Iraq and Accountability: 'should be actively pushing for a judicial enquiry'

Where to now: Iraq Today?

29 December 2014 - Chilcot inquiry

It is scandalous that the Chilcot Inquiry report has not been published before Christmas as intended. It is further outrageous, since it is obvious to most of us, as ably articulated by a member of the public Peter Hughes in his letter to the Times Editor (Friday 12 December 2014) that “According to Rob Wilson, a Cabinet Office minister, the Chilcot report into the Iraq war cannot be released after February (report, Dec 11) because of a ban on releasing “politically sensitive” material in the run-up to the general election. Surely that is precisely the time when voters should be be in possession of political material, especially if it is sensitive.” so as to enable the electorate to make an informed choice. It is precisely because we don’t now have this choice that the general election is based on a system where faith in our institutions is found wanting. We could make the further case that it is time for a written Constitution.

It is worth mentioning Andrew MacKinlay, former member of Foreign Affairs select committee, writing in the Evening Standard (UK), 15 December 2014, “it is institutionalised that the Prime Minister and the leader of the Opposition nominate candidates for the intelligence and security Committee. The committee is filled with Establishment figures who cannot provide robust, independent oversight of the security services.

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Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal

In his November 2011 paper titled “Bush and Blair found guilty of crimes against peace at the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal” , Professor Richard Falk reminded us that although “its verdict was not enforceable in a normal manner associated with a criminal court operating within a sovereign state or as constituted by international agreement, as is the case with the International Criminal Court” a verdict was rendered at “The “recent session of the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal offers a devastating critique of the persisting failures of international criminal law mechanisms of accountability to administer justice justly, that is, without the filters of impunity provided by existing hierarchies of hard power. “ (The Brussells Tribunal). read more>>>

* * * CIA Torture: Read the Senate Intelligence Committee report * * *

In a Democracy: 'Citizens must know what is done in their name'

Human rights groups call for special prosecutor to investigate CIA torture

22 December 2014 - The ACLU and Human Rights Watch say the offences amount to ‘a vast criminal conspiracy’ and are ‘shocking and corrosive’ to US democracy and credibility read more>>>

* * * Seeds of ISIL Planted By Bush/Cheney and Conservative Congresses * * *

* * * 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

$14 Million An Hour: War Costs Top $1.6 Trillion Since 9/11, Say Congressional Researchers

December 22 2014 - American taxpayers have shelled out roughly $1.6 trillion on war spending since 9/11, according to a new report from Congress’ nonpartisan research arm. That’s roughly $337 million a day -- or nearly a quarter million dollars a minute -- every single day for 13 years. read more>>>

Chris Hayes MSNBC: "If you can run a deficit to go to war, you can run a deficit to take care of the people who fought it" In response to Republican opposition to expanding Veterans' benefits on fiscal grounds

Neither of these recent wars have yet been paid for, let alone the results from, including the long ignored or outright denied existence of, till this Administrations Cabinet and Gen Shinseki, only Government branch consistent for the past six years, issues! As well as under deficits most of the, grossly under funded, VA budget is still borrowed thus added, problem creating, costs that shouldn't exist!