Chilcot enquiry.Thoughts on how it will read?

[keg]

Maybe if we had a European army all of these individual actions would be history?

Or we would be setting ourselves up for bigger problems. There is a lack of ownership in the EU as it is, can you imagine what it would be like if something like this occurred? It would be a big "pass the parcel"

[Konnie]

Such a bad thing the loss of lives...

 

But if we step out of the box and look in WAR is one of the biggest businesses if not the biggest, on the planet, it's good for some of these countries, a calm world is not good business, some times they are just the supplier of the arms, sometimes they have to create conflict. This one just got spotted.

[wymberley]

So, if I get stopped on the way to Tesco because I was doing 35 in a 30mph limit and PC Plod finds my knife which I forgotten to take out of the back of the truck along with a few rounds of ammo all I have to do is to say, "I'm very sorry, Officer", and he's going to say, "That's OK, as long as you've learned from it that'll be fine".

 

No, I don't think so.

[keg]

Blair is an actor pure and simple, combined with a snake oil salesman.

 

Listen to his voice, when he wants to talk "to the people" he puts in glottal stops and drops his Ts and Hs. When he talks to the enquiry, he goes back to his "educated" voice.

[norfolk dumpling]

Blair's a very skilful (and slimy) character and I hope to god there is sufficient in this report to get him into court. Let us not forget his cronies wrecked our economy - again following USA's lead - and introduced the hunting act. Blair took the day off when it was voted in as her probably knew it was a disaster.

[Scully]

I can't recall who it was now, but back in the time of new labour a reporter was asked what he thought was the secret to Blairs oratory skills, and answered that once you've learnt to fake sincerity you've got it cracked, and that no one could fake sincerity like Blair.

I think he may have been right.

[m3vert]

On another note I'm not much of a conspiracy theorist but anyone think it odd that regardless what you may or may not think of Jeremy Corbin, that all Blair's old pals have tried to overthrow him before the chilcot enquiry was published, what with Corbin implying that he would see Blair prosecuted if the enquiry showed he'd lied

Nail on the head there fella!! It certainly appeared that way to me, Bliars old mates rallying around him to try and bin Corbyn before the Chilcot report was published. Like or loathe his policies Corbyn seems an honest and honorable man, something we do not see much of in UK politics these days. I hope he calls for Bliars head and that Bliar does get held accountable, sadly I do not think I will live to see the day a PM is held accountable for taking his country, wrongly, to war. However until that does happen, where is the worry for them getting it wrong again in the future? You notice its never their lives or their Sons that are in danger!!

As an officer in the fire service, if I make a bad call, with the intelligence I have (gathered at the scene in seconds, and usually under extremely stressful conditions) and I get it wrong and god forbid someone dies from my crew because of my lack of judgment/control. I don't get to say "I express more sorrow, regret and apology than you can ever believe" to the wife/husband/parents of those killed, then hop off back home to my mansion and decide how to spend my millions! I get held accountable if I cock up, and rightly so. So why does a man making the call to send our troops into battle not get held accountable when he is proven to have screwed up? I know hindsight is a great thing, something's are excusable in the heat of the moment, not fully briefing your cabinet is a deliberate omission. What else did he lie about???

[scolopax]

Both my Grandfathers served in WW2 and neither spoke a great deal about it, even when facing probably endless questions by a fascinated young grandson, but they both said more or less the same thing, war is a dirty horrible business and people get killed on both sides.

 

The British army went into Iraq no doubts with the best of intentions to fight a just and noble war. But when the hornets nest of the various sectarian factions of the populace was stirred up and it became a counter insurgency operation the Goverment should have let them fight with the gloves totally off, or got them out of there completely. I cannot completely blame the government of the time, the media, the courts and most of all public opinion were all also responsible for making our armed forces fight with one arm tied behind its back. The rules of engagement and also the publics abhorrence of military casualties prohibited the kind of actions which would have been neccessary to pacify the insurgency and win the peace.

 

God knows how this nation would fair if it had to fight a major war.

 

Apart from the hunting act I quite liked Blair as PM it wa his MP,s I could not stand.

[oowee]

Both my Grandfathers served in WW2 and neither spoke a great deal about it, even when facing probably endless questions by a fascinated young grandson, but they both said more or less the same thing, war is a dirty horrible business and people get killed on both sides.

 

The British army went into Iraq no doubts with the best of intentions to fight a just and noble war. But when the hornets nest of the various sectarian factions of the populace was stirred up and it became a counter insurgency operation the Goverment should have let them fight with the gloves totally off, or got them out of there completely. I cannot completely blame the government of the time, the media, the courts and most of all public opinion were all also responsible for making our armed forces fight with one arm tied behind its back. The rules of engagement and also the publics abhorrence of military casualties prohibited the kind of actions which would have been neccessary to pacify the insurgency and win the peace.

 

God knows how this nation would fair if it had to fight a major war.

 

Apart from the hunting act I quite liked Blair as PM it wa his MP,s I could not stand.

The moment we loose the rule of law we are all lost even in a theatre of war.

[old man]

I detest Blair, but he really is untouchable. I almost found myself sympathising when he turned on the waterworks.

LS

 

Nearly made me vomit, a well rehearsed scenario no doubt?

 

Lets face it he had long enough (years) to rehearse his responses?

 

i thank him for his actions every day.

[old man]

I detest Blair, but he really is untouchable. I almost found myself sympathising when he turned on the waterworks.

LS

 

Nearly made me vomit, a well rehearsed scenario no doubt?

 

Lets face it he had long enough (years) to rehearse his responses?

[ditchman]

if "they" can prove Blair and his "sofa" cronies......sexed up the investigation reports done by the inspectors....(also inc Dr Kelly).......then he should be a very worried man....imagine spending the next few years waking up in the morning...knowing that your day ahead will be nothing else than preparing for the time when you go to court or even The Haigue..........it will consume you 24/7...you will think of nothing else.........

[rodp]

Do you think the report was held back to give Blair time to accumulate wealth, knowing he was done for after it came out?

[hawkfanz]

i know this about tb and iraq but corbyn has been mentioned,so has any one else seen the article about corbyn being paid by iran state tv after the station was banned from the airwaves,for showing an item torturing a victim for a confession.

[12gauge82]

Do you think the report was held back to give Blair time to accumulate wealth, knowing he was done for after it came out?

My guess is it was partly held up as Blair will have vigorously fought anything in the report that criticised him at every step of the way.

[Vince Green]

if "they" can prove Blair and his "sofa" cronies......sexed up the investigation reports done by the inspectors....(also inc Dr Kelly).......then he should be a very worried man....imagine spending the next few years waking up in the morning...knowing that your day ahead will be nothing else than preparing for the time when you go to court or even The Haigue..........it will consume you 24/7...you will think of nothing else.........

My take is that Blair is a very vain man and waking up every day knowing that Chilcot report is simply out there will be enough to destroy him from the inside. How many books are going to follow over the years? how many interviewers are going to ask him about it every day?, he will be defined by it

 

When he dies even his obituary will be full of it, this is his page in history and he knows it

[Gordon R]

When he dies even his obituary will be full of it, this is his page in history and he knows it

 

 

An astute observation.

 

Realistically, does anyone think he will ever see the inside of a court? Personally, I think he will avoid the Hague, our own Criminal Courts, but might end up in a Civil Court.

[Zapp]

Another thing that has been said it was the MODs fault the top people in the army did not listen to the when the men wanted better equipment so they did not even ask the government for extra money or people its the old stiff upper lip rubbish.

 

I'd say it had more to do with the senior ranks of the military being loaded with yes men than anything else.

[chris1961]

Teflon Tony

[Gordon R]

I picked this speech from one of the newspapers. In fairness to Tony Blair, it puts a different slant on things:-

As Prime Minister during the period where UK forces invaded Iraq, I do not try to shirk my share of the responsibility for its unforeseen consequences.

But I must ask in reply: where were these Middle East policy experts telling me that military action was a terrible idea back in 2003?

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. But back then, with the unexpected triumph of Girls Aloud’s first single riding high in the charts, no voice was raised against it.

The cabinet was united. British intelligence unanimously agreed that Saddam Hussain was an immediate threat to the UK. The UN security council spoke, for once, as one.

And the people of Britain – the people who gathered in their hundreds of thousands in the streets of London to say ‘We back you, Tony Blair’ – were behind me every step of the way.

If there had been a lone weapons inspector, country, or newspaper who had opposed the war, casting doubt on the universal consensus that weapons of mass destruction were ready to fire on Britain in 45 minutes, then perhaps things would have been different.

But if any had such fears they kept them very much to themselves.

So when people ask me, ‘Are you to blame for Isis and Syria?’ I reply, ‘No, you are’.

And if that doesn’t work, I blame Bush.

 

[Danger-Mouse]

 

And the people of Britain – the people who gathered in their hundreds of thousands in the streets of London to say ‘We back you, Tony Blair’ – were behind me every step of the way.

 

Yeah ok Tony

 

 

Tony Blair blasted the biggest protest march in British history as 'fatuous' in a memo to George W Bush days after the UK and US launched the Iraq War.

[12gauge82]

Brilliant DM. Blairs arrogance is beyond belief

[Gordon R]

Danger-Mouse - the speech is from the Daily Mash.

[Danger-Mouse]

Danger-Mouse - the speech is from the Daily Mash.

 

I was confused there for a moment, thought you meant mine.

 

I see now.

 

Still it wouldn`t surprise me if he tried to put a revisionist spin on it.

[JDog]

I haven't finished reading it yet.