On 18th November The Chilcot Inquiry was asked by 6 UK citizens to investigate whether grave breaches had been committed by Blair, his Ministers and “Kitchen Cabinet” between 2003 – 2009 under the Geneva and Hague Conventions, in order to uphold The United Nations Charter.
This means that the Chilcot Inquiry is now the de facto instrument of the United Kingdom as High Contracting Party to these Conventions under Article 146 of 1949 Geneva Convention IV. The Inquiry will be before the scrutiny of the citizens of the UK. http://www.iraqinquirydigest.org/
wonder how day one was .... must go and read and keep this thread current
"""Perhaps the most striking quote came right at the end, when Sir Roderic (who could turn out to be a wild card) asked a simple question.
“In terms of military threat, was Saddam and his regime in a cage?” he asked.
“Yes,” replied Sir William.
Saddam’s armed forces were being contained, albeit very imperfectly, through a mixture of no-fly zones, sanctions and UN work on weapons inspection.
True to form, the MoD’s Webb tried to ‘hawk-up’ the answer of this FCO colleague, suggesting that actually when you took into account the threat posed by WMD then it was all more complicated. But the simple answer to a simple question had already slipped out.
Not a bad way to round off a largely flat, opening day. """"
A public inquiry into the UK's role in the Iraq war has opened, with former civil servants first to appear in hearings that will climax with Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, taking the stand.
One-time senior officials from the foreign and defence ministries outlined Britain's policy towards Baghdad in early 2000, as the five-member committee began its investigation on Tuesday.
John Chilcot, the inquiry chairman and a former civil servant, said he was confident of producing a "full and insightful" account of the decision-making that led Britain to join the 2003 invasion against strong opposition at home and abroad.
The inquiry will also look into the justification for the war, principally the claim that Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi president, had weapons of mass destruction. These weapons were never found.
Among the first witnesses called on Tuesday was Peter Ricketts, who chaired the government's senior intelligence committee between 2000 and 2001 before taking a senior post at the Foreign Office (FCO) between 2001 and 2003.
He told the panel that before the war Britain had hoped for a strengthened policy of containment that had been in place since the 1991 Gulf war, reducing the threat posed by Iraq through sanctions, weapons inspections and security measures. *********************************************************************************** Analysts have said the inquiry is incapable of addressing the key issue of whether the invasion was legal, because of a lack of lawyers and judges on its six-member committee.
An unnamed senior judge told The Guardian newspaper that analysing the war's legality was beyond the committee's competence.
UK: CHILCOT INQUIRY ASKED TO CONSIDER WAR CRIMES
AntwortenLöschen2009-11-19 | PRESS RELEASE
On 18th November The Chilcot Inquiry was asked by 6 UK citizens to investigate whether grave breaches had been committed by Blair, his Ministers and “Kitchen Cabinet” between 2003 – 2009 under the Geneva and Hague Conventions, in order to uphold The United Nations Charter.
This means that the Chilcot Inquiry is now the de facto instrument of the United Kingdom as High Contracting Party to these Conventions under Article 146 of 1949 Geneva Convention IV. The Inquiry will be before the scrutiny of the citizens of the UK.
http://www.iraqinquirydigest.org/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/defence/6625415/Iraq-report-Secret-papers-reveal-blunders-and-concealment.html
Iraq report: Secret papers reveal blunders and concealment
The “appalling” errors that contributed to Britain’s failure in Iraq are disclosed in the most detailed and damning set of leaks to emerge on the conflict.
Iraq report: Secret plans for war, no plans for peace
In the bitter aftermath of the Iraq invasion, Tony Blair was many times accused of sending British troops to war on a deceit.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/defence/6625534/Iraq-report-Secret-plans-for-war-no-plans-for-peace.html
I'm getting the impression from some of the UK press that it's seen generally as a bit toothless and nobody expects much by way of meaningful results?
AntwortenLöschenwonder how day one was .... must go and read and keep this thread current
AntwortenLöschen"""Perhaps the most striking quote came right at the end, when Sir Roderic (who could turn out to be a wild card) asked a simple question.
“In terms of military threat, was Saddam and his regime in a cage?” he asked.
“Yes,” replied Sir William.
Saddam’s armed forces were being contained, albeit very imperfectly, through a mixture of no-fly zones, sanctions and UN work on weapons inspection.
True to form, the MoD’s Webb tried to ‘hawk-up’ the answer of this FCO colleague, suggesting that actually when you took into account the threat posed by WMD then it was all more complicated. But the simple answer to a simple question had already slipped out.
Not a bad way to round off a largely flat, opening day. """"
A public inquiry into the UK's role in the Iraq war has opened, with former civil servants first to appear in hearings that will climax with Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, taking the stand.
AntwortenLöschenOne-time senior officials from the foreign and defence ministries outlined Britain's policy towards Baghdad in early 2000, as the five-member committee began its investigation on Tuesday.
John Chilcot, the inquiry chairman and a former civil servant, said he was confident of producing a "full and insightful" account of the decision-making that led Britain to join the 2003 invasion against strong opposition at home and abroad.
The inquiry will also look into the justification for the war, principally the claim that Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi president, had weapons of mass destruction.
These weapons were never found.
Among the first witnesses called on Tuesday was Peter Ricketts, who chaired the government's senior intelligence committee between 2000 and 2001 before taking a senior post at the Foreign Office (FCO) between 2001 and 2003.
He told the panel that before the war Britain had hoped for a strengthened policy of containment that had been in place since the 1991 Gulf war, reducing the threat posed by Iraq through sanctions, weapons inspections and security measures.
***********************************************************************************
Analysts have said the inquiry is incapable of addressing the key issue of whether the invasion was legal, because of a lack of lawyers and judges on its six-member committee.
An unnamed senior judge told The Guardian newspaper that analysing the war's legality was beyond the committee's competence.
******************************************************