The UK’s Iraq war inquiry
Critics say no matter how compelling the evidence, no one will be held accountable.
Britain’s Iraq war inquiry headed by Lord Chilcot officially began last summer, but it is only now that the key figures in the run-up to the Iraq war are being heard.
The most prominent of all: Tony Blair, the former British prime minister.
With 179 British casualties and an estimated one million Iraqis killed since 2003, the families of the victims may have been hoping for signs of regret. But their hopes were disappointed. Harsh criticism came from Claire Short, the former secretary of state for international development. She said the government deliberately misled its cabinet and its people.
In the coming months, Gordon Brown, the British prime minister, will be heard, as well as more senior diplomats and military commanders. It is the most comprehensive inquiry into the Iraq war so far – but it has no legal status.
Critics say no matter how compelling the evidence, no one will be held accountable for what happened in Iraq.
So, the bigger question is: Where do the families of innocent dead Iraqis go for justice? Will they be forgotten or will George Bush and Tony Blair be tried for crimes against humanity?
To discuss this Jasim Azawi is joined by: David Pollock, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Lindsey German, the convenor of the British anti-war organisation Stop the War Coalition, and Gbenga Odunton, a professor of international law at the University of Kent.
This episode of Inside Iraq airs from Friday, February 5, 2010, at the following times GMT: Friday: 1730, 2230; Saturday: 0300, 0830; Sunday: 0600, 1230; Monday: 0130.