William Hague on the Iraq War Chilcot Inquiry

Iraq War Chilcot Inquiry Should Be Published Before Election, Says William Hague

16/10/2014 - The Chilcot Inquiry into the 2003 Iraq War should be published before the general election, William Hague has insisted.

There is deep frustration among many MPs that the report, set up in 2009 and expected to be highly critical of Tony Blair, has yet to see the light of day. It was due to be published three years ago. The election is in just seven months time.

"I'm not in control of the timing of the release of the report, certainly ministers hope it will available in the not too distant future," Hague, the leader of the Commons, told MPs on Thursday. "I hope it reports before the general election but I'm not in control of that."

The former foreign secretary also blamed the previous Labour government for the delay. He said if it had agreed to begin the inquiry sooner, it would have reported back by now. read more>>>

* * * The British Iraq War Inquiry * * * Released will carry private communications between GWBush and TBlair, like this already released: TB said there was a danger the Tories would see this as their chance to get rid of him … Bush said they would make it clear to the Tories that if they moved to get rid of TB "we will get rid of them".

* * * Iraq War Promoted Terrorism Rather Than Reducing It * * *

24 April 2014 - Britain’s involvement in the Iraq War promoted terrorism rather than reducing it and was a “strategic failure”, according to a major new report which estimated the cost of all UK conflicts since the end of the Cold War.
The Royal United Services Institute said the UK could face a bill of nearly £65bn, once the cost of long-term care for injured veterans was factored in, with most of the money was spent on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The study, called Wars in Peace, said both conflicts were largely “strategic failures” for the UK, The Guardian reported."

Facts: Matthew Hoh {former Marine and foreign service officer in Afghanistan}: "We spend a trillion dollars a year on national security in this country."
"And when you add up to the Department of Defense, Department of State, CIA, Veterans Affairs, interest on debt, the number that strikes me the most about how much we're committed financially to these wars and to our current policies is we have spent $250 billion already just on interest payments on the debt we've incurred for the Iraq and Afghan wars." 26 September 2014

Bob Herbert "Losing Our Way" : "And then the staggering costs of these wars, which are borne by the taxpayers. I mean, one of the things that was insane was that, as we're at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush administration cut taxes. This has never been done in American history. The idea of cutting taxes while you're going to war is just crazy. I mean, it's madness." Bill 'Moyers and Company': Restoring an America That Has Lost its Way 10 Oct. 2014