Tony Blair at Chilcot Iraq inquiry
source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/blog/2011/jan/21/tony-blair-chilcot-iraq-inquiry-live
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- Mcellie
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The Guardian and other news sources are live blogging and analysing the second appearance by Tony Blair at the Chilcot inquiry.
At 8am before the questions started, the blog pointed out in Blairs' memoirs he stated he felt sick when appearing in front of the inquiry in January last year.
"If Blair felt last year's hearing was tricky, he may be feeling a lot more uncomfortable about what's going to happen today. Most observers felt that Chilcot and the four other members of his inquiry team gave Blair a rather easy ride last year. Today it is likely to be different."-Guardian
The inquiry was in the news this week after a decision not to publish memos between Blair and Bush, which talked about the war. The decision caused debate and criticism on if it was the right not to make the memos public. According to Blair it was a discussion over going down the UN route.
Some of the key points so far (from the liveblog):
Blair says the absence of an effective Iraqi civil service was partly to blame for the chaos after the war.
He strongly blames Iran and al-Qaida for what went wrong after the war.
Blair says he was entitled to ignore Lord Goldsmith's warning about war being illegal without a second UN resolution when he met Bush on 31 January 2003.
Blair denies offering George Bush a "blank cheque" in the private notes he sent to the US president.
Blair says many people in the US administration did not want Bush to go to the UN. Blair was trying to persuade him to take a radically different view. But he wanted Bush to know that Blair would be "with America in handling this".
For Bush, UN resolution 1441 represented a "huge compromise" for Bush and a "huge opportunity" for the international community
At 8am before the questions started, the blog pointed out in Blairs' memoirs he stated he felt sick when appearing in front of the inquiry in January last year.
"If Blair felt last year's hearing was tricky, he may be feeling a lot more uncomfortable about what's going to happen today. Most observers felt that Chilcot and the four other members of his inquiry team gave Blair a rather easy ride last year. Today it is likely to be different."-Guardian
The inquiry was in the news this week after a decision not to publish memos between Blair and Bush, which talked about the war. The decision caused debate and criticism on if it was the right not to make the memos public. According to Blair it was a discussion over going down the UN route.
Some of the key points so far (from the liveblog):
Blair says the absence of an effective Iraqi civil service was partly to blame for the chaos after the war.
He strongly blames Iran and al-Qaida for what went wrong after the war.
Blair says he was entitled to ignore Lord Goldsmith's warning about war being illegal without a second UN resolution when he met Bush on 31 January 2003.
Blair denies offering George Bush a "blank cheque" in the private notes he sent to the US president.
Blair says many people in the US administration did not want Bush to go to the UN. Blair was trying to persuade him to take a radically different view. But he wanted Bush to know that Blair would be "with America in handling this".
For Bush, UN resolution 1441 represented a "huge compromise" for Bush and a "huge opportunity" for the international community
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Dwayne_Dibbley
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So if/when it is decided that the invasion was illegal will he be tried for war crimes? as the rights and wrongs of deposing saddam are not the issue here and the inquiry is to decide if the war was justified then if the oucome is no it wasn't that surely makes him a war criminal.
- 1 year ago
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Dwayne_Dibbley
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iancheese
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Dwayne_Dibbley:
My friend,
I think we have to accept that the question of legalities will lead us nowhere; a path full of technicalities & jargon. Just let us hope that Blair & his cronies will have their just desserts, within our lifetime.
- 1 year ago
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iancheese
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iancheese
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I can't think that he himself actually believes what he is saying, that's the kind of bloke he is.
- 1 year ago
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iancheese
