The Chilcot Commission in Britain has released its report examining the events leading up to the Iraq War. The investigation took seven years.
Our investigation in the United States was substituted with chants of “U,S,A, U.S.A!”
It concluded that Tony Blair chose to go with flawed intelligence while ignoring more peaceful options, and the faulty intelligence came from President George Bush.
As a result Blair, promoted the involvement in Bush’s war based on false and exaggerated statements.
He, like Bush, went into the war inadequately prepared for what would come after, even though advisors told him that an invasion could have negative consequences, and could result in an increase in terrorism.
In 2002, while real and imagine reasons for an invasion were being presented to the public, including the United Nations, Tony Blair wrote to Bush,
“I’ll be with you, whatever.”
“Whatever” is too open an agreement to have troops face an enemy in combat especially when the enemy is not the right one.
Mr. Blair has regrets about it all, oh, except the part about dead soldiers and dead civilians.
“I express more sorrow, regret, and apology than you can ever believe,” Blair responded to the report.
He also insisted the British soldiers who died during the military action had not sacrificed their lives in vain.
But for what?
In this country the desire to end the dying and bring the troops home has been met with the platitude that if we bring the remaining soldiers home from a wrongful war, we will be turning our backs on those who have already died, or have been maimed.
So apparently the thought is that we just keep sending troops into the war so that more will die, and then we have to be respectful ad infinitum.
Somethings seems wrong about this thinking.