According to Chilcot, “no imminent threat” justified war on Iraq, his conclusions saying:
“(T)he UK chose to join the invasion of Iraq before peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted. Military action at that time was not a last resort.”
“The judgments about the severity of the threat posed by Iraq’s (alleged) weapons of mass destruction – WMD – were presented with a certainty that was not justified.”
“Despite explicit warnings, the consequences of the invasion were underestimated. The planning and preparations for Iraq after Saddam Hussein were wholly inadequate.”
“The government failed to achieve its stated objective.”
No Nuremberg-style judgment followed nor will it, Chilcot merely “conclud(ing) that the circumstances in which it was decided that there was a legal basis for UK military action were far from satisfactory.”
Complicit with George Bush, Blair decided on war, not his government, legal advisors or ministers – based solely on geopolitical considerations, flagrantly violating international law.
He, Bush and their complicit officials waged naked aggression against a nonbelligerent country based on lies, damn lies and Big Lies – a media-supported drumbeat ahead of shock-and-awe devastation, followed by invasion, occupation, current violence and chaos at a cost of millions of civilian lives.
Blair remains defiant and duplicitous, turning truth on its head, saying Chilcot’s report “should lay to rest allegations of bad faith, lies and deceit.”
“Whether people agree or disagree with my decision to take military action against Saddam Hussein, I took it in good faith and in what I believed to be the best interests of the country.”
Short of apologizing for complicity in committing mass slaughter and destruction, he merely said “I will take full responsibility for any mistakes (sic) without exception or excuse.”
Hard facts contradict his claiming Saddam’s “remov(al)” isn’t “the cause of terrorism…in the Middle East or elsewhere…”
“(E)xpress(ing) profound regret at the loss of life (of British soldiers and) grief it has caused the families is standard hegemonic practice:
Wage war based on lies and deception. Then apologize to grieving families, ignoring ones in countries attacked and horrors of current aggression elsewhere.
On July 6, coincidentally with Chilcot’s publication, the White House was silent. State Department press releases covered a surprising 16 separate topics – nothing on Chilcot.
When asked to comment, spokesman admiral John Kirby refused to address its findings, saying “(t)hat’s really for the government of the UK to talk to, and I’m certainly not going to relitigate the decisions that led to the Iraq war here from the podium in July of 2016. I’m just not going to do that.”
“(W)e’re not going to make a judgment one way or the other about this report…We’re not going to go through it.”
“We’re not going to examine it. We’re not going to try to do an analysis of it or make a judgment of the findings one way or the other.”
He tried shifting focus to Syria and Washington claiming to help (sic) prime minister Abadi “do the things he needs to do in Iraq and to defeat (US-supported) Daesh.
War on Iraq, of course, was planned and orchestrated long before Washington launched it in March 2003 along with Britain and other “coalition” partners.
Blair signed on early. In a July 28, 2002 memo to Bush, he said “I will be with you, whatever.” Claiming removing Saddam from power was “the right thing to do” omitted explaining why war was waged in the first place.
It’s part of Anglo-Zionist aims for regional dominance, eliminating independent governments, puppet regimes replacing them, and controlling the region’s immense hydrocarbon resources.
What Chilcot didn’t explain matters more than what was covered in 12 volumes.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected].
His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.” http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.
Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.
