Archive for October, 2009
On the alert?
The following, which should be self-explanatory, is a contribution by Clarissa Mitchell.
My colleague and myself were in the area in Southern Turkey on October 11th 2002, near where the major American Air Base, Incirlik, is situated. Our NGO, The Seven Springs Foundation, set up the first Respite Centre for disabled children in the Country. As [...]
Protocols published
Three protocols relating to the conduct of the Iraq Inquiry have been published on the Inquiry website.
These are listed as:
The protocol for witnesses giving evidence to the Iraq Inquiry
The protocol for hearing evidence by the Iraq Inquiry in public, and for identifying witnesses
The protocol on sensitive information
The announcement also makes mention that the Cabinet Office, [...]
The silenced witnesses
by Chris Ames
I’ve posted a piece on Index on Censorship, about secrecy, censorship and defamation at the Inquiry:
“As the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq war announces its first public hearings, serious concerns about censorship and secrecy are beginning to arise. Some of those who are thinking about giving evidence are wondering how free they will [...]
Hearings begin on 24 November, end early February
by Chris Ames
The Inquiry has announced that its initial public hearings will begin on Tuesday 24th November 2009 at the QEII Conference Centre in central London.
It says they will run until 17th December, break for Christmas, then start again during the week of 4th January 2010. The Inquiry says that “It is expected they [...]
Questions for Tony Blair
by Chris Ames
Given the ongoing discussion about the prospects of Tony Blair appearing before the Inquiry, it is appropriate – and not entirely co-incidental – that the first of our pages to suggest questions for potential witnesses should focus on the former prime minister.
The page is very much work in progress but has been published [...]
Do mention the war
by Chris Ames
It’s noticeable that most of the references to the Inquiry at present are in the context of Tony Blair’s undeclared bid to be president of the European Union. I think these are on balance worth looking at, firstly because they suggest that even the prospect of the Inquiry’s public hearings is having an [...]
A view from the Irish Senate
Dominic Hannigan is a Senator in the Irish Parliament, and is the Labour Party Representative for Meath East. In his blog today he wrote a strong article objecting against the suggested proposal that former PM Tony Blair should stand as a candidate for the office of President of the European Council. The piece is entitled “President Blair? – Not in our name!”.
In light of the reference made to Mr Blair’s appearance before the forthcoming Chilcot Inquiry, I think this opinion will be of interest to at least some of our readers here, so I’m posting the second half of Senator Hannigan’s posting here, although strictly speaking I don’t have permission to do so (this is the web though – fair use is usually acceptable!)
…
Blair made a big mistake. A huge mistake. The Iraq War. Politically he should be consigned to the graveyard because of it.
I take that back
by Chris Ames
Since the Digest was launched on 1 October, I have been concerned that one of the questions that it suggested for the Inquiry to take forward stood out as significantly less open-minded than the others. This was of course “Why was the occupation so disastrous?”
I am surprised that this has not attracted [...]
Blair in the dock (again)
The Inquiry held two further meetings yesterday; one for relatives and one for veterans.
According to reports, those relatives who attended the meeting in Bristol were again very angry with Tony Blair.
The Guardian says that one relative told the committee:
“We believe the war on Iraq was wrong and unlawful. The UK and US could not [...]
UN committee bypassed
The following was originally posted as a comment here.
by Chris Lamb
Did Bush and Blair’s military invasion of Iraq breach Articles 39-47 of the UN Charter 1945?
The United Nations was originally created to secure collective peace and security, which is why collective responsibility is emphasized so strongly in the constitution or Charter for its [...]