[IP] British general/ commander of UN Bosnia Force: "Impeach Blair"
Begin forwarded message:
From: Deborah Alexander <dsalexan@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: January 10, 2006 6:26:52 PM EST
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: British general/ commander of UN Bosnia Force: "Impeach Blair"
Dave - For IP if you wish:
Byline says that General Sir Michael Rose was adjutant general of the
British army and commander of the UN protection force in Bosnia
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1682807,00.html
Enough of his excuses: Blair must be impeached over Iraq
The only way parliament can regain the trust of disaffected voters is
to admit that it was wrong to support the war
Michael Rose
Tuesday January 10, 2006
The Guardian
Wars are won when the people, government and army work together for a
common cause in which they genuinely believe. Whereas the people may
be initially uncertain about military intervention, politicians will
often be the strongest advocates - blinded by the imperatives of
their political views. It will invariably be military commanders who
are most cautious about using force - for they understand better than
most the consequences of engaging in war.
Although in a true democracy they must remain subordinate to their
political masters, they have a clear responsibility to point out when
political strategies are flawed or inadequately resourced. Since they
might also have to ask their soldiers to sacrifice their lives, they
must be assured that a war is just, legal and the last resort
available. Yet three years ago this country was somehow led by the
prime minister into war in Iraq where few, if any, of these
requirements were met.
Most importantly a clear justification for the war in Iraq was never
sufficiently made by Tony Blair - for the intelligence he presented
was always embarrassingly patchy and inconsistent. What is more, his
unequivocal statement to the House of Commons that Saddam Hussein
possessed weapons of mass destruction that could be used within 45
minutes was made without being properly validated - for it was
decided in Washington and London to launch the invasion of Iraq
early, on the basis of the flimsy evidence available. This was done
without asking the UN weapons inspectors, who were actually on the
ground in Iraq, to investigate this allegation. Ultimately, as the
inspectors suspected and as we now all know, it turned out that there
were no such weapons. Britain had been led into war on false
pretences. It was a war that was to unleash untold suffering on the
Iraqi people and cause grave damage to the west's prospects in the
wider war against global terror.
Nevertheless, today the prime minister seeks to persuade the world
that the war was justifiable because Saddam Hussein was toppled and
there now exists in Iraq a slender hope of democracy. The Iraqi
elections are a creditable achievement by the coalition forces. But
it must be remembered that a general election was previously held in
Iraq in 1956, and within two years the country had fallen under
military rule. Without adequate security and the necessary democratic
institutions in place, there are absolutely no long-term guarantees
that democracy will endure.
Before the invasion, regime change was never cited as a reason for
going to war. Indeed, Mr Blair insisted that regime change was not,
nor ever could be, a reason for going to war. Had such a
justification been fully debated in parliament, it is exceedingly
unlikely that the necessary political support would have been
forthcoming. It was the apparent need to defend ourselves against a
dire threat - so vividly described by Mr Blair in the Commons - that
finally won the political argument.
During the build-up to war and since, most of the electorate of this
country have consistently opposed the decision to invade. People have
seen their political wishes ignored for reasons now proved false. But
there has been no attempt in parliament to call Mr Blair personally
to account for what has transpired to be a blunder of enormous
strategic significance. It should come as no surprise therefore that
so many of this country's voters have turned their backs on a
democratic system they feel has so little credibility and is so
unresponsive.
One obvious way of re-engaging these disaffected voters would be for
parliament to accept that it wrongly supported the war - but only
because it believed what Mr Blair told them. Now it is clear that
parliament was misled by Mr Blair, either wittingly or unwittingly,
parliament should also call on him for a full explanation as to why
he went to war. It is not a sufficient excuse for Mr Blair to say
that he acted in good faith and that his decisions were based on the
intelligence he had been given. For it is the clear responsibility of
people in his position to test intelligence. No intelligence can ever
be taken at face value. Indeed it is negligent so to do.
Parliament should therefore ascertain how far the prime minister did
evaluate intelligence regarding WMD and how he assessed the
reliability of the many sources that provided that intelligence. It
should ask him what corroborating evidence there was for his specific
statement about WMD - and why more use was not made of the UN
inspectors on the ground in Iraq to test the validity of that
statement. It should inquire just how much he discounted the mass of
intelligence that came in from the Iraqi National Congress - a body
that had a vested interest in removing Saddam from power. The list of
possible questions is huge and would no doubt be usefully expanded
during any hearings.
Mr Blair is an able barrister who should relish the opportunity to
put his side of the case. No one can undo the decision to go to war.
But the impeachment of Mr Blair is now something I believe must
happen if we are to rekindle interest in the democratic process.
· General Sir Michael Rose was adjutant general of the British army
and commander of the UN protection force in Bosnia
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