The Chilcot Report, which was the result of seven years of diligent inquiry about the Iraq war, came out with the following conclusions:
· The decision to invade was taken “before the peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted” and Military action was “not a last resort”; that means it was not a just war.
· Saddam posed no “imminent threat”. In effect, he declared the war needless
· The Iraq decision rested on flawed intelligence. · Blair and his ministers should have challenged what they were told but did not.
· The planning for post-invasion Iraq was “wholly inadequate”, the consequences “underestimated” and Soldiers were sent into harm’s way with insufficient equipment.
This is a damning indictment of Tony Blair and his government. But let us not forget large parts of the British establishment were baying for this war. The Tories, the Labour Party, the Press (with the exception of the Daily Mirror, Daily Mail and the Guardian) and large sections of the population. We must not forget the 182 Members of Parliament who voted against the resolution in the Commons. Among the political parties, the Liberal Democrats were the only party to oppose the war.
Dhiraj Kataria
By email
