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Another Blair Whitewash: Butler Report Likely To Be As Bad As Hutton Report
It is known that Blair lied with his pre-ar about WMDs and the use of the 45 min claim that he knew to be a manipulation of facts. The only result of these inquiries has been the punishment of the news media for reporting the truth! Don't let Blair get away with this. He is more to blame for the Iraq war than Bush since he went against public opinion while Bush was able to get majority support.
Channel 4 News tonight quoted an unnamed “senior government source who has seen the Butler Report” into the gathering and handling of intelligence on weapons of mass destruction in the run-up to last year’s Iraq War. as saying it had cleared Tony Blair of mishandling intelligence in order to make the case for war with Iraq.
But the source suggested that the Uk prime Minister would face criticism for his informal style of decision-making in the run-up to war.
Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Menzies Campbell told the programme: “It certainly seems as if our apprehension that the inquiry’s terms of reference did not allow it to go wide enough has been justified.
“Of course, as you’ve noticed, the government’s been at it already, spinning pretty strongly as to the way in which it wants the public to interpret these findings. Charles Kennedy and myself have got to wait until six o’clock tomorrow morning before we are allowed to see the report.”
The party’s leader, Mr Kennedy, told Channel 4 News: “The Butler Inquiry will again raise issues about trust in the Prime Minister and the political judgment of the Prime Minister in going to war in Iraq.
“I think that trust and that judgment has gone as far as the people in this country are concerned, and I think Tony Blair tomorrow is going to have to face that fact.”
Former foreign secretary Robin Cook, who quit the Cabinet in protest over the war, said: “I very much hope that when Tony Blair speaks to the House of Commons tomorrow, he will accept that there were mistakes, he will tell us lessons have been learned and, most importantly, assure the public that it won’t happen again.”
http://212.2.162.45/news/story.asp?j=110765752&p=yyx766458&n=110766512
But the source suggested that the Uk prime Minister would face criticism for his informal style of decision-making in the run-up to war.
Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Menzies Campbell told the programme: “It certainly seems as if our apprehension that the inquiry’s terms of reference did not allow it to go wide enough has been justified.
“Of course, as you’ve noticed, the government’s been at it already, spinning pretty strongly as to the way in which it wants the public to interpret these findings. Charles Kennedy and myself have got to wait until six o’clock tomorrow morning before we are allowed to see the report.”
The party’s leader, Mr Kennedy, told Channel 4 News: “The Butler Inquiry will again raise issues about trust in the Prime Minister and the political judgment of the Prime Minister in going to war in Iraq.
“I think that trust and that judgment has gone as far as the people in this country are concerned, and I think Tony Blair tomorrow is going to have to face that fact.”
Former foreign secretary Robin Cook, who quit the Cabinet in protest over the war, said: “I very much hope that when Tony Blair speaks to the House of Commons tomorrow, he will accept that there were mistakes, he will tell us lessons have been learned and, most importantly, assure the public that it won’t happen again.”
http://212.2.162.45/news/story.asp?j=110765752&p=yyx766458&n=110766512
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it would really be better for Blair if they had allowed Hutton in the beginning to nail them right between the eyes, and then Blair could have given a teary, mea culpa in Parliament and survived
instead, the public in Britain responds very negative to the condescension and arrogance implicit in these phony investigations, dragging Blair down even more
my impression is that the British public is angrier about Blair's willfulness and pride, his refusal to admit fault, then they are about the war itself, having recognized that you can't turn back the clock
instead, the public in Britain responds very negative to the condescension and arrogance implicit in these phony investigations, dragging Blair down even more
my impression is that the British public is angrier about Blair's willfulness and pride, his refusal to admit fault, then they are about the war itself, having recognized that you can't turn back the clock
Today has been a very good day for Tony Blair, but a terrible one for democratic accountability, writes Tom Happold
Wednesday July 14, 2004
We are told that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. On that information, we invade said clear and present threat. Then we fail to find any WMDs, and discover that much of our intelligence was "seriously flawed". But nobody is to blame. In brief, that's the conclusion of Lord Butler's report.
If democracy is based on accountability - the notion that politicians and public servants must answer for their actions - then today's report is a profoundly undemocratic document. Lord Butler and his colleagues make a point of backing John Scarlett's promotion to head of MI6. Who said the establishment was dead?
If the BBC had to cleanse itself with the blood of three sacrificial resignations after Lord Hutton found against it, is it too much to ask for someone in Whitehall to take the blame for taking us to war for reasons that turned out to be false?
The report even disputes what most of us now believe - that WMD will never be found in Iraq - stating that only someone "rash" could think such a thing. Have its authors read nothing of the interrogation techniques being used by the US forces, never seen the photographs from Abu Ghraib? Do they seriously believe that none of the Iraqi prisoners would have spilled the beans?
Cleared of the "deliberate distortion" of intelligence, Tony Blair remains unrepentant about going to war over flawed information. He told MPs that he couldn't honestly say that he believed getting rid of Saddam Hussein was a mistake. "Iraq, the region, and the wider world is a better and safer place without Saddam." Furthermore, he insisted he had acted in "good faith".
Hmm. I still find Lord Butler's conclusion that the controversial September dossier on Iraq's WMD was "not intended to make the case for a particular course of action" hard to swallow. If he is right, why then did the prime minister's chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, email Mr Scarlett asking for a redraft because it did "nothing to demonstrate a threat, let alone an imminent threat from Saddam"?
Mr Blair is right that people should question his judgment on Iraq. He judged wrongly about WMD, and his claim that Iraq and the world are now safer places is also dubious. Eleven people were killed by a bomb blast in Baghdad today, and the future of Iraq appears uncertain. Let us hope democracy and order take hold, but shouldn't a pre-emptive attack have promised something more certain?
When it comes to the rest the world, few people seriously believe that we're now safer from Islamist terrorism. Britain, America and the west are more loathed in the Muslim world than before September 11. And Arab nations such as Egypt - as David Remnick so eloquently illustrates in the latest New Yorker - have been treating the disorder in Iraq as justification for resisting democracy and human rights.
Nonetheless, Mr Blair has got through his latest toughest week, and he'll be hoping that Lord Butler's report provides "closure" on the divisive issue of Iraq. Whether it will depends, of course, on events there. But the attention given to the government's recent announcements on health, education and spending suggests that the attention of the public - and most importantly the media - is turning back to domestic matters.
Conveniently, tomorrow sees two readymade focus groups on Mr Blair's popularity - the Birmingham Hodge Hill and Leicester South byelections. The Liberal Democrats were planning to leaflet every home in the constituencies with Lord Butler's findings - if they had been suitably damning. It is now unlikely that any such thing will be rolling off the party's trusty risograph printer tonight. These contests won't now be swung by today's report.
If Labour can hold onto to at least one of the seats - both are traditionally rock-solid Labour constituencies - Mr Blair will be in the clear. The tanks won't roll on a Gordon Brown coup. The prime minister can even act to heal some of Labour's war wounds by bringing anti-war rebels back into the government - the former health minister, John Denham, perhaps.
Today has been a good one for Mr Blair. But unjustly so.
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/iraq/comment/0,12956,1261331,00.html
Wednesday July 14, 2004
We are told that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. On that information, we invade said clear and present threat. Then we fail to find any WMDs, and discover that much of our intelligence was "seriously flawed". But nobody is to blame. In brief, that's the conclusion of Lord Butler's report.
If democracy is based on accountability - the notion that politicians and public servants must answer for their actions - then today's report is a profoundly undemocratic document. Lord Butler and his colleagues make a point of backing John Scarlett's promotion to head of MI6. Who said the establishment was dead?
If the BBC had to cleanse itself with the blood of three sacrificial resignations after Lord Hutton found against it, is it too much to ask for someone in Whitehall to take the blame for taking us to war for reasons that turned out to be false?
The report even disputes what most of us now believe - that WMD will never be found in Iraq - stating that only someone "rash" could think such a thing. Have its authors read nothing of the interrogation techniques being used by the US forces, never seen the photographs from Abu Ghraib? Do they seriously believe that none of the Iraqi prisoners would have spilled the beans?
Cleared of the "deliberate distortion" of intelligence, Tony Blair remains unrepentant about going to war over flawed information. He told MPs that he couldn't honestly say that he believed getting rid of Saddam Hussein was a mistake. "Iraq, the region, and the wider world is a better and safer place without Saddam." Furthermore, he insisted he had acted in "good faith".
Hmm. I still find Lord Butler's conclusion that the controversial September dossier on Iraq's WMD was "not intended to make the case for a particular course of action" hard to swallow. If he is right, why then did the prime minister's chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, email Mr Scarlett asking for a redraft because it did "nothing to demonstrate a threat, let alone an imminent threat from Saddam"?
Mr Blair is right that people should question his judgment on Iraq. He judged wrongly about WMD, and his claim that Iraq and the world are now safer places is also dubious. Eleven people were killed by a bomb blast in Baghdad today, and the future of Iraq appears uncertain. Let us hope democracy and order take hold, but shouldn't a pre-emptive attack have promised something more certain?
When it comes to the rest the world, few people seriously believe that we're now safer from Islamist terrorism. Britain, America and the west are more loathed in the Muslim world than before September 11. And Arab nations such as Egypt - as David Remnick so eloquently illustrates in the latest New Yorker - have been treating the disorder in Iraq as justification for resisting democracy and human rights.
Nonetheless, Mr Blair has got through his latest toughest week, and he'll be hoping that Lord Butler's report provides "closure" on the divisive issue of Iraq. Whether it will depends, of course, on events there. But the attention given to the government's recent announcements on health, education and spending suggests that the attention of the public - and most importantly the media - is turning back to domestic matters.
Conveniently, tomorrow sees two readymade focus groups on Mr Blair's popularity - the Birmingham Hodge Hill and Leicester South byelections. The Liberal Democrats were planning to leaflet every home in the constituencies with Lord Butler's findings - if they had been suitably damning. It is now unlikely that any such thing will be rolling off the party's trusty risograph printer tonight. These contests won't now be swung by today's report.
If Labour can hold onto to at least one of the seats - both are traditionally rock-solid Labour constituencies - Mr Blair will be in the clear. The tanks won't roll on a Gordon Brown coup. The prime minister can even act to heal some of Labour's war wounds by bringing anti-war rebels back into the government - the former health minister, John Denham, perhaps.
Today has been a good one for Mr Blair. But unjustly so.
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/iraq/comment/0,12956,1261331,00.html
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