Wednesday, July 06, 2016

While we in the US talk of private e-mail servers the United Kingdom issues blistering report condemning the decision to invade Iraq.

Damn you look fine in the flight jacket. I just wish I knew how to quit you.
Courtesy of The Guardian: 

Sir John Chilcot has delivered a devastating critique of Tony Blair’s decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003, with his long-awaited report concluding that Britain chose to join the US invasion before “peaceful options for disarmament” had been exhausted. 

The head of the Iraq war inquiry said the UK’s decision to attack and occupy a sovereign state for the first time since the second world war was a decision of “utmost gravity”. He described Iraq’s president, Saddam Hussein, as “undoubtedly a brutal dictator” who had repressed his own people and attacked his neighbours. 

But Chilcot – whom Gordon Brown asked seven years ago to head an inquiry into the conflict – was withering about Blair’s choice to join the US invasion. Chilcot said: “We have concluded that the UK chose to join the invasion of Iraq before the peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted. Military action at that time was not a last resort.”

 The conclusions of the report were as follows: 

• There was no imminent threat from Saddam Hussein. 
• The strategy of containment could have been adopted and continued for some time. 
• The judgments about the severity of the threat posed by Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction – WMDs – were presented with a certainty that was not justified. 
• Despite explicit warnings, the consequences of the invasion were underestimated. The planning and preparations for Iraq after Saddam were wholly inadequate. 
• The government failed to achieve its stated objectives.

The report did not weigh in on the legality of the invasion itself, though it makes it abundantly clear that the evidence did not support the decision.

The report also revealed the private correspondence between Blair and Bush, with one memo written even before Bush had sold the idea of an invasion to Congress saying:“I will be with you [Bush] whatever.”

What was it Dakota Meyer said again about the Obama Administration being corrupt and its supporters overlooking "obvious crimes?"

In this country Congress has NEVER launched a serious investigation into the legality of the Iraq War decision, and as long as the Republicans remain in charge it never will.

Instead they will likely launch yet another investigation going after Hillary Clinton. (Oh look they are already starting.)

However if anybody wants to really learn of the criminal and deceptive behaviors utilized by the Bush Administration to get us into this tragic and costly conflict perhaps the best source for that would be Rachel Maddow's brilliant documentary "Hubris."


21 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:46 AM

    Or Obama keeping troops in Afghanistan instead of withdrawing some.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think Obama was bound by a treaty Bush had made with Iraq: Obama had to withdraw all groups.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous1:05 PM

      God you're an idiot, 11:46. PRESIDENT BUSH signed status of forces agreement with Afghanistan and Iraq, AND the date for us basically withdrawing. Obama tried to re-negotiate with them, but they insisted the US soldiers would be under the law enforcement ion those countries (and thus tried for crimes committed there-you know, raping their daughters, killing civilians in the name of the USA?) This is not new information.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous1:32 PM

      Re: 11:46 - We really do have low IQ trolls here OR being a rightwinger automatically means you have a low IQ? You decide.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous1:37 PM

      @11:46 AM You write like a potential trial daddy for Bristol onherback Palin.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous2:43 PM

      Dakota and Sarah like to kick the shit and rile the pile. They have that knack to put killing and violence in the hearts of the masses. That is pretty much the extent of their purpose in life.

      Here are a couple of comments from Dakota Meyer post on Hillary.

      __vtragz 1 day ago
      If Hillary Clinton wins presidency we form a militia and charge the whitehouse. What has changed since 1776 ? Not a damn thing, who's in ?

      __vtragz 1 day ago
      Let's just kill her she deserves it

      Raise a glass with me.............
      https://www.instagram.com/p/BGCqs7bnXOa/?hl=en

      Delete
  2. Balzafiar11:49 AM

    Coming soon: The Trey Gowdy August Investigative Commission of War Crimes Offenses by the Reagan and Bush Administrations.

    Although it's a great idea, don't hold your breath, for two reasons: Trey Gowdy is quite a bit short of distinguished, and all the criminals are Republicans.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous11:49 AM

    British Newspapers Have Absolutely Savaged Tony Blair On Iraq
    http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/06/16/tony-blair-iraq-war_n_5498262.html
    What me worry?
    https://www.allriot.com/sites/default/files/styles/product_slider/public/arrest-tony-blair-war-criminal-illegal-gw-bush-iraq-war_0_0.jpg?itok=iFVMA4oT

    Americans are turning to the Alex Jones and juicy conspiratorial coalition.
    http://media.salon.com/2016/06/jones_trump2.jpg

    Half of the newly cloned 'power couple'
    http://i0.wp.com/radaronline.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/bristol-palin-fiance-dakota-meyer-injured-drunken-party-fight-PP.jpg?resize=540%2C400

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous12:16 PM

    Roger Stone: Nothing Can Save Hillary Clinton In A Debate With Donald Trump
    http://media.salon.com/2016/04/stone_trump.jpg

    Confused.
    https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LFnPT5q6J98/hqdefault.jpg

    5 right-wing conspiracy theories as nuts as Donald Trump’s lies about 9/11
    http://www.salon.com/2015/11/26/5_right_wing_conspiracy_theories_as_nuts_as_trumps_lies_about_muslims_cheering_911_partner/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:28 PM

      http://www.politicususa.com/2016/07/06/fact-checkers-bust-trump-list-denied.html

      Delete
  5. Anonymous1:05 PM

    Roger stone is a perverted little want-to-be who strives for personal recognition through dirty tricks. He's an old man that is trying to stay relevant through his infamous "dirty tricks."

    If I was a republican, particularly one with money who has crossed paths with Trump, I would worry. If he felt the least bit disrespected, he will use the presidency to get you back.

    Does anyone remember how he went after merv Griffin when merv bought Paradise Island from him? I was young and I remember trump being on tv saying what a loser Mervyn was. I used to watch the Mervyn Griffin show every afternoon with my mom so I liked merv.

    I think trump likes to blackmail or at least convey veiled threats to people.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous1:09 PM

    Sarah and Dakota Meyer are birds of a feather and in the club where they belong.
    https://kevzeppy.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/alex-jones-tin-foil.jpg

    Here Are Some Things Donald Trump’s New BFF Alex Jones Believes
    http://www.thefrisky.com/2015-12-03/here-are-some-things-donald-trumps-new-bff-alex-jones-believes/

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous1:12 PM


    Tony Blair Is Sorry Not Sorry For Iraq Invasion As He Sets Out Case For The Defence In Marathon Press Conference

    Blair spoke and took questions for nearly two hours

    ...With red eyes, a croaky voice and a stern frown, the former Prime Minster – who used to stride the world stage as US President George W Bush’s right hand man – seemed a diminished figure as he stepped up to the podium

    Blair, who has always retained a Peter Pan quality, looked closer his real age – now 63 – than he has before.

    Staring over the heads of the seated journalists, Blair stared down the camera and began his reading from his more than 6,400 words-long statement.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/tony-blair-iraq-chilcot-sorry_uk_577d3567e4b073366f10280e?section=

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous1:15 PM

    It took seven long years, 12 volumes, and 2.6 million words, but the verdict is in: when it came to Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq, “the diplomatic options had not at that stage been exhausted. Military actions was therefore not a last resort.” Worse, “the timing of military action was driven entirely by the US administration.”

    http://www.politicususa.com/2016/07/06/british-government-iraq-war-victim-poor-planning-washington.html

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous1:47 PM

    Wow, for someone who supposedly supports gay rights, Gryphen sure likes to use gay-themed insults when it comes to men. Real progressive of you!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous2:09 PM

    They both look like trusses turkeys.
    Beaglemom

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous2:31 PM

    We need to flip the script whenever someone discusses Hillary's server. Ask why there hasn't even been an investigation, similar to the one completed in Britian, into how the American public was lied to about WMDs and the whole reason why we went into Iraq and destabilized the entire Middle East. 4 dead in Benghazi is nothing compared to the thousands of soldiers and civilians killed by Bush and Cheney in an unnecessary war.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous2:54 PM

    Trump only does quality interviews.
    https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4Wnu9WyH_iM/maxresdefault.jpg

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous3:12 PM

    Tony, Tony, Tony
    https://www.allriot.com/sites/default/files/styles/product_slider/public/arrest-tony-blair-war-criminal-illegal-gw-bush-iraq-war_0_0.jpg?itok=iFVMA4oT

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous3:33 PM

    I watched "Hubris" and came away from it so ticked off! Rachel knows her stuff; so much admiration for her.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anita Winecooler4:24 PM

    The brits are so far ahead of us. When Connie Rice went before congress, she was asked several times about knowing ahead of time of the 911 attack, she didn't recall, then was asked to read the heading of an email. She hemmed and hawed and slithered like an eel, and it said something about "impending attacks to the WTC...." She kept trying to bide time to explain it, and they didn't want any of it.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcrgeuLb3dQ

    ReplyDelete

Don't feed the trolls!
It just goes directly to their thighs.