Archive for 'Process' Category
Inquiry invites veterans to a meeting
Iraq Inquiry press release
The Iraq Inquiry invites veterans to a meeting with the Committee
11 August 2010
Sir John Chilcot has written to UK military personnel who served in Iraq between 2003 and 2009 inviting them to attend an event at Tidworth Garrison on 14 September. The open letter has been circulated to military personnel via Service [...]
Chilcot: More of the same
by Chris Ames
I’ve just published this piece on Comment is Free:
Watching the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war is like watching a car crash in slow motion. Very, very slow motion.
It is supposed to be a “lessons learned” inquiry, but it has shown itself unable to admit to its own mistakes, let alone learn from [...]
Who will be the judge of the legal issues?
by Chris Ames
It’s worth taking a closer look at the Inquiry’s press release last week, stating that it had written to “international lawyers”, asking for their analysis of the arguments relied upon by the UK government as the legal basis for the military intervention in Iraq. The Inquiry is telling us very clearly what it [...]
Is Clegg’s D-Day pledge a Damp Squib?
by Chris Ames
I had high hopes that Nick Clegg might announce a significant change to the way the Inquiry operates in his conversation with Philippe Sands at the Hay Festival. I have not seen exactly what Clegg said but Sands’ account of it for the Guardian is a massive disappointment:
“On the Chilcot inquiry on the [...]
The Inquiry keeps its head down (still)
In spite of the election being done and dusted, there is still no sign of the Inquiry returning from its self-imposed purdah. No new documents have been published. I am advised by the Inquiry’s media spokesman to keep an eye on its website as any developments will be announced there.
Still, as I wrote here, the [...]
Iraq, the Inquiry and the election
by Chris Ames
On Comment is Free on Sunday, John Kampfner pointed out that Iraq hasn’t made much of an impact on the election campaign, in spite of the Inquiry. In a new piece for Index on Censorship, I reveal that the inquiry could be deliberately withholding information that it is entitled to publish, in case [...]
The Inquiry shuts up shop
by Chris Ames
Aside from the announcement about its spending and a couple of letters, we have heard nothing from the Inquiry since Gordon Brown and other ministers appeared before it at the beginning of last month. The main run of hearings finished a month before that. The Inquiry did, as predicted, shut up shop very [...]
Cost of Iraq Inquiry so far: £2,237,700
Iraq Inquiry news release:
The Iraq Inquiry has published provisional details about its expenditure up to the end of March 2010. The total amount of money spent so far is £2,237,700. This figure includes staffing costs, office accommodation and the costs incurred in setting up and running three months of public hearings at the QEII conference [...]
Sir John’s closing statement
by Andrew Mason
I think this is probably worth posting in full here, if only to correct the already evident misapprehension that the Inquiry will not be taking any evidence from foreign nationals. In actual fact the statement notes that: “…we will be holding a number of meetings and seminars with a range of individuals, British [...]
Blair’s “fantasy”
by Chris Ames
Following Brian Jones’ recommendation, I have had a close look at Robin Cook’s “The Point of Departure” memoir. It is part contemporaneous diary and part reflection after Cook’s resignation on the eve of war.
One particular point stood out and resonated strongly with what Lord (formerly Sir Andrew) Turnbull, who was cabinet secretary [...]