Iraq War Inquiry: " beyond 'mere negligence and forgiveable delay' "

Delay in Iraq War inquiry report is a 'scandal', says Lord Hurd

Lord Hurd of Westwell said the delay had gone beyond 'mere negligence and forgiveable delay' and was 'becoming a scandal'

06 Jan 2015 - The delay in the publication of the Iraq War inquiry report is a “scandal”, according to a former Conservative foreign secretary.

Lord Hurd of Westwell – who as Douglas Hurd was Conservative foreign secretary from 1989 to 1995 – said the delay had gone beyond “mere negligence and forgiveable delay” and was “becoming a scandal”.

Lord Dykes of Harrow Weald, a Liberal Democrat peer, also suggested that former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair could face war crimes charges once the report is published.

The news came as the Government admitted that talks over the publication of the gist of conversations between Mr Blair and George W Bush, the former US president, were now completed.

But Lord Wallace of Saltaire, a minister, said if the report is not published by the end of February, it will be delayed until after the general election. read more>>>

Chilcot delay turning into national scandal, says Lord Hurd: Former foreign secretary demands urgent action as peers say delay is 'utter and total disgrace'

* Lord Hurd: Issue has 'dragged on beyond questions of forgivable delay'
* Lord Dykes says delay in process that started in 2009 is 'total disgrace'
* Report may now not be published until after election, says Lord Wallace
* Wait could be due to 'Maxwellisation' process to allow subjects to reply

7 January 2015 - Delays in publishing the findings of the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war are a scandal, peers were told last night.

Demanding urgent action, Lord Hurd said the issue had ‘dragged on beyond questions of mere negligence and forgivable delay’.

‘It is becoming a scandal,’ said the peer, who as Douglas Hurd was foreign secretary from 1989 to 1995.

‘This is not a matter of trivial importance; it is something to which a large number of people in this country look anxiously for the truth,’ he told Parliament.

‘Is it not time the Government exerted themselves to make sure that reasonable demand is met?’

Lord Dykes – a former Tory minister and now Lib Dem peer – said the delay in a process that started more than five years ago was ‘an utter and total disgrace’.

He added: ‘More and more people think that it is some kind of attempt to prolong the agony for Tony Blair facing possible war crimes charges.’ 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!