An article in today’s Independent’s Commentators section by the much respected Robert Fisk highlights the deception that is still being ‘spun’ about our role in Iraq and the state in which the country has been left.
The article has been based around a letter, forwarded to him by one of his readers, Tom Geddes, and penned by someone with an illegible signature from the Ministry of Defence’s “Iraq Operations Team, Directorate of Operations”
It justifies our involvement in Iraq by stating:
It is important to remember that our decision to take action (sic) in Iraq was driven by Saddam Hussein’s refusal to co-operate with the UN-sponsored weapons inspections…The former Prime Minister has expressed his regret for any information, given in good faith, concerning weapons of mass destruction in Iraq which has subsequently proven to be incorrect.”
Mr Fisk, in his article, points out:
Saddam Hussein did not “refuse to co-operate” with the UN weapons inspectors. The whole problem was that – to the horror of Blair and Bush – the ghastly Saddam did co-operate with them, and the UN weapons team under Hans Blix was about to prove that these “weapons of mass destruction” were non-existent; hence the Americans forced Blix and his men and women to leave Iraq so that they and Blair could stage their illegal invasion. I saw Blix’s aircraft still on the ground at Baghdad airport just two days before the attack. Note, too, the weasel words. Blair did not give his information “in good faith”, as SM (the illegible writer at the MoD) claims. He knew – and the Ministry of Defence knew (and I suppose SM knew) – they were untrue. Or “incorrect” as “SM” coyly writes.
Interesting words about a lie that very few journalists seem willing to keep in the public eye.
Action in Iraq was an unforgiveable abuse – of democracy here in the UK, of the decision making process of the United Nations and certainly of the people of Iraq and of our troops.
While it may be convenient to just sweep it under the carpet with the rest of the falsehoods from the Blair years, we must make sure that the truth is eventually acknowledged!
