U.K. Announces Inquiry Into Iraq War Errors

[G_j]

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=7839889

U.K. Announces Inquiry Into Iraq War Errors
British PM Gordon Brown Announces Long-Awaited Inquiry Into Iraq War Errors
By DAVID STRINGER Associated Press Writer
LONDON June 15, 2009 (AP)
The Associated Press


British Prime Minister Gordon Brown authorized a long-awaited inquiry into the Iraq war on Monday that aimed to examine mistakes made during and after the 2003 U.S-led invasion.

Lawmakers and anti-war protesters have repeatedly demanded that an independent panel scrutinize what they say are a range of errors made by Britain, the United States and other allies in prewar intelligence and postwar planning.

Brown's spokesman Michael Ellam said the prime minister would tell Parliament later on Monday how the inquiry will be conducted, and would not comment on whether the inquiry would be held in public or private.

Britain's remaining 4,000 troops ended their six-year operation in Iraq in April, a mission that cost the lives of 179 service personnel and was deeply unpopular with the public.

Troops expect to complete a withdrawal from the southern Iraqi city of Basra, where British personnel were mainly based, by the end of July.

Opponents of the Iraq war have urged Brown to allow the inquiry to investigate prewar discussions between former U.S. President George W. Bush and then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2002.


..more..

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. "BBC understands the probe will be held in private"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8100432.stm

Which means it could be a whitewash. The following is the minimum needed:

Who should conduct the inquiry? The model of the Butler inquiry into intelligence on weapons of mass destruction which had five members is better than a judge sitting on his or her own, as Hutton did. Having five or seven members would allow the main political parties to have representatives on the team, provided they sat in a personal capacity, while also giving seats to independent outsiders. But the Hutton model of having proceedings in public should be followed. There will be no public confidence in a secret inquiry. Hutton's device of using counsel to lead witnesses in giving evidence and undergoing cross-examination would help to keep the questioning focused, but committee members should also have the right to put their own supplementary questions.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jun/15/iraq-inquiry-gordon-brown

I have no confidence in a secret inquiry. Butler did that, and they missed (or decided to ignore) the Downing Street Memos. When I wrote to one of the members of the inquiry (an MP), he couldn't, or wouldn't, give a satisfactory answer to whether they'd considered the Downing Street Memos or not.

[G_j]

2. agreed, and the record is not promising,

"Britain has previously held two inquiries into aspects of the decision to join the U.S.-led war.

One cleared the government of blame for the death of David Kelly, a government weapons scientist who killed himself in 2003 after he was exposed as the source of a British Broadcasting Corp. report that accused Blair's office of "sexing up" prewar intelligence.

A separate 2004 inquiry into intelligence on Iraq also cleared Blair's government, but criticized intelligence officials for relying on seriously flawed or unreliable sources."

[dipsydoodle]

3. Same link now states it WILL be in private.

x(

Last nail in Labour's coffin that decision.