Archive for January, 2010
How did Blair become Bush’s ally in the Iraq war?
by Hans Blix
In London the Chilcot inquiry is trying to find out how the UK came to stand side by side with the US in the Iraq war in 2003. Most Brits remain furious with Tony Blair who was instrumental in forming the alliance of the willing. The war that was costly in terms of [...]
Blair – the aftermath
by Chris Ames
There are too many articles on Blair’s appearance on Friday to summarise easily but the idea that he overdid the certainty abounds. In particular, Andrew Gilligan points out what I have been saying, that it isn’t just about the short-term impact on the media and public but what the Chilcot panel makes of [...]
Blair demo images
by Andrew Mason
Images of the demonstration at the QEII Centre in Westminster on Friday last, to protest against Tony Blair’s decision to go to war, courtesy of Clarke, who has given permission for their use.
I have taken the liberty of resizing the originals down to 1280 x 960 pixels to save on bandwidth and allow [...]
Who do you believe?
by Andrew Mason
(Hat tip to Gary Gibbon of C4 for some of the below)
Clare Short:
(From her book ‘An Honourable Deception’, P186)
“On Monday, 17 March, the special Cabinet with the Attorney-General was held. We were told Robin had resigned and Peter Goldsmith sat in Robin’s seat. Two pieces of paper were sitting on the table before [...]
Prashar simply does not believe Goldsmith
by Chris Ames
In all the debate about what weight the relative weight the Inquiry is giving to documentary evidence rather than the oral evidence of government witnesses, it is worth noting what Baroness Prashar said to Tony Blair yesterday:
20 BARONESS USHA PRASHAR: But going back to the legal advice,
21 I mean, when the Cabinet met [...]
Hamstrung by secrecy
by Chris Ames
I have posted this piece for Comment is Free this evening:
Should the man who told us that intelligence assessments had “established beyond doubt” that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction be allowed to put his own spin on even more documents which we have not seen? That was the question facing the Iraq [...]
Blair spin in overdrive
by Chris Ames
Even before Tony Blair appears today, his “friends” have been briefing the media about what he is going to say. How very typical. The Guardian’s Patrick Wintour, who was rather close to Blair when he was prime minister, has quite a detailed account of Blair’s defence. The BBC has also been briefed.
What is [...]
John Rentoul on the French position
by Andrew Mason
John Rentoul is chief political commentator for The Independent on Sunday, a biographer of Tony Blair, and is known to hold a predominantly pro-war position. He frequently blogs on the same issues as are discussed here at the Digest, and has graciously praised this website on occasion for our willingness to be relatively [...]
Documents are the key
by Chris Ames
When Tony Blair appears before the Inquiry tomorrow, the key issue is not so much what questions the panel will put to him but whether they will be allowed to quote from documents that contradict his well-rehearsed account of events. The inquiry is being gagged, as the opposition has claimed and as it [...]
Blix on comment is free
by Chris Ames
Hans Blix has published a new piece on Comment is Free that really needs to be read, particularly in the light of recent claims at the Inquiry:
Security council resolution 1441, adopted on 8 November 2002, was draconian and there must have been some who expected, or at least hoped, that Iraq would reject [...]