woensdag, februari 10, 2010
Iraq and the fig-leaf of just war theory
Discussing the Chilcot Inquiry into the invasion and occupation of Iraq on BBC Radio 5 on 20 January this year, John Rentoul, quoting Nick Cohen, challenged ‘the anti-war mob’, and more specifically Philippe Sands, to tell him how any war could be ‘illegal’. Cohen, like Rentoul, is an apologist for the Iraq War, petulant about critics who insist it was illegal. His petulance, elaborated in the article quoted below, is rooted in his (entirely correct) insistence that the murderous Sadaam Hussein regime was itself acting in ways which were plainly illegal. But my concern isn’t with whether two wrongs make a right. Rather it’s with Cohen’s ‘simple question’:I am growing old and grey waiting for John Humphrys or Jon Snow to show a spark of journalistic life and ask Nick Clegg, Philippe Sands and all the rest of them the simple question: "What do you mean by an 'illegal war'?"
Read more >> | openDemocracy
Labels: Irak onderzoek, Iraq, Iraq Inquiry Chilcot, Just War, United Kingdom
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donderdag, januari 28, 2010
Goldsmith at Chilcot: line by Lyne
he attorney general's change of mind on the legality of force against Iraq appears a tragic compromise of his independenceLord Goldsmith's appearance at the Iraq inquiry was just what one would expect from a leading lawyer who is used to appearing before the country's highest courts. He was calm and reassuring – a bit like drinking hot chocolate, said a friend – and he was well-prepared and authoritative.
But did he do enough to dispel the doubts about the integrity and independence of the decision-making process that led to his eleventh-hour opinion that the Iraq war was unambiguously lawful?
By Philippe Sands
Read more >> | The Guardian
Labels: Irak onderzoek, Iraq Inquiry Chilcot, United Kingdom
- posted by DD @ 11:38 a.m. Perma Link/Print (0) comments
US lawyers persuaded Lord Goldsmith to change his mind on Iraq war
ony Blair only got the “green light” to invade Iraq after his Attorney General visited Washington and was told by US lawyers that he was wrong to oppose the war.Lord Goldsmith told the Iraq Inquiry today that he altered his advice a few weeks before the bombing of Baghdad after a series of meetings with American legal advisors. He had initially warned that United Nations resolution 1441, passed in November 2002, did not provide a legal basis for overthrowing Saddam Hussein.
Read more >> | US lawyers persuaded Lord Goldsmith to change his mind on Iraq war - Times Online
Labels: Irak onderzoek, Iraq Inquiry Chilcot, United Kingdom
- posted by DD @ 12:06 a.m. Perma Link/Print (0) comments
dinsdag, januari 26, 2010
Chilcot inquiry: Lawyers expose pressure to give green light for war
oreign secretary resisted legal advice on invasion of Iraq- Attorney general's advice not sought until eleventh hour
While Jack Straw, then foreign secretary, was roundly dismissing the unanimous advice of his top lawyers that an invasion of Iraq would be illegal, officials in Downing Street were strongly resisting similar unwelcome advice, this time from Lord Goldsmith, the attorney general.
Previously classified documents released today at the Chilcot inquiry offer a rare, perhaps unprecedented, insight into manoeuvring at the heart of government about one of the most serious issues to confront ministers – whether to go to war, and the lawfulness of it.
Read more >> | The Guardian
See also >> | Lord Goldsmith
See also >> | Straw's clash with lawyers laid bare at Iraq inquiry - BBC News
Labels: Irak crisis, Irak onderzoek, Iraq Inquiry Chilcot, United Kingdom
- posted by DD @ 11:52 p.m. Perma Link/Print (0) comments
donderdag, januari 21, 2010
Jack Straw appearance at Chilcot Inquiry blows open Iraq war divisions
he stark divisions at the heart of government on the eve of the Iraq war were blown open again today when Jack Straw hinted that he considered his position in the build-up to the conflict.The Justice Secretary, who was Foreign Secretary at the time of the invasion, handed a 25-page memo to the official Iraq Inquiry before he gave evidence this afternoon, which stated that he believed he had a "profoundly difficult" moral dilemma when he was asked whether to support the war.
“The moral as well as the political dilemma were profoundly difficult," he wrote. "I was also fully aware that my support for military action was critical.
Read more >> | The Times Online
See also >> | The Jack Straw Memorandum (pdf)
See also >> | Chris Ames - The Guardian
See also >> | I could have vetoed UK military action in Iraq, Jack Straw tells inquiry - The Guardian
See also >> | Jack Straw at the Iraq war inquiry - The Guardian
See also >> | Jack Straw says 45-minute Iraq claim has 'haunted us'
See also >> | The Iraq Inquiry Timetable
Labels: Irak onderzoek, Iraq, Iraq Inquiry Chilcot, United Kingdom
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dinsdag, januari 19, 2010
Iraq inquiry: Hoon says UK war backing not inevitable
ritish involvement in the invasion of Iraq was not decided until it was approved by MPs, Geoff Hoon has said.The ex-defence secretary said the UK always hoped diplomatic efforts on Iraq would be successful and had never given "unconditional" support for war.
It would have been "inappropriate" for the cabinet to discuss the legal advice it received on the war, he said.
Letters show that the attorney general warned Mr Hoon in April 2002 about the legality of military action.
Read more >> | BBC News
Labels: Irak crisis, Iraq, Iraq Inquiry Chilcot, United Kingdom
- posted by DD @ 5:03 p.m. Perma Link/Print (0) comments
Goldsmith was not convinced war was legal even after UN resolution – Chilcot
hairman of Iraq inquiry also suggests then-attorney general was discouraged from expressing his doubts about war in writingLord Goldsmith was not convinced that war in Iraq would be legal even after the UN security council passed resolution 1441 in November 2002, Sir John Chilcot said today.
Basing his remarks on papers he has read but which have not been made public, the chairman of the Iraq inquiry said that the then-attorney general, "immediately after 1441 had been secured, said he would need some time to reflect on it. And it appears from what we read that he did not feel convinced at that time – I'm talking about post-November, before March – that standing on its own it would be a secure base."
Chilcot also suggested that Goldsmith had been discouraged from expressing his doubts about the war in writing.
Read more >> | The Guardian
See also >> | The Times: Lord Goldsmith warned Tony Blair over legality of the Iraq war
See also >> | Iraq Inquiry Digest
See also >> | Telegraph: Iraq Inquiry: Lord Goldsmith 'materially' changed legal advice in days before war
Labels: Irak crisis, Irak onderzoek, Iraq, Iraq Inquiry Chilcot
- posted by DD @ 1:01 p.m. Perma Link/Print (0) comments
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