British Iraq inquiry announcement 'soon'

[T_i_B]

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=487045

The Government is to announce "shortly" whether it is to follow the White House and order an inquiry into why no weapons of mass destruction have yet been found in Iraq, Downing Street announced today.

The news sparked speculation that Prime Minister Tony Blair could use his appearance before a committee of commons committee chairmen tomorrow or the debate in Parliament on Lord Hutton's report on Wednesday to make the announcement.

Mr Blair's official spokesman would not be drawn on what form any announcement would take, but said it could come as early as later today.

The spokesman said: "What's different between last week and this is that the Hutton report, like the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee report and like the Intelligence and Security Committee report, has cleared the Government of allegations of having politically interfered with, falsified or hyped the intelligence on WMD. That allows us to address – hopefully in a more rational way, a more rational context – the perfectly valid question that people have asked about WMD."

[Spentastic]

1. It's all bollocks

They didn't lie. They just acted on "intelligence" Next week we are going after the trolls living under some bridge somewhere. They must exist because it's written down.

I'm fucking livid.

[rooboy]

2. Let's face it...

these guys are rigging inquiries and hearings all over the place, but nobody's buying it. By this time next year, Blair, Bush and Howard will be gone.

[T_i_B]

3. Terry Jones on Emperor Blair's new clothes

http://argument.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?story=486587

Lord Hutton has finally published his long-awaited report into the Emperor's New Clothes. Speculation in the media that the Emperor has been walking around stark naked for the past few months has finally been put to rest. Lord Hutton concludes that not only has there been no duplicity whatsoever on the part of the manufacturers of the clothes, but that there has been no hint of gullibility on the part of the Emperor or any of his ministers, officers of state or indeed anyone associated with the Emperor.

Indeed Lord Hutton goes on to stress that it is perfectly obvious for all to see that the Emperor's New Clothes are of excellent workmanship, that they have been cut to fit the Emperor perfectly and that they are made of the very finest materials - including top quality satin with rare silk linings and intricate lace cuffs. The colours, he says, are remarkable

Singled out for particular criticism in the report is a small child who claimed that he could see the Emperor as naked as the day that he was born. Lord Hutton states that the child had no factual evidence for making this statement, and that the claim amounted to a "very grave" attack upon the credibility and dignity of the Emperor and, indeed, upon all his ministers of state and advisers. In future no small children should be allowed to make unsubstantiated statements of fact detrimental to the Emperor that are not based on solid research and verified by a parliamentary sub-committee and by at least two law lords nominated by the Emperor.

Reaction to Lord Hutton's report has been divided. The Emperor's staff are said to be ecstatic, and the Emperor himself has stated that "the lie that I was walking around without any clothes on has now been proved to be the real lie". Outside the Emperor's immediate circle, however, some fear that the long-term effect of Lord Hutton's work may be to bring into disrepute the whole system of public inquiries and to reduce to a laughing stock the idea of getting an elderly law lord to turn a serious and important matter of public debate into an all-out attack on the Emperor's critics.

[DoYouEverWonder]

4. So will Hutton head up this new 'independent' inquiry?

Why bother, Tony can just write the report and Hutton can sign off on it. I don't even see why Hutton should bother to read it.

[Nihil]

5. Should be compulsory reading

Thanks for that link - the Terry Jones article is excellent.

The most chilling part (for me) is the last paragraph:

> Perhaps we are about to enter into a new age in which no one is
> permitted to give voice to what they see with their own eyes for
> fear of bursting the bubble of deception that currently encompasses
> most of those who now govern us.

This is starting to get scary (i.e., the way the mass media is being
controlled and the laws of justice are being eroded). The net result
is that any opposition can be discredited, isolated and crushed by the
state (US/UK) before any organised resistance can take place.

Anyone who rises up out of line or speaks out of turn will be taken
out of circulation by widely-reported smears that not only drop a
roadblock in the way of the current topic but also provide a first
response riposte in the future (i.e., after the front page smears
have been disproven and apologised for on page 23) with the good old
"no smoke without fire" rumour. Given that this further serves to
provide an example "pour encourager les autres", the community of fear
that supports a dictatorship or "ruling committee" can be achieved
with relatively few real blood-letting events.

The masses have been duped into believing what they see on TV and what
they read in the daily rags. The commentators have been frightened
into only providing the party line. The people have lost.

Nihil

[ex_jew]

7. Take heart !

I believe you misinterpret the situation as one of growing and soon unstoppable power on the side of the rulers. In actual fact, they haven't a clue ! Our society (both in the US and the UK) is in free-fall. It's completely overwhelmed by problems with no idea how to solve them. Even though they raid the darkest recesses of Orwell's's imagination it will buy them nothing in the long run, which is now a matter of days or weeks.

Consider:

hopeless war in Iraq
hopeless war in Afghanistan
hopeless war on drugs
hopeless war on terror
hopeless government debt
hopeless personal debt
collapse of manufacturing
growing likelihood of catastrophic climate change
political system unable to even carry out a fair election
and oh yes - peak oil

These are not the earmarks of a political establishment poised
to take permanent control of the situation. In fact they control nothing, despite their willingness to suspend civil liberties, impugn legitimate heros and corrupt the institutions of real government.

So my point is that the appropriate image is not that of a boot pressing on a face forever, but that of a moron lying flat on his back after tripping on any infinite number of banana peels.

As to what will really become of us without a functioning political system, I honestly have no idea, but I don't think Orwell should be your oracle.

[DoYouEverWonder]

8. There are a number of countries

that don't have functioning political systems but somehow society and business continues to muddle along. I'm not saying chaos and anarchy are much fun, but humans are incredibly resourceful and will find ways to survive no matter what happens. In the meantime, humans will continue to kill each other just has we have since the beginning of history, you would think we would have evolved by now?

[pink_poodle]

11. I would GLADLY live with the barter/trade system and .............

"every man for himself arrangement", if it meant getting rid of the current world leaders who are totally screwing up this plant. I'm serious.

[Beetwasher]

9. There Are No Words To Describe How Much Terry Jones Rules

This article is so funny, yet so bitterly sad...

[pink_poodle]

10. This was the final straw. The whole set up is laughing stock.............

and these pompous a-holes are laughing stock. The people are just fed up with this shit.

[Jacobin]

12. Yeooooowwww. That'll curl Blair's eyebrows!!

What a beautiful whack right in the nose!!

Brilliant.

[pinniped]

6. Bunch of turds. These people f'ed up royally and people died.

POS Poodle and POS BULLshyt should resign.

Ya right.

[T_i_B]

13. Blair confirms Iraq probe No. 4

So it is confirmed then.

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=487353

The Prime Minister today confirmed he wanted an all-party inquiry into intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction - but admitted no agreement had yet been reached with the Tories and the Liberal Democrats.

Tony Blair told MPs he wanted Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to announce the form of the inquiry team to the Commons later today.

But he conceded to the parliamentary Liaison Committee: "I think we need the agreement finally of the parties before we can be sure we have got the agreement of all the committees."

He said he hoped the details could be announced by Mr Straw this afternoon. Leaks in today's newspapers said Mr Blair wanted former Cabinet Secretary Sir Robin Butler - now Lord Butler - to lead the inquiry.