are consigned to the dustbin.
But they won't go easy. They like power too much. Look forward to 6 months of dirty dealings. Any party who can happily claim responsibility for hundreds of thousands of deaths and the complete mutilation of a country is capable of anything.