Iraq war was illegal, top lawyer will tell Chilcot inquiry

[cal04]

Source: The Guardian

Foreign Office official's evidence the day before attorney general
Lord Goldsmith appears will increase pressure on Tony Blair


Tony Blair's decision to take Britain to war in Iraq was illegal, the Foreign Office's former chief legal adviser will tell the Chilcot inquiry this week.

The Observer has been told that Sir Michael Wood, who was the FO's most senior lawyer, is ready to reveal that, in the run-up to war, he was of the opinion that the conflict would have been unlawful without a second UN resolution. This will provide an explosive backdrop to the former prime minister's appearance before the inquiry on Friday.

The evidence from Wood, who will appear before the committee on Tuesday, will provide the firmest proof to date of the bitter wranglings that divided the government in the countdown to war.

His testimony will come the day before the appearance of Lord Goldsmith, the former attorney general, who is said to have dropped his legal objections days before the invasion, following intense pressure from Blair and his closest advisers, and the US authorities.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jan/24/iraq-chilcot-inquiry-michael-wood

[Mari333]

1. how nice to know that one country is actually investigating...

[UpInArms]

2. maybe bLIAR will face some consequences?

I won't hold my breath, but I will hope it happens.

[polly7]

3. Excuse my po'dness (is that a word?) but these inquiries

are a joke. They're trying to make the billions of us who knew it was illegal and a lie think they actually suddenly care that it was ........ no matter that millions of innocents had to die, be mutilated, orphaned, displaced, relegated to a toxic environment. Who the heck are they trying to kid? No one will pay for this horror.

[JDPriestly]

6. It is important that this legal history be established through

the inquiry, through testimony under oath and a thorough investigation.

I'm hoping that the British inquiry will set off an international inquest and perhaps, trials of key figures who may have committed violations of fundamental international law. I'm not holding my breath, but that's my hope.

[polly7]

8. That is very true, I hadn't thought of it that way.

These records may just help someone ... in some way. Thanks for that.

[PeaceBlimp]

9. but think of the precedent

very true, but if they simply get away with it.. well... what a terrible precedent. Hopefully we can bring them to trial one day soon.

[Quantess]

4. Yeah... we already know it was illegal.

This seems like another empty gesture.

[ixion]

5. gee, no kidding...it took them 7 years to figure that out?

we were screaming it from the rooftops, at the time, before we were told to shut up.

Off to the Hague with the log of them.

[dflprincess]

7. Perhaps life will imitate art

if you haven't seen it, rent "The Trial of Tony Blair" - a dark comedy where Blair is set up to take the fall for the Iraq war. It came out in 2007 and is a bit dated (Hillary Clinton is the U.S. president in the movie), but still amusing to watch.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trial_of_Tony_Blair

The Trial of Tony Blair is a satirical drama, based around the notion that the former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair is to face charges of war crimes by an international tribunal, following his departure from 10 Downing Street.

...Meanwhile, Tony Blair is having problems of his own. He is obsessed with his legacy, but none of the celebrities who fawned over him as Prime Minister will now pay any attention to him. In addition, the American White House ignores him as well, following George Bush's replacement by Democrat Hillary Clinton. Also, he and his wife are having financial problems. Finally, Blair is haunted by disturbing visions of Iraq, especially of dead Iraqi civilians, following British and American action in the 2003 Iraq War, which is still ongoing, and in which British soldiers are still dying regularly (and at a seemingly higher rate). His troubled conscience makes him try to convert to Catholicism, though in repeated visits to church he finds himself unable to confess to any sins. Blair is portrayed as being partly in denial that a world which once hailed him as a great leader has largely turned against him.

To compound his problems, the International Criminal Court is looking to bring war crimes charges against the UK and US leaders in relation to the Iraq War. Now that Tony Blair is no longer Prime Minister, he no longer has diplomatic immunity from prosecution. The United Nations Security Council votes on the decision to bring Tony Blair to court. Ordinarily, this would not have been an issue as the UK, a permanent member of the UNSC, would have been able to veto the resolution. Unfortunately for Blair, under orders from Gordon Brown's assistant, the British UNSC representative is "in the toilet" when the resolution is voted on. The resolution passes, with all other UNSC members (including the United States, under Hillary Clinton, following the "peace path") voting in favour.

Under the stress of events, Blair suffers a recurrence of heart problems, but everybody (including Gordon Brown who visits him in hospital) believes this is play-acting. The programme ends with Tony Blair being flown to his trial in The Hague.