tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post505892602596720076..comments2024-03-04T17:54:32.559+00:00Comments on Iain Dale's Diary: The Iraq Inquiry: Nothing But The Truth?Iain Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03270146219458384372noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-29084849318616313102009-07-31T20:26:44.653+01:002009-07-31T20:26:44.653+01:00Edward said:
'It was set up because many peopl...Edward said:<br />'It was set up because many people believed that the government should have taken action to prevent the invasion. There were numerous indications that the Argentines were preparing for it but the government turned a blind eye to them.'<br /><br /><br />I believe there was an accord set up by the Americans (allied to both UK and Argentina) to try and reconcile the differences and avoid conflict. As this meeting was about to take place, the General sent his troops in and the invasion took place.<br />I'm not sure you could claim that the UK government 'turned a blind eye'. <br />Rather, the beleaguered Argentinian dictatorship pulled a fast one in order to regain domestic popularity by stirring up nationalism with the use of the old wound of the Falkland Isles.Reednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-85244642311018031862009-07-31T18:14:15.303+01:002009-07-31T18:14:15.303+01:00Pity that David Kelly won't be there to chuck ...Pity that David Kelly won't be there to chuck the odd spanner into the proceedings' works.50 Calibrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04949487484030980699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-29151604397559369632009-07-31T18:11:37.514+01:002009-07-31T18:11:37.514+01:00"The Iraq Inquiry: Nothing But The Truth?&quo..."The Iraq Inquiry: Nothing But The Truth?"<br /><br />Dream on. It will be another Whitehall whitewash with arch war criminal Bliar trotting out the same old rubbish as he has done ever since he did what his buddy George F Bush told him what to do.<br /><br />Pathetic waste of even more taxpayer's money.50 Calibrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04949487484030980699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-45336379510227011032009-07-31T15:08:44.738+01:002009-07-31T15:08:44.738+01:00shock ...horror ..labour defense minister actuall...shock ...horror ..labour defense minister actually tells the truth ...<br /><br />that he's a retard <br /><br />http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1203382/We-failed-Armed-Forces-Iraq-Afghanistan-Defence-Secretary-Bob-Ainsworth-admits.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-54781278988270826482009-07-31T15:07:37.395+01:002009-07-31T15:07:37.395+01:00It should be under oath. Anything less is suspect....It should be under oath. Anything less is suspect.Dr Evilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00176521760477086914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-32706763870677379582009-07-31T14:53:22.731+01:002009-07-31T14:53:22.731+01:00The truth - or part of it - is already out in this...The truth - or part of it - is already out in this secret government memo of 23 July 2002 leaked to the press for publication on 1 May 2005:<br />http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article387374.ece<br /><br />The secret, UK eyes only memo includes this passage:<br /><br />"C [by tradition, the title of the head of MI6] reported on his recent talks in Washington. There was a perceptible shift in attitude. Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy. The NSC had no patience with the UN route, and no enthusiasm for publishing material on the Iraqi regime's record. There was little discussion in Washington of the aftermath after military action."<br /><br />The existence of this memo has never been officially denied.Bob Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-85350623588068409722009-07-31T11:47:04.436+01:002009-07-31T11:47:04.436+01:00This is going to be a complete joke. Blair is noth...This is going to be a complete joke. Blair is nothing short of a war criminal, and should hang for the deaths he has directly caused. Nothing less.<br /><br />However, all we can expect is a bit of hand-wringing and "benefit of hindsight" nonsense.Ivor Bigothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15539954753771708282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-70929263615305233592009-07-31T10:39:16.364+01:002009-07-31T10:39:16.364+01:00oh how the left hate thatcher, they even want to r...oh how the left hate thatcher, they even want to re-write the history of the falklands war to prove it.but you would expect nothing less from then would you?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-34561050029763706312009-07-31T10:33:32.579+01:002009-07-31T10:33:32.579+01:00The Inquiry will be the biggest whitewash yet. The...The Inquiry will be the biggest whitewash yet. The David Kelly / Hutton inquiry was enough to convince me of that.<br /><br />A few slapped wrists in 2011 after the election and whiskey's in the lounge afterwards.<br /><br />So corrupt it's almost funny. <br /><br />Who can hold to account those who hold others to account? No one.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-20264301974697717242009-07-31T08:35:27.393+01:002009-07-31T08:35:27.393+01:00If Bliar is found to have been economical with the...If Bliar is found to have been economical with the truth, is that treason?<br /><br />I wonder how many volunteers there would be to carry out sentence?<br /><br />Can we get a sequestration order on that too?Stronghold Barricadesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-89655101060712846142009-07-31T08:32:32.221+01:002009-07-31T08:32:32.221+01:00I fully expect a re-run of Hutton.
These kinds of...I fully expect a re-run of Hutton.<br /><br />These kinds of enquiries are always useful as they provide a way to take the heat off pols until the whole thing has been more or less forgotten.<br /><br />The old line 'we mustn't prejudge the results of the enquiry' always works pretty well. <br /><br />When the report finally appears, we can expect something along the lines of 'mistakes were made'. 'lessons have been learned' etc etc.<br /><br />And of course no one will be to blame, still less held accountable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-1702264969180439222009-07-30T23:59:57.363+01:002009-07-30T23:59:57.363+01:00There were numerous indications that the Argentine...<i>There were numerous indications that the Argentines were preparing for it but the government turned a blind eye to them.<br />invasion of the Falkland Islands.</i><br /><br />And yet the Argentine regime, the Argentine military (then and now) and all extant records and archives of Galtieri's regime and the wider Argentine state show that the decision to invade the Falklands was taken a mere couple of days prior to the landing.<br /><br />If the Argentines didn't know they were going to invade the Falklands until the last few days of March 1982, it's hard to see how anyone in Britain could have foreseen it. But God forbid we let simple reality get in the way of the Two Minute Hate against Margaret Thatcher.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-42358690257405828202009-07-30T23:57:20.555+01:002009-07-30T23:57:20.555+01:00The Franks Committee on the Falklands War took evi...<i>The Franks Committee on the Falklands War took evidence from Thatcher in private. Good enough for her, good for Tony. Or is it less the principle and just a partisan point you make?</i><br /><br />Falklands War: a fascist dictatorship that was famous for (a) sheltering Nazi war criminals and (b) murdering tens of thousands of its own citizens invaded a British territory and took hostage around one thousand (1,000) British citizens. Six weeks of war led to total victory, the liberation of the islanders and the collapse of the fascist regime (and, incidentally, the creation of a viable Argentine democracy)<br /><br />Iraq War: a weak regime that wasn't even capable of controlling the whole of its own country let alone threatening anyone else was invaded partly because of its oil reserves, partly because of the American president's psychological need to outdo his father and partly to advance the geo-political ambitions of the PNAC. The war drags on, six years on, and has left hundreds of thousands of Iraqis dead and injured; the region has been destabilised the region, the Iraqi government has been placed in the hands of Tehran's puppets and it is wholly likely that a sectarian/ethnic civil war will spring up soon between Kurds, Sunnis and Shi'ites. To make matters worse, the entirety of our rationale for invading has been exposed time and time again as a deliberate deception.<br /><br />Wee bit of a difference between the Falklands and Iraq, no? Or maybe your partisan hatred of Thatcher drives you to equate an unprovoked attack on this country with your friend Blair's imperial adventures.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-66286162141466131882009-07-30T23:50:11.844+01:002009-07-30T23:50:11.844+01:00but equally some of us felt that at the time the f...<i>but equally some of us felt that at the time the former Prime Minister publicly misled the entire country about the national security reasons for going to war.</i><br /><br />Nope. Everyone with a brain realised from day one that the war criminal Blair was lying through his teeth in order to start (yet another) war. Anyone with a brain to look at Blair's record prior to 2003 saw that our Fearless Leader was a man obsessed with the international limelight, obsessed with his position in Washington and obsessed with war.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-81826220345048882772009-07-30T23:17:20.664+01:002009-07-30T23:17:20.664+01:00A few things, at least, are certain.
This enquiry...A few things, at least, are certain.<br /><br />This enquiry will take a very long time (we've already been promised that); it will cost a great deal of public money; the conclusions will either constitute a whitewash, or be suspected by many of being just that; when it ends, calls for another enquiry will immediately follow.Bath plugs for the many, not the fewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-5823940830942746292009-07-30T22:53:14.997+01:002009-07-30T22:53:14.997+01:00Reed said...
"... the justification for the F...Reed said...<br />"... the justification for the Falklands war was very straight forward: British territory had been invaded militarily by another nation."<br /><br />The Franks Committee investigated the actions of the Thatcher government PRIOR to the Falkands invasion.<br /><br />It was set up because many people believed that the government should have taken action to prevent the invasion. There were numerous indications that the Argentines were preparing for it but the government turned a blind eye to them. <br />invasion of the Falkland Islands.Edwardnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-83115803721222487922009-07-30T22:40:21.113+01:002009-07-30T22:40:21.113+01:00So Iain, Newsinght's BIG story is about...... ...So Iain, Newsinght's BIG story is about...... migrant cleaners in 5 star hotels.<br /><br />So Iain why isn't Newsnight talking about the large numbers of injured British soldiers returning from Afghanistan? figures released today and hardly reported by the BBC.<br /><br />Why not? Newnight totally ignored the Government's pathetic U-turn about trying to steal back compensation for British soldiers (robbing left wing bastards like McSnot)<br /><br />In fact when was the last time Newsnight actually ran an anti McSnot story line?<br /><br />They flogged the Andy Coulson non story to death for weeks.Martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-83687375066597189032009-07-30T22:33:41.049+01:002009-07-30T22:33:41.049+01:00At the start of the Hutton enquiry I congratulated...At the start of the Hutton enquiry I congratulated him on his planned approach. At the end I tore into him about the whitewash. I have this dreadful feeling of deja vu, and won't be wasting my breath this time around. I do hope Tony Blair is sleeping well at nights.seebaghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14002326418829458395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-91791867988814446842009-07-30T22:25:41.949+01:002009-07-30T22:25:41.949+01:00Unless Tony Blair amongst others is under oath, wi...Unless Tony Blair amongst others is under oath, wired to a polygraph and given a sodium pentothal injection first, I will find it hard to believe his version of events.Not a sheephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14123293202225008273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-33093650386425329572009-07-30T22:14:48.595+01:002009-07-30T22:14:48.595+01:00I'm afraid that if you think the millions this...I'm afraid that if you think the millions this will cost will actually be anything other than a complete and utter whitewash, you are sadly mistaken and will be sorely disappointed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-5945827412417678792009-07-30T22:10:44.047+01:002009-07-30T22:10:44.047+01:00Rules of Enquiry:
First decide the outcome,
Then...Rules of Enquiry:<br /><br />First decide the outcome,<br /><br />Then choose the correct chairman to achieve that outcome.Tony_Ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14729030784452630545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-31116652076186559772009-07-30T21:57:58.102+01:002009-07-30T21:57:58.102+01:00suprise suprise i'll have to agree with PhilC
...suprise suprise i'll have to agree with PhilC<br /><br />We've had the hutton and butler <br />inquiries and still they want more.<br /><br />They won't be happy till an inquiry actually agrees with there views even now they discount the others that didn't.golden_ballshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17002302454171212086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-79556993081143435912009-07-30T21:46:31.828+01:002009-07-30T21:46:31.828+01:00Sir John Chilcot was emphatic that anyone caught o...Sir John Chilcot was emphatic that anyone caught out - or suspected of - an untruth would face terminal public disgrace, and no further sanction was needed.<br /><br />I listened with interest to the media questions. Most of these focussed on the legality of the war and decisions taken by Blair etc in 2002. The media and the public will keep this inquiry on track, unlike previous inquiries.<br /><br />Blair should be very worried. He faces public disgrace either way - tell the truth or lie and be damned. There are enough pieces in the jigsaw - thanks to Hutton, Butler and a series of leaks - to be able to tell if Blair's own piece fits or not. The trickle of evidence will screw up Blair's EU President chances. Same with Campbell, who will hopefully be held to account for assembling propaganda pieces passed off as reliable intelligence.<br /><br />There are enough retired soldiers and spooks out there to come forward with their own recollections, which may well differ markedly from the official record. <br /><br />I think there is a large part of the Labour Party that wants to draw a final line under Iraq, regardless of what happens to Blair.<br /><br />The tail end of this inquiry will be under a Conservative government and the report will be delivered to a Conservative-dominated Parliament. It is possible - but I think unlikely - that further action could be taken after the report is released.<br /><br />I'll be watching closely here:<br /><br />http://nottheiraqwarinquiry.blogspot.com/Jess The Doghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01694805454982688213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-13391048466256525522009-07-30T21:40:53.240+01:002009-07-30T21:40:53.240+01:00We don't really need an inquiry into the legal...We don't really need an inquiry into the legality - there is already sufficient evidence to prosecute Blair as it is. We should be taking the next step, which would be to signal to prosecutors at the Hague to press the button.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-92060202154937794792009-07-30T21:40:43.403+01:002009-07-30T21:40:43.403+01:00Philc....you talk about principle....sorry but tha...Philc....you talk about principle....sorry but that is something Bliar wouldnt know much about...<br /><br /> There is a world of difference, as you well know, between recovering territory that has been illegally seized (The Falklands) and authorising an illegal war in pursuit of regime change. THAT is why Bliar needs to be compelled to give evidence in public.<br /><br /> If anyone could ever straighten that smaryarsed bastard out he`d be 10 foot tall......God save the QueenMirtha Tidvillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07940977481295375071noreply@blogger.com