Tony Blair To Face Iraq Inquiry Tomorrow
Former British PM Tony Blair is set to face a House of Commons inquiry tomorrow concerning the legality of the war in Iraq. The Chilcot committee has already heard from the likes of Lord Goldsmith, the attorney general at the time, who famously “changed his mind” on the war’s legality in a manner that would make St. Paul (of Damascene conversion fame) proud, this week. But Blair goes up tomorrow, so he’s sure to steal the show.
Needless to say, this raises questions for us on this side of the pond. Why is there no similar interest in Congress by way of examining senior members of the Bush administration on the war’s legality? True, we have a different legal system here, and, in the UK, the Labour party, which contains an active anti-war rump, has been in power for years, whereas the Republicans ruled with a mighty pro-war majority (in both parties) for years, but, where the UN charter is concerned, the war was clearly illegal under any system.
It also disconcerting that the press coverage of this event (yes, the committee is toothless) has been so inadequate, even in the UK: The Financial Times has not had a story about the proceedings all week.
Anyway, here are links to some articles on the committee. First, on Blair’s appearance tomorrow, from The Guardian; second, “The Case against Blair” from the New Statesman; and third, George Monbiot is offering a reward to capture the fugitive!
One Response to “Tony Blair To Face Iraq Inquiry Tomorrow”
Ajax says:
January 29, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Perhaps it went like this:
http://lavatoryreader.typepad.com/the-lavatory-reader/2010/01/the-iraq-inquiry-the-peculiar-memories-of-tony-blair.html