Prologue: I know that I’m obsessed with these hearings. I’m just awed with the process among the lawyers, the Attorney General, the Foreign Secretary, and the Prime Minister. No similar process occurred in our country that even approximated the seriousness of the one in the UK. Even though politics prevailed in London, there was an […]
Background: UN Resolution 1441 passed the Security Council unanimously on November 8, 2002. It was a ‘last chance’ resolution demanding Iraq’s compliance to previous resolutions for inspections of it’s weapons programs. Iraq agreed and inspections were resumed. At issue, did 1441 authorize use of force if Iraq didn’t fully comply? Security Council vote On November […]
subtract 5 hours to convert to EST Tony Blair at the Chilcot Inquiry: What could possibly go wrong? telegraph.co.uk By Will Heaven January 25th, 2010 So Tony Blair’s appearance at the Chilcot Inquiry will be tinged with tragedy. “Where did it all go wrong?”, his wrinkled gang of admirers will ask themselves. Or, more poignantly, […]
Jack Straw was Tony Blair‘s Foreign Secretary in the lead-up and launching of the Invasion of Iraq. This letter was recently made public [from March 25, 2002]. It was written three weeks after Dick Cheney‘s visit to London to talk about ‘regime change’ in Iraq: SECRET AND PERSONAL PM/02/019 PRIME MINISTER CRAWFORD/IRAQ 1. The rewards […]
The Invasion of Iraq 2003: Reading over the British Press’ coverage of their very public Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq War last night, I felt increasingly uncomfortable. What was I feeling? Embarrassment comes closest. They are calling everyone involved to answer all the questions — no secrets, no hiding behind national security, no claims of […]
I’m just not a football fan. My dad was a player, then a coach, then a referee, then a fan. I had more than enough football for any life by the time I was an adolescent and I put it away for good I thought. But as an old man, in a winter that has […]
For example: THE JANUARY 18, 2010 TESTIMONY OF JOHNATHAN POWELL, PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR’S CHIEF OF STAFF MR JONATHAN POWELL: I think American opinion, or, rather, American policy shifted relatively gradually during that period. At the beginning, they were focused entirely on Afghanistan and the campaign in Afghanistan. By the time you get to December, […]
I’ve linked just a few articles in the UK Press about the ongoing Chilcot Inquiry into Britain’s decision to join the US in invading Iraq. We have heard little [or nothing] about this in our own Press. Iraq war was illegal, top lawyer will tell Chilcot inquiry The Chilcot story so far: a blame game […]
I will admit to having a romantic view of Haiti – a French speaking Western African culture suffused with Catholicism, Voodoo, corruption, and seeming endless poverty. I had no knowledge of Haiti’s history and would recommend this article in its entirety if you are as in-the-dark as I am. I’ve pulled out only some major […]
BRAD SPLIT News of the World By James Desborough January 24, 2010 HOLLYWOOD golden pair Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have seen DIVORCE lawyers and signed a £205 million split deal, we can reveal. The world’s most famous couple legally agreed how to divide their fortune and who gets custody of their six kids. The […]