Ten Years On: Endless War?
Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller I read with interest the article "Ten Years On: Endless War?" by Lindsey German and there are some points which I feel need to be highlighted, in the interest of establishing clarity over the question of Iraq. While people are debating the tenth anniversary since the Iraq invasion, it is often forgotten that …
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Ignore Blair's lust for war
Labour leader Ed Miliband should closely examine the views put forward by Tony Blair in a recent TV interview, and have nothing to do with them. Blair, who has hoovered up a personal fortune of up to £60 million since stepping down as prime minister, was unapologetic about the military adventures into which he dragged Britain's armed forces. …
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Tony Blair Re-invents Himself
Even by the standards of a seemingly increasingly partisan British media, the decision to invite Tony Blair to Guest Edit the London Evening Standard on 27th June, the fifth anniversary of his leaving office was, well, bizarre. The Standard (established1827) gained early eminence for its detailed foreign news. Within little over forty years of its f…
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Blair to 're-engage' with politics
Since he left Downing Street almost five years ago, Tony Blair has been careful to avoid intervening in domestic controversies, preferring to concentrate on foreign affairs and his business interests. That could be about to change, amid signs that the former Prime Minister is turning his attention back to British politics. He has started meeting sm…
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Blair's made millions since quitting
Tony Blair is preparing a new push to re-enter British politics as he hires a new spin doctor to put a gloss on some of the criticism that has followed him since leaving Number 10. The former prime minister ‘has things to say’ and believes the time is right for him to make an impact on the home front after years in political exile. Mr Blair's is…
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New Iraq inquiry to open
The Iraq War will continue to cast a shadow over Britain in 2012, with one major public inquiry into the conflict reporting its findings and another due to begin. Campaigning lawyers are also seeking a further two inquiries with wide-ranging remits to investigate allegations that UK forces abused and unlawfully killed Iraqi civilians while they controlled p…
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Report Details British Abuses in Iraq
A major inquiry into the most notorious case of detainee abuse by British soldiers in Iraq described “a very great stain on the reputation of the army” in its report issued Thursday, detailing a series of gruesome abuses by servicemen in a regiment with a 300-year history of battle honors abroad. It concluded that one Iraqi, a 26-year-old hotel worker in Ba…
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Pre-war Iraq 'was no threat to UK'
Iraq posed no threat to the UK when then prime minister Tony Blair took Britain to war there, former MI5 boss Dame Eliza Manningham Buller has said. The one-time security service boss has spoken out about the conflict previously, revealing the reservations she had about it at the time.But in a new interview, she told the Radio Times: "Iraq did not p…
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The Traitor of Baghdad
On the 15th February 2011, the Guardian reported that Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi, code-named 'Curveball' by U.S. intelligence officials, admitted to fabricating knowledge of Saddam Hussein's alleged biological weapons program. Despite clear warnings from CIA officials, the Bush administration and the British Labour Government used Al-Janabi…
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Oil firms and the invasion of Iraq
Plans to exploit Iraq's oil reserves were discussed by government ministers and the world's largest oil companies the year before Britain took a leading role in invading Iraq, government documents show. The papers, revealed here for the first time, raise new questions over Britain's involvement in the war, which had divided Tony Blair's cab…
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One war criminal amongst many
Former British prime minister Tony Blair’s second appearance last week before the Chilcot inquiry into the lessons of the Iraq war again branded him as a war criminal. Blair was asked to return to the inquiry due to discrepancies between his earlier testimony, the documentary record, and other testimony such as that of his attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, …
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Blair must face trial
No-one should ever be amazed at the grotesque pretexts dreamed up by Tony Blair to justify the unjustifiable. Blair suggested to the Chilcot inquiry that he had disregarded attorney general Lord Goldsmith's initial legal advice on the planned invasion of Iraq because it was "provisional." However, the then prime minister didn't simply igno…
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Did Blair Lie Over Iraq?
While many are wishing to walk the plank at Chilcot and point the finger of blame over Britain’s actions inside of Iraq, its been noticed that few questions have been asked into the credibility of the evidence, that was initially provided and prompted the 2003 invasion. The main allegations given at the time, seemed to change each day, as every government a…
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Chilcot is a pageant, too late to matter
Did the earth move? Did your coffee cup shake and your corn flakes fly across the room? "Blair misled MPs on Iraq, says Goldsmith", screamed the headline. "PM shut me out of crucial discussions, says Goldsmith". Great heavens, the Chilcot inquiry is back from the realm of the undead, singing its ghostly chorus through Westminster. On Fr…
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