Doesn't leave me happy either to see yet another legal gravy train building. In wars people die. That's what war is about. It's also what soldiers get paid for risking. So what is the basis for suing Blair? Is it anything more than the families wanting to use the legal system as a way of getting vengeance or do they think we should fight wars using feather dusters not guns?
I don't understand the hatred of Blair either. I didn't vote for him but I don't see that he did anything wrong. Sure he made mistakes but there is only one way of avoiding that - doing nothing. And in any case it was the government that decided Iraq.The prime minister can be outvoted in cabinet and also in parliament. It unfair and unreasonable to heap all the blame for the Iraq mistake onto one man.
Interesting take on what war's are about. Are you talking from personal experience?
And it is not about using feather dusters, it is about using military force as a last resort, when all the evidence has been presented, analysed and robustly challenged and when all other avenues have been exhausted; the decision to go to war should only be taken after due consultation within the cabinet and within parliament and when there is clearly no other option.
As I understand it, the report indicates that the evidence regarding WMD and the breaking of existing UN sanctions was weak and unsubstantiated, and that there was evidence of a prior agreement, made out of cabinet by TB, to support USA action; it also says that the cabinet were not fully consulted and that TB took some key decisions out of committee. Why would he do that?
So to my mind the question is: Should TB be held accountable for his actions? Particularly if the correct protocols were not observed. I think he should, as indeed should those who colluded or at least remained quiet when they should have spoken up. What do the advisers get paid for? To nod sagely and agree with the boss?
No actions will bring the dead back to life, heal the wounded or bring comfort to those who have suffered loss, however, knowing that those we entrust with power and judgement are accountable for their actions might restore some of the faith in our political process and politicians that we seem to have lost in recent years.
