Tuesday 27 January 2015

WHO NEEDS SIR JOHN CHILCOT? – THE CLARKE INQUIRY


The recent news that the publication of Sir John Chilcot’s Inquiry into the Iraq war was to be delayed once again was met with a mixture of responses from the British public, frustration, anger, indifference, and maybe inevitability?

And after 6 years, since its inception and 4 years since the last witness gave any evidence many are starting to think that the eventual publication, once all of the bureaucratic legal and administrative arguments have been played out to their full, will now just be a pointless exercise.

Those who have not already made their mind up over the UK government's conduct before and during the Iraq war may also be disappointed with any eventual report that has so much redacted and so many criticisms of individuals watered down due to legal challenge.  The report itself could end up competing with the original “Dodgy Dossier” which started this whole sorry affair, for the prized title of “most fabricated inadequate official document of the last 20 years”

In fact government inquiries of all shapes, colours and sizes are now becoming so “last century”. They all take an age to be agreed to, even longer to be set up, they then sit for years, prevaricate for months more, if not years, and are then challenged by all and sundry before publication and published only at a time when most of the world has either moved on, or are distracted by a more current, pressing Government cock up to want to spend too much time on reflection of past errors.

So perhaps I should now be the first to call for a Public Inquiry into Public Inquiry’s? That should keep the Westminster establishment in gainful employment for a few more years.
But do we really need any of them? In this age of WikiLeaks and instant internet news traffic isn’t the truth already out there? Doesn't this change in the information available to all allow us to judge matters more for ourselves without the complications of legal challenge and obfuscation from unwilling witnesses. And are there no other witnesses additional to those called by the great and good that can assist us in the search for the truth?

OK so I admit, I am not a Lord, nor a Knight and highly unlikely to become either, but isn’t my testimony just as valid? For example who would be best to pass judgement on the actions of Ministers and the Prime Minister than one of the small group of Labour MP’s who voted against the Iraq war at the time and also spent endless hours being badgered by both Ministers and the whips office into trying to see things their way and to move my vote into the Government lobby?

And when it comes to secret transcripts of discussions between George Bush Jnr and Tony Blair I also unfortunately have history!
Not a day goes by when I wish I couldn't undo that history and unknow what I know, and thus have the opportunity over again to prevent an innocent friend being imprisoned for the folly of others in leaking a report that in the end caused far more trouble than it could have ever resolved.

The law and the Official secrets act prevent me to this day disclosing the contents of some of those discussions and documents, but I can’t ignore their content and I AM entitled to an opinion, so for what its worth lets brush Chilcot aside for the time being and instead publish the findings of the Clarke Inquiry into the five key Questions posed by the Guardian newspaper at the time, related to the Governments conduct before and during the Iraq War!



1)      What assurances did Tony Blair give George Bush about Britain's involvement in the war with Iraq?

Well despite Tony Blair’s insistence of innocence I have no personal doubt that when he met with George Bush in Crawford in April 2002 that he gave personal assurances to the President, of Britain’s support for military action in Iraq.  What may never be known of course is how “unconditional” that support was.
Yes it could be argued that Blair was buying for time, to get not only the UK Parliament but also other EU leaders on board, but I find it incomprehensible to believe that the understanding between the two of them after that visit was that Britain was thereafter on board, no matter what.

The Prime Minister of course subsequently denied this when telling Parliament in July 2002 that 

No. There are no decisions which have been taken about military action."

But did he mean no decisions by his Cabinet or the UK Government or no decision by him?

2)      Was Tony Blair warned by Lord Goldsmith, the attorney general, and Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, that regime change was not a lawful justification for invasion? And what happened between 7 March and 17 March 2003 to make Goldsmith change his views about the legality of an invasion?

My belief here is that history itself, proves the case. Why else go through the charade of having civil servants construct and promote the since exposed “Dodgy Dossier” on Weapons of Mass destruction?

The Prime Ministers weakness in my view was that he trusted those closest around him far too much, without ever understanding that the “New Labour” way was to always agree at all costs with your masters and suppress any doubts in your mind in fear of losing position or favour.

My conversations with whips and ministers at the time were riddled with references to “You may well be right Tony, there may not be any legal justification, but we have gone far too far to back down now” so Lord Goldsmith supposed warnings if given must have been watered down or forgotten in the interim

3)       Why did the intelligence agencies allow themselves to be used?

Why else are they there? Lord Butler and MI6 may well have glossed over the "who did what when" questions and tried to divert the attention onto the role of the American Intelligence agencies, but for me it was always a case of how can any intelligence from any source be used as cheerleader for the Government intent and as a smokescreen as to what “couldn’t be revealed due to interests of national Security”.

4)           Did the government delay military preparations?

Now here’s a surprise.  On this charge I find the Government and the Prime minister, not guilty on all charges.

Any lack of preparation and or logistic availability of equipment, body armour or vehicles in my mind had nothing to do with the political establishment, The MoD have proven themselves time and time over of being capable of cocking this one up completely on their own watch.

I remember discussions I had at the time with Peter Kilfoyle MP for Liverpool Walton, and a former Defence Minister who confirmed my worst fears as to the huge chasm between the military competence of those on those on the ground and the blundering incompetence of the many mandarin’s within Whitehall. It seems since time immemorial that this has ever been the case.

5)      What plans were made for Iraq after the invasion?

That’s an easy one, none! Those of us who spoke out and voted against the war in Parliament at the time, tried perhaps more than most, to encourage the Government to agree to an exit plan, or even to acknowledge the dangers of mission creep and wider conflict across the region.

But Tony Blair could never respond because he was never in the driving seat and George Bush was a liability.

As said above I had the misfortune of reading a transcript of one of their musings and discussions post invasion, and when questioned by Special Branch in 2004 they asked me why I held such a poor opinion of the President of the United States, the question was made to sound as if I was committing some form of international treason. I told them that in my personal view President Bush was without doubt the most dangerous man on our planet, and that the true axis of evil he had alluded to himself was situated far closer to the Whitehouse than he had himself proclaimed.

Despite that 4 hour interview being recorded and despite me requesting a copy at the time and in writing thereafter, I have to this day never received a copy.
Earlier in this piece I refer to the restrictions placed upon me by the Official Secrets Act regarding disclosure of the contents of the documents to which I had sight. I will not break those, but also as above I restate my right to an opinion and on the question of the post invasion relationship between President and Prime Minister I would say this, (and Tony Blair, despite our differing opinions might thank me for it) I have no doubt that President Bush was more than willing to breach international law and commit to war crimes in order to further his war aims in Iraq, I believe Tony Blair was often not in agreement with the Presidents opinions, but unfortunately for Britain and for the World our Prime Minister own opinion held little sway in the decision making process, either pre or post invasion. His personal crime for me was in making sure that by hook or by crook we were all, in Parliament and in the wider public realm made or cajoled to agree with him, because of the promises he had made himself in Washington.

The Iraq war was to me a conflict completely instigated, propagated and conducted by America, almost in its entirety, unfortunately for the reputation of our island our own Prime Minister at the time was far too willing to please, too eager to be seen as protector of the “Special relationship” and as a consequence we all became accomplices to crimes against humanity and a new world far more dangerous than the one occupied by the likes of one despotic dictator called Saddam Hussein.



Archives

Followers

Blog Archive

Thank You

Thank you for visiting "tonyclarkegreenparty" The views expressed here are mine and mine alone. They are made by me personally in my own capacity as free citizen and not as representative of any outside body or council that I may serve on or be employed by. However if anyone is offended by any of these comments or feels that they should be corrected then please contact me in the first instance at tony.clarke@email.com and I will do my best to consider your comments and correct any errors.

Etiketler

100 key seats 1980's 1997 2013 50th Birthday 96 Abington Park absent parents abuse Academy Status Adam Simmonds Adam Simmonds. Police and Crime Commisioner Northamptonshire. Class A drugs Adam Simmonds. Police commisioner. Northamptonshire County Council Afghanistan Afro Caribbean Agent airbrushed for change airlines Al Quida Aldi allowances AlQuida Anarchist ANC Andrew Mitchell animated fairy story Anjona Roy Ann Frank Ann Timson Apathy Arab League Council Archway cottages Arms raid arrears. Northamptonshire race Equality Council Ashes to Ashes Ask a Socialist astragate Asylum seekers Audit Baathe Party bamboo joint Banana Banker barbecue tax Bashar Assad bbc BBC radio 4 Bedroom Tax Benefits benito mussolini Benjamin Netanyahu Big Freeze Big Society Billy Bragg Binners Birds black and white cats Black Swans Blair blogger blogs Blood Blowing smoke up your skirt Blue Light Services BNI BNP boardroom buffoons Bone marrow Boris Johnson borough council boot and shoe borough council elections Borough Solicitor BP Bradlaugh Brian Binley Brian Hoare brighton Britain in Bloom British Government broken britain Brown Pelican Bryn Estyn Children's Home budget cuts Bulgarian Bullingdon Club Burglars Bus Interchange Bus Station Bush businesmen Cabinet Call in campaigning Cannes canvassers capitalism Captain Ska Car Park Revenue car parks career wreckers carillion carlisle Carrillion CASPAR Castle Ward Castle Ward 2 Catherine Tate CDC censorship Census 2011 change Charity Commision cheating cheats chicago Chicago Fruit Police Chickens Child Abuse China Chloe Smith Chris Grayling Christmas Christopher Myers chronicle and echo Clement Attlee Cllr Andrew Simpson Cllr Andy Mercer cllr Bill Parker Cllr Brian Hoare Cllr Brian Markham Cllr David Mackintosh Cllr David Palethorpe Cllr David Perkins Cllr Dennis Meredith Cllr Elizabeth Gowen Cllr Gareth Eales Cllr Jean Hawkins Cllr Jim Harker Cllr Jim Harker Road Safety Cllr John Caswell cllr John Yates Cllr Malcolm Mildren Cllr PD Varnsverry Cllr portia wilson Cllr Richard Church Cllr Robin Brown Cllr Sally Beardsworth cllr Scott Collins Cllr Tony Buckley cllr Tony Clarke Cllr Tony Woods Cllr Trini Crake Clr David Perkins Clyde Loakes Coalition government cobblers combustion committee places Community Basher conference 2013 Conservative Conservative Party Conservatives consumption Contracts Corby corporate fools corporate spin corrupt Council Council tenants councy council County Council Election county council elections CPS credit crunch crime Crimea cuts CWU Daily Mail daniel hannan mep. NHS Daventry District Council David Cameron David Harvey David Perkins. Brenden Glynane David Ross day fotlu DDC debt decent homes Defend Council Housing Delapre Abbey democracy wreckers destruction disaster DIT Britain Dostiyo Dot Cotton Duckenfield Duckinfield Ealing Council Earworm Community East Midlands in Bloom East Midlands Labour Party easy read economy Ed Balls Ed Millaband Ed Milliband education election Elections 2013 Electoral iregularity Ellis Island email Emilie Oldknow Emily Oldknow Empowerment fund Enterprise Enterprise Managed Services Environment Agency Eric Pickles ester ranzen EU euro European parliament expelled F W De Clerk F*ck you facebook FAir is worth fighting for Fairground ducks Fairytale of New York Far Right fire Fish MArket Fitzy fixed penalty notice Flashman Floods Florence and the Machine flytipping Fountain free Friends of Delapre Abbey Full Council Gaddafi Gang Culture Gaza GDP general election Geoff Howes George Bush George Bush Jr George Osborne George Osbourne Germany Glasgow mosque GMB Golden Handshake google gordon brown government Government Cuts Grant Shapps greed Greedy Bankers Greek economy Green Green Party Greyfriars growth 1980's Guantanaomo Bay. Shaker Aamer Guernsey Harry Enfield Havelock Havildar Gaje Ghale haymarket Hazel Blears health Helicoptors Help the aged highways Hillsborough hoodies hope not hate House of Commons House of Lords Housing Housing numbers Housing. eviction human rights Ian Gibson IDF il duce Immigration imprint Independent Independent Green Independent Network independents India Injunction inquiry international internet Iran Iraq Iraq war ISIS Islamaphobia Israel Italy IVA jedward Jeremy Clarkson jerk chicken Jihadists Jimmy Carr Jimmy Saville jingles Joe Joyce John Dickie john gardner John Lennon Johnston Press Journalists justice justice for the 96 KBC Ken Livingstone Kevin Quigley Khudadad Khan KPMG Kraken Kurdistan La Madala Labour Labour Group Labour Party Lady Wantage Lampedusa Land Tax Lansbury last of the summer wine Leadership election league two Learning difficulty Learning Disability Lebanon Lee Barron leeds Legal and General Liar Liar Lib Dem Liberal Democrat Liberal Democrats Liberals Libya libya. david cameron Likely lads Lily allen Liverpool lloyd grossman local candidates local governance local government Local Government Association local press localism bill Loft insullation London Labour London Olympics london riots Loo of the year Lord Mandelson Lord Michael Ashcroft Lord Stuart-Smith Lord Taylor Lord Waterhouse LSE Mackenzie mad as a box of frogs Madiba Mahmoud Abbass Malcolm Mildren Margaret Thatcher Market Square Market Square Fountain Market Trader Martyn Gilleard martyrs May 2ns Medhi Hussein media Michael Ellis Michael Foot Michael Turner QC Micheal Ellis MP micheal martin Middle Classes Middle East migrants Mike Ferrigan Milk Snatcher millions Miserable old sod mk dons mortgages MP's Expenses mps expenses Multi Agency Group Muslim community mydavidcameron.com Narrowboats Nasseem Nicholas Taleb Nathan Worrell National Debt national front Nato Nazis. EU NBC NCC Neil Lewington Neil Magregor NEL. MIPIM Nelson Mandela Neo Nazis NEP New Statesman New Year NHS Nick Clegg nick clegg.norman clegg Nick Griffin Niel Kinnock NNDC NNJPU Noor Inyat Khan North Wales Police Northampton Northampton Borough Council Northampton Chronicle and Echo Northampton Conservatives Northampton Independent group northampton independent voice Northampton Labour Party Northampton Labour Party. Northampton Borough Council Northampton Liberal Democrats Northampton Saints Northampton South Northampton South Conservatives Northampton Town Football Club Northamptonshire County Council Northamptonshire County Council Elections Northamptonshire Enterprise Limited Northamptonshire Enterprise Partnership Northamptonshire Music Service Northamptonshire Police Norwich North not all party's are the same ntfc Number 10 Observer Oil Old Labour Oliver Tambos Paddy Tipping MP pakistan Palais de Festival Palestine Parish Poll. Police Commissioner Elections parking parking services parliament parsons Party Political Broadcast Paul Blantern Paul Varnsverry PCC Pegasus Penalty Charge Notices pensioners pest control pest express Peter Mandelson Peter Righton pfi phillip mears photos for all occasions Pinky and Perky Plain English planning police Police and crime Commissioner Police Commisioners Police Commissioner elections political Polycythemia Pope Francis poplar porkie pies President Obama privatisation Professor Pongoo proportionality public consultation public deficit Public Service cuts purdah que sara sara Racism Radio 4 rats Rebekah Brooks reccession Recycling referendum refuse collection regional labour party relegation Rememberence Sunday residents parking retail Richard Hannon right wing riots Robert Cottage Romanian roofing RPA act RSA Rushden Sainsburys Sally Keeble Sam King Scrutiny Seb Coe Second Life Shame on you shameless Shami Chakrabarti Sheltered Housing Shire shirkers Shona Deans Messinger silver medal Simon Cox Simon Williams Skateboarders skivers. scroungers Slipping back in time SNC Snow Spad speaker spies spring boroughs Spring Boroughs Residents squandering St Andrews st andrews road St James Stagecoach stagnation standard and poors standards board stealth tax Stephen Pound MP. Jeffrey Archer Steptoe and Son Steve Messham Stock Market street lights supergran suspended Syria Taliban Tax Evasion tax the rich tea team GB Terry Waite Tescos Tess Scott Thatcher The Cobblers The Conservative Party The Green 'Un The Green PArty The Press The Queen The Report The Ridings The Saints the story of broke the story of change the story of stuff The Sun through the keyhole ticckle Till Death do us part" Tom Watson MP Tony Blair Tony Clarke Tony Clarke MP Tony Woods Tory Tory Government Tory Party Tory's town centre trade unions Trees Trevor Kavanagh TTIP TUC Trident Tuck Inn TVC E-coli and coliforms tweets twitter UAF UK debt UK floods UK Government UK riots UKIP UKIP. Green Party UKIP. Labour Party Ukraine Ulric Cross ULT UN unemployment union flag unitary authorities unitary government Unite against Facism United Learning Trust united nations Unity College Upper class USA usual channels Vara Varnsverry. Guildhall vat Virtual vlog vote Walter Tull Waltham Forest Wardens watchdog WDC Welfare welfare cuts west northamptonshire joint planning unit Westbridge Westminster Weston Favell School what's the point of Nick Clegg wicked William Hague window dressing winter wonderland witch hunt WNDC WNJPU workers Working Class working mens clubs workshy written questions WWII youth services