Leaked documents reveal No 10 cover-up over Iraq invasion
• Inquiry to hear how Blair hid true intentions for war
• Military ‘ill-prepared' for aftermath of invasion
Military commanders are expected to tell the inquiry into the Iraq war, which opens on Tuesday, that the invasion was ill-conceived and that preparations were sabotaged by Tony Blair‘s government's attempts to mislead the public.
They were so shocked by the lack of preparation for the aftermath of the invasion that they believe members of the British and US governments at the time could be prosecuted for war crimes by breaching the duty outlined in the Geneva convention to safeguard civilians in a conflict, the Guardian has been told.
Phi Beta Iota: Generals are not stupid. All of the flag officers in both the US and the UK knew that the “intelligence” being used to justify the elective invasion of Iraq was fabricated–even so publicly demeaning as copying a student paper from the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS). Their post-war fury strikes us as disingenious, one reason why we feel that flag officers should be held accountable for obeying illegal orders and for putting their troops into harm's way at the behest of what must be called “domestic enemies.” In the US, Congress abdicated its responsibilities and both parties chose to be eikther foot-soldiers for Vice President Dick Cheney and his campaign to “own” the Iraqi oil fields, or in the case of the Democrats, quietly going along. All of the “checks and balances” in both Nations broke down. The lesson we have learned is that it only takes ONE officer who is willing to resign, go public, and stay public. “Loyally executing orders” was not accepted at the Nuremberg trials, it should not be accepted now, with one big difference: instead of hanging people, we need to take the “Truth & Reconciliation” approach, build a government that works because it has integrity at every level, and move on.
