Chilcot report on Iraq war delayed until after general election.

[Mr Angry]

"The six-year long British inquiry into the 2003 Iraq invasion and its aftermath will not be published before the general election, prompting an outcry from those demanding that the long overdue reckoning should be put before the voters.
Sir John Chilcot, the chairman of the inquiry, will set out his reasons for the further postponement in an exchange of letters with David Cameron on Wednesday. The inquiry was set up in 2009 and took public evidence from its last witness in 2011.

The prime minister has already expressed his personal frustration at the repeated delays, and a cross-party group of backbenchers had been due to stage a debate and vote in parliament on 29 January, demanding publication before the election.

Tony Blair, the prime minister at the time of the war, has insisted he is not the culprit behind the delay in publication; his allies have suggested the blame lies with the civil service and sensitivities about the relations between the UK and US intelligence agencies."


Hmmmm.

I think most of us has figured it would be delayed until after the election once it got delayed this much. We probably won't know for a while who has actually delayed it. I think the Government would have preferred it to be delayed so that it doesn't become an issue during the campaign but I doubt they would have allowed the slightest hint of applying pressure for any delay. Blair, maybe, but he wouldn't be able to delay it indefinitely and considering the current leadership of the Labour party are not exactly his type then I don't see why he would care too much about the timing.

Maybe it is just a Nixon-esque concern over the conversations between Blair and Bush that is the issue.

[Mr Angry]

Fair points, Damien.

[TheDaddy]

How Tony sleeps at night is beyond me, Chilcot revelations aside

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews...ret/ar-AA8vS8v

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by TheDaddy

How Tony sleeps at night is beyond me, Chilcot revelations aside

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews...ret/ar-AA8vS8v

I have always said that man should be tried for war crimes

[Derek]

Originally Posted by TheDaddy

How Tony sleeps at night is beyond me

in a very expensive bed, under very expensive sheets, in (one of many) a very expensive house protected by taxpayer funded bodyguards.

[TheDaddy]

Originally Posted by Derek

in a very expensive bed, under very expensive sheets, in (one of many) a very expensive house protected by taxpayer funded bodyguards.

Let's be honest Derek he sleeps on a fat pile of cash paid for with the lives of others, I hopeful chilcot will bring him down a peg or two, doubt it'll lead to his comeuppance though sadly

[Ignitionnet]

Originally Posted by Derek

in a very expensive bed, under very expensive sheets, in (one of many) a very expensive house protected by taxpayer funded bodyguards.

I wouldn't be that surprised if he sleeps on a bed base made from the bones of Iraqi civilians and is out like a light every night thanks to a witch doctor's brew made from the tears of Iraqi orphans.

[Osem]

People like Blair, and his despicable spin doctors, have no trouble sleeping. They sleep just fine, as secure in their beds as they are in their certainty that they've done nothing wrong...

[richard s]

British appeasement to the Yanks, would the Torys have done anything different if they were in power at the time.

[Ignitionnet]

Originally Posted by richard s

British appeasement to the Yanks, would the Torys have done anything different if they were in power at the time.

Nope. They voted for it too. Only the Lib Dems of the major 3 opposed it as I remember.

Figures on the vote here - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/2862397.stm

[Ignitionnet]

I love data.

Given the party that supported the war most strongly were in fact the Tories any more party political points scoring to be done now?

Iraq was a mess, it was Labour's fault, the Conservatives could and should have done way better in opposition. Very little for either to be proud of in this regard.

The current Conservative administration wanted military action against the Assad regime in Syria. It seems likely the consequences of that would've been disastrous given the current environment there.

The Conservative party know they made mistakes, too, and are pursuing this from the angle of wanting transparency rather than wanting to string up Tony Blair.

The key thing about this is, after all, transparency. If it means that people who did wrong go to jail then whatever, but we have a right to know what happened when our country went to war in our name, funded by our taxes, and our friends, neighbours, family, our citizens died.

[Mr Angry]

Yes, it's a rather inconvenient, and often overlooked, fact that the Tories were cheerleading in such numbers.

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by Mr Angry

Yes, it's a rather inconvenient, and often overlooked, fact that the Tories were cheerleading in such numbers.

Thats as maybe but the buck stops at Blier he was the Prime Minister