Content, War in Iraq

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- On February 27, 2003, we were told that Britain's taxpayers paid millions for arms delivered to Iraq before the Gulf War of 1991. Margaret Thatcher's government supported Saddam Hussein's regime, sold a lot of arms to Iraq, and guarantee payments for military and civil credits sales. On these the taxpayers had to pay more than £1bn to many British firms such as Racal, Thorn-EMI, Marconi, etc.
- On March 7, 2003, the Labour MPs who voted against Blair last week want another vote after the latest weapon inspectors' report. They are against the war and for a continuation of the inspections in Iraq. They warned Blair that he could loose his leadership of the Labour party if war goes ahead without UN mandate.
- Union leaders said, on March 12, 2003, that the Labour movement would not support Tony Blair if he goes to war without a second resolution approved by the UN Security Council. There is also a strong pressure on the party to call for a special conference to discuss the foreseen war with Iraq. A strong minority of Labour Mps backs all this.
- In England, on April 6 2003, two Labour Members of the Parliament, George Galloway and the so-called "Father of the House", the older member Tam Dalyell, were told that they would be expelled from the party for their strong vocal opposition to the war. It looks like the American notion of freedom is spreading to the UK! Galloway said that if he were "sacked" from the Labour Party, he would stand for the Parliament as an independent.
- Polls on April 14, 2003, are showing that support for the war among the general public is increasing (63% for it), but this is probably due to the fact that the British always support their troops once they are fighting.
- On April 18, 2003, some backbench Labour Members of the British Parliament asked Blair to prove that the Iraqis have weapons of mass destruction. Until now none has been found. The USA and Britain are so desesperate to find some smoking-guns that they are now assembling a thousand-strong team of experts to go through Iraq hoping that they will find something incriminating. They have drawn up a list of 146 sites to be checked carefully; they also intend to interrogate 5,000 Iraqi scientists.
- Both Bush and Blair justified their invasion of Iraq on the assumption that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. If they do not find any then the war was illegal, with all the implications that go with it. But they will find some even if they have to plant them.
- Blair admitted in an interview to the Sun newspaper that, for a few days, he thought he would have to resign as prime minister if he had failed to win a crucial Common vote on the looming war with Iraq. Many members of his government including Jack Straw and David Blunkett later said that they would have resigned too.
- On April 21, 2003, the pools indicated that Blair's popularity is on the increase as a result of the war. Some 49% of the British people think that he is doing a good job against 42% who are unhappy with his performance.
- On April 21, 2003, the Daily Telegraph published a report from Baghdad saying a reporter had found documents that show that George Galloway, a Member of the British parliament, had been take money -up to £375,000 a year- from Saddam Hussein's regime. The documents were found in the archives of the foreign ministry in Baghdad although looters had burnt down most of the building. Some rooms were untouched and, in one of them, the documents were found. It is, of course, a lucky find as George Galloway has always created trouble to the Labour government. He is a supporter of Saddam Hussein whom he visited many times. Galloway is denying any wrongdoing and he will sue the newspaper, asserting that he had been framed by western intelligence. It is a fact that it looks too good to be true but, who knows? He faces expulsion from the party. If this happens, he said that he would stand as an independent in the next general elections. Most intelligence experts believe that the documents are authentic although the fact that they were found by a British reporter looks very suspicious. Galloway also faces the prospect of a prosecution for inciting the British troops to refuse to fight in the Iraq war. This is a breach of the 1934 Incitement to Disaffection Act, which carries a maximum of two years in prison.
- Galloway was also known for a charity fund, the Marian Appeal that he created to save some sick Iraqi children. On April 23, 2003, he admitted that intermediaries, or other third parties working for his fund, could have siphoned off money from Saddam Hussein. He insisted that had never, personally, done it. He is now accused to have used some of his charity's money for personal travels.
- On April 22, 2003, the pools in Britain showed that the rating of Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, and Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, had increased due to the war and its fast conclusion. They are now ahead of Tony Blair and George Brown. Clare Short who said that she would resign in case of war but later did not, saw her rating goes down.
- On May 9, 2003, Britain will not held a victory parade for winning the war in order not to offend the anti-war sensibilities at home and abroad. Only a memorial service for the soldiers killed in Iraq will be organised by the Ministry of Defence.
- On May 18, 2003, Britain warned its citizens of a clear or high risk of other terrorist attacks in Morocco. This comes in addition to the advice to avoid going to Kenya, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda. Britain is also thinking of using armed air marshals on British planes. They have been used by Israel for more then 30 years, and about 6,000 have been trained in the USA.
- On May 19, 2003, ten suspected international terrorists held without charge went to court in London asking to be charged or freed. The government said that they have links with al-Qaida and other terrorist organisations responsible for bombing attacks in many countries.
- On May 29, 2003, Robin Cook, an ex-Labour member of the British government -Foreign Secretary, Leader of the House- said that the war with Iraq was unnecessary because Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction and Blair, who used it to justify the invasion, knew it perfectly well. He added that he resigned from the cabinet because he knew that Blair was telling lies to the Parliament and to the British people.
- The assertion that Saddam Hussein was able to launch weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes of an order has never been true and now, 45 days after the end of the war, no weapon of mass destruction has been found. Iraq had no means to threaten or attack its neighbours, and even less Britain and the USA. This pre-emptive war has been justified by lies. Moreover there has never been any evidence that Saddam Hussein was linked to al-Qaida as Blair also said. Despite this, Tony Blair will not admit to have done anything wrong; in his view he won the war and liberated the Iraqis of the Ba'ath barbaric regime. As usual, history is written by the winners who decide what the truth is.
- On June 4. 2003, the British Parliament defeated, with a majority of 98, the motion put forwards by the Conservatives and the Liberals to create an independent inquiry commission to see if the security service reports on the presumed Iraqi weapons of mass destruction had been doctored by the government. Most people in Britain, and elsewhere with the exception of the USA, believe that these weapons did not exist, that the intelligence services knew it, and that the US and Britain changed their reports to justify the war. In other words the war was not justified.
- Also in America, some US Senators want to know the truth about the intelligence reports and their eventual manipulation. The Pentagon denies, of course, that the CIA reports have been changed to suit the government. However the CIA does not want to take the blame for the claims that Saddam Hussein had chemicals, biological and nuclear weapons. Dr Blix, the head of the UN inspectors, in his final report to the Security Council before retiring, said that up to now there are still no proofs that Iraq had any weapons of mass destruction and that the war was justified on lies. In London, the intelligence services said that "Blair knew the truth on the Saddam file", and that their document presented to the Parliament and the country had been modified by Blair's closest advisers, including Alastair Campbell who said that he needed a "more sexy" document to convince the public.
- During their appearance before the Foreign Affairs Select committee on June 17, 2003, Clare Short and Robin Cook attacked Blair for the way he decided to join the Americans in the war with Iraq. Clare Short said that senior intelligence officers told her that Tony Blair had agreed secretly with President Bush during the 2002 summer to join in the invasion of Iraq. This means that Blair deceived the cabinet, the parliament, and the British people. She also said that the British intelligence and diplomatic community privately opposed the war. Cook said that Blair did not deliberately mislead the country, but he added that intelligence materials was chosen selectively to fit a pre-determined policy. The MI6's briefings at which he participated did not indicate that Iraq weapons of mass destruction, let alone weapons capable of being fired within 45 minutes.
- On June 20, 2003, the suspended Labour Member of the Parliament, George Galloway, demanded a government inquiry after documents alleging that he took more than $10m from Saddam Hussein were found to be forgeries. The US newspaper, the Christian Science Monitor, offered an apology, but Galloway rejected it threatening to extent his legal action to the British newspapers -among them the Sun- that repeated the Christian Science Monitor's accusations.
- Many people have been asking themselves how easy -or difficult- is it to build an atomic bomb? The Guardian told us on June 24, 2003, that the US authorities had asked the same question in 1964? In order to get a credible answer they hired two newly graduated PhD students. They studied physics but had no special knowledge or experience in atomic bombs. They were only given access to all published information. It took them about 30 months but they designed a bomb that had more or less the same power that the one dropped on Hiroshima. This showed that practically every country could design such a bomb. However they still had to produce, or find a supplier, for the weapon-grade plutonium (or enriched uranium).
- On June 25, 2003, some British Members of the Parliament, Labour and Conservative, told Blair that it was time to prepare an "exit strategy" from Iraq to ensure that no British troops become engulfed in a Vietnam-style quagmire. If this is not done, the Iraqis will believe that the US and Britain did not invade Iraq to liberate them from Saddam Hussein, but that they are there for selfish reasons, for a very long period of time, and they will be treated as invaders instead of liberators.
- On July 1, 2003, the left wing RMT rail union, the organisation that gave birth to the Labour party, said that Tony Blair and his government behaved like "war criminals" in Iraq. They decided to half their contribution to the party, and threatened to disaffiliate from Labour. The RMT adopted a motion in 1899 to create the "Labour Representation Committee" that became the labour Party in 1906.
- On July 6, 2003, Robin Cook, attacked Tony Blair's credibility on his justification for the invasion of Iraq. He said that one thing was certain: "Blair was wrong when he described the danger presented by Iraq, and he must admit it now".
- Hugo Young, one of the Guardian top journalists, wrote on July 8, 2003, that Blair has run out of steam, and that he should resign. He is facing a crisis of credibility on many fronts such as the row with the BBC and the dossiers used to justify invading Iraq. Many people doubt that he can keep his promises. He looks to many people to be the problem, not the solution.
- On July 11, 2003, we were told that a former head of Downing Street's intelligence panel, Sir Rodric Braithwaite, accused the British cabinet to oversell the threat of global terrorism before the war in Iraq. Braithwaite, the former head of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), said that the oversell occurred mainly in the spring of 2002 when the government said that the UK was under imminent attack. He added he could in one way understand the government, "Fishmongers sell fish, warmongers sell war, both may sincerely believe in their products".
- On July 13, 2003, Blair was forcefully asked by MPs to urge President Bush to give the UN a greater role within Iraq to improve the security problem and to ease the political pressure on the government's handling of the Iraq's crisis. At home he is facing growing demand to assert his independence from the US, and to get the British prisoners held in Guantanamo back home. The problem here is that Blair cannot guarantee the US that they would be tried. The lack of charges could lead to their immediate freedom.
- On July 31, 2003, the Common Select Foreign Affairs Committee said that the war in Iraq may have slowed, if not stopped, the fight against terrorism and al-Qaida rather that helping it. It is true that some senior al-Qaida members have been arrested or killed, but many are still free, including Osama bin Laden and many foot soldiers. Al-Qaida is also able to regenerate itself, and the war in Iraq may have increased the number of new members, especially from the Gulf region. The committee also urged the British government to rebuild relations with its allies, especially France, following the disagreement over Iraq.
- An Iraqi child, Ali Ismaeel Abbas, who was mutilated by a coalition missile, will begin treatment in the UK on August 11, 2003. Ali lost both arms and his parents died in the attack. This child will be cured, but there are hundred of others in the same situation in Iraq who are forgotten by the invading forces. Charities are asking for a special rehabilitation hospital in Iraq but money is scarce.
- On September 6, 2003, The Guardian printed an article by Michael Meacher who was Environment minister for 6 years until three months ago. In it Meacher tells us that the war in Iraq had nothing to do with terrorism or regime change. What the USA wants, and Britain to a lesser degree, is domination of the Gulf and its oil, and later on, the world. He also said that the war on terrorism is a smokescreen that the USA knew in advance of the September 11, 2001, attack and did not do anything to prevent, as it did not do anything serious to capture Osama bin Laden. Of course, both the British and US governments denied Meacher's assumptions as callous. That the USA's goal is world hegemony, and control of oil supply is obvious.
- On September 19, 2003, the Brent East by-elections sent a 29 year-old woman teacher of the Liberal Democrat party, Sarah Teather, to the Parliament. Previously the Labour had a 13,000 majority, and now they are 1,000 behind the Liberal democrat, the Conservative being third, far behind. If Blair does not understand that the people do not trust him anymore after the way he lied his way to war, hiding behind George Bush, then he is a fool.
- A pool released on September 22, 2003, shows that the majority of British people (53%) now believe that the war in Iraq was unjustified. This is due to the Hutton inquiries, the failure to find weapons of mass destruction, and the post-war instability in the country. The same pool shows that the Liberal Democrats, following their success in the Brent by-election, are now only 2 points behind the Conservatives (30 to 28%) with the Labour at 35%.
- On September 27, 2003, there were be anti-war protests in many countries including Britain and the USA. In London the protest was organised by the Stop the War Coalition, CND and the Muslim Association of Britain. At least 100,000 participated. This is another demonstration that the war in Iraq is not popular anywhere in the world, and Bush and Blair should not ignore it.
- On September 28, 2003, the annual congress of the British Labour party opened n Bournemouth. Many, if not the majority of the delegate, are criticising Blair whom they do not really trust anymore. The way the war is Iraq was justified, the fact that no weapons of mass destruction have been found until now, the Dr Kelly's affair, have discredited Blair and his government in the eyes of the British public opinion.
- On October 4, 2003, the former British Foreign Secretary and leader of the House of Commons, Robin Cook, published a book. In it he says that a few days before the invasion of Iraq, on March 10, 2003, he had an intelligence briefings followed by a private conversation with the Prime Minister, Tony Blair. During this conversation Robin Cook had the clear impression that Tony Blair knew that Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction. Blair still went to war because he could not say No to George Bush. He admitted that in September 2002, when the famous "Iraq dossier" was written, Blair had good reason to believe in the Iraqi weapons of mass destruction but, as new information became available, it was clear that such weapons did not exist. Downing Street rejected the claim saying that Cook's revelations were "absurd".
- In addition Cook also mentions that:
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. The cabinet and the Foreign Office were divided on the opportunity to go to war.
. The bad state of the Iraqi conventional weapons was known.
. The September 24, 2002, dossier justifying invading Iraq did not contain anything new from what he knew from 1997 to 2001 when he was Foreign Secretary and aware of all the intelligence available.
. In the second half of 2002, Blair was still hoping to convince Bush not to invade Iraq. Later on, Blair had to choose between following his promise to Bush and following the antiwar feelings of his countrymen. He chose the former.
. In a meeting on March 14, 2003, Alastair Campbell told him that Blair was flying to the Azores to meet Bush and make the final decisions for the invasion foreseen for the next week.

- On October 10, 2003, there was a memorial service -or better a "service of Remembrance, Iraq 2003" as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, called it- at the St Paul Cathedral in London for the British victims of the war. About 2,000 people participated including the Queen, many Royals, the Prime Minister Blair and his wife, ministers, politicians, as well as many relatives of the victims. Some of the relatives objected to Blair's presence for his responsibility in sending British soldiers to be killed in a useless war. A man called Blair "bastard", as he left the church. To the father of the dead military policeman, Thomas Keys, Blair admitted that he was responsible for his son's death, but he added that the war was necessary to make Iraq a better place. The father was not convinced that the 51 British dead soldiers, the 315 Americans, the unnumbered Iraqis -soldiers and civilians-, the peacekeepers, and relief workers were worth it.
- The plans to protect President Bush during his visit to London have been made public. No policemen will be off-duty, a big part of the city will be sealed off, and it will cost many millions US dollars! The protesters -about 60,000 are expected- are still arguing with the police where they will be allowed to march.
- For the state visit of President Bush to London on November 18 5,000 (or is it 14,000 British policemen, 500 American security people, and a few British planes on stand-by will be mobilised to protect him. In addition there will be an air exclusion zone above London.
- Bush wants to meet some of the families of British soldiers killed in Iraq. Some agreed to see, him but others refused. The general British public who will demonstrate again his presence in Britain will not welcome him.
- On November 15, 2003, Britain was put on high alert -the top level but one- following information of a possible attack collected by the intelligence services and the police. Or is it because Bush is coming?
- On November 16, 2003, we were told that Queen Elizabeth II will receive President Bush who will be her guest at Buckingham Palace. He will defend his decision to invade Iraq as well as his latest decision to transfer power to the Iraqis on June 30, 2004. He will repeat that the US troops will not leave Iraq before the country is stable, safe, and led by a democratically elected government. He intends to discuss with Tony Blair, whom he fully trusts, the problem of the British citizens held at Guantanamo Bay. It will be a very strange state visit without the normal public corteges and display cancelled for security reasons. On the other hand, he will be greeted by thousand of demonstrators protesting against the war in Iraq.
- Bush arrived in London on Tuesday November 17, 2003. He is without doubt the most unwelcome state guest to arrive in Britain. He flew from Washington to Heathrow in Air Force One and from there in his own helicopter directly to the palace. Prince Charles greeted him at the airport. He refused the usual car drive for safety reason like he will not use the usual old horse-draw open carriage.
- While in England he will do the following things:
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Wednesday: Official welcome by the Queen in the morning.
Speech in the Banqueting House.
Meeting with some families of the September 11 victims.
State banquet at Buckingham Palace.
Thursday: Visit to the Unknown Soldier tomb at Westminster Abbey.
Meet some British servicemen.
Talk with Blair at 10 Downing Street.
Banquet offered by Bush.
Friday: Taking official leave of the Queen.
Visit to Blair's constituency at Sedgefield.
Leaving for home.
In fact, he will not see any British people except those invited to see him in London and Sedgefield.

- There were already some demonstrations on November 18, 2003, the day of Bush arrival in England, but the main ones will take place the following days. These demonstrations are considered important in Britain and in Europe. However the American television networks will not show them.
- November 19, 2003, was the first day of the state visit of Bush to London. He was first driven in his big limousine from the back door of Buckingham Palace to the front steps, 100 meters that is, to be welcomed by the Queen. His speech at the banqueting Hall at Westminster was for invited guests only and, of course, they were chosen so that they would not heckle him. The state dinner was perfect and grandiose. We were not told what he drank at the toast.
- There was a certain sense of sterility and strangeness to this visit. No ordinary people were admitted to any of the ceremonies. There were only about 700 demonstrators outside Buckingham Palace, and 31 were arrested. They burned the American flag, and one woman told the BBC that Bush was more frightening than Saddam Hussein. There were more policemen than protestors, but it will be different tomorrow. It is obviously a very sad visit.
- Bush said that he was very pleased by his reception by the Queen, and by the chosen guests at Banqueting Hall. There he said that peace and security sometimes require war, and that the USA and Britain will not leave Iraq before the job they started was done. The images of the people protesting against Bush will not be broadcasted in the USA.
- November 20, 2003, was the second day of the visit of president Bush to London. He went to salute the tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Westminster Abbey, talked to the families of some victims of the war in Iraq, and gave a dinner for the Queen at the residence of the American Ambassador in Britain. His visit was disturbed, up to a point, by the bombings in Istanbul, but both him and Blair said that these actions will not stop.
- Bush said that he understood the people who demonstrated against him, and against the war in Iraq. He only hoped they were not against peace. About 100,000 people demonstrated in London. They pulled down a mock effigy of Bush in Trafalgar Square, a parody of the pulling down of Saddam Hussein statue in Baghdad. Quite a few British people believe that Bush is a bigger threat to peace that Saddam Hussein.
- Bush also had formal talks with Blair at 10 Downing. However he has not been seen by any ordinary people, partly for security reason, but also because many people do not like him.
- On November 21, 2003, on his last day of his visit to London, Bush went to Sedgefield, Blair's constituency. He was met by hundred of demonstrators, some pro-Bush, most against. He had lunch in a pub with Blair and carefully selected guests -to make sure that they would not embarrass him. Bush left for Washington in late afternoon having met no ordinary English people. Give us Clinton back!
- On December 2, 2003, the British chose Donald Duck (sorry, Rumsfeld) as the winner of this year "Foot in Mouth" award for the following statement: "Reports that say that something has not happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knows, there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknows; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknow unknows the ones we do not know we do not know." The comment of the jury was: "We think we know what he means but we do not know if we really know". The second prize went to Arnold Schwarzenneger for the following statement: "I think that gay marriage is something that should be between a man and a woman". Well, these are top US politicians!
- On February 12, 2004, The Guardian revealed that a Middle East-based British businessman, Paul Griffin, is suspected of supplying Libya, Iran and North Korea with equipment to build nuclear bombs. Of course, Mr Griffin denied any wrongdoing, adding that he had been framed. Western countries are afraid of a growing trade -like supermarket- in nuclear equipments and technology. Another Dubai-based Sri Lankian businessman, BSA Tahir, is suspected of having been a deputy to the Pakistani nuclear scientist, Dr Khan. In addition a Malaysian firm, Scomi Precision Engineering is said to have made 14 components for a nuclear centrifuge for Libya. This equipment was seized in October 2003 in a security operation involving a German ship named BBC China. That was diverted to Taranto, Italy. GTI was founded and is operated by Paul Griffin and his father, Peter.
- On February 13 we were told that, in June 2003, French and British intelligence officers seized computers from a house the Griffins owns in France. They supplied equipment, technologies and training of technicians to allow Libya to make centrifuges for uranium enrichment. They bought parts all over the world and helped a Malaysian factory to produce some for the multinational network run by Dr Khan from Pakistan. Khan also did business with Iran, and probably North Korea.
- On February 23, 2004 the Ministry of Defence said that all British military personnel who served in Iraq would receive a medal for "removing Saddam Hussein oppressive regime". This medal will also be given to journalists and civilians sent to the region at that time.
- On February 24, 2004, another British soldier claimed that there were equipment shortages during the war in Iraq. He said that him and his men were given only 5 bullets each for the entire conflict. He added that the unit's camouflage nets were green and not desert brown, that they were short of maps and body armour, and that instead of radios they were given mobile phones.
- On February 26, 2004, the former international development secretary Clare Short said that British Intelligence services had bugged for years the private office of Kofi Annan, the UN General Secretary. This was intensified in the period preceding the Iraq war. She said that when she was in office she received regular copies of the information collected this way. Useless to say that the UN and especially Kofi Annan were very upset to hear this. Blair did not confirm or deny the accusations. Ms Short said that she did it to stop the practice which otherwise would go on.
- In his monthly press conference Blair was asked many questions but he did not reply, limiting himself to blame Ms Short. He was furious because he expected that with the Hutton's report whitewashing him on the Iraq war, he would have a better treatment by the media. Ms Short's revelations put him again in the spotlight in relation to the Iraq war. Not only he lied about it -whether Lord Hutton understood it or not- but he played a dirty game with the UN. He cannot be trusted on anything. It is true that it is unfair for Ms Short to reveal information she learned in the Cabinet, and probably she could be accused of breaking the Official Secret Act provisions. Ms Shore acted as a whistle blower.
- On February 29, 2004, The Observer revealed that up to a few days before the invasion of Iraq, the British Army chiefs refused to go to war because they feared it was illegal. The government's legal advice remained unclear until the last moment. Even Lord Goldsmith, the attorney genera, had his doubt at the end of January 2003 on the legality of the war without a second UN resolution. He changed, or he was told to change it, at the last moment.
- On February 28, 2004, the British cabinet secretary, the top civil servant Sir Andrew Turnbull, wrote to Clare Short to tell her that she was wrong to feed intelligence information to the general pubic. He hinted that she could be thrown out of the Privy Council or/and face prosecution under the Official Secret Act. Blair wants to punish Clare Short, but he does not want to make her a martyr that would only complicate things for him. All the same it is very embarrassing to the government.
- On March 3, Clare Short will have to explain the reasons of her allegations to the Labour party Chief Whip, Hilary Amstrong. This follows request of the party backbenchers that are very angry at her behaviour. Her constituency is not happy with her either, and she could have to stand down at the next elections. On March 17, Clare Short was to be formally reprimanded by the Labour Party for criticising Tony Blair, and claiming that the British secret services bugged the UN General Secretary Kofi Annan's offices.
- On February 29, 2004, the doubts about the legality of the Iraq war are increasing and could lead to many court actions against the government by injured servicemen. The government is immune from soldiers' claims for injuries or dead during military operations, but it could not be the case if the war was illegal. It is now thought that the USA put pressure on the British government to seek more forceful legal advice after they were told by the Foreign Office that they had doubt on its legality.
- On March 2, 2004, The Guardian published the results of an inquiry among top British lawyers on the legality of the Iraq war and the need to publish the Attorney General Lord Goldsmith's advice to the government. The majority believes that the invasion was illegal, and that Lord Goldsmith's advice should be published.
- On March 1, 2004, we saw another example of the British government licking Bush's boots. The USA refuses to recognise the International Criminal Court based in The Hague, Netherlands, that deals with people accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Based on their conduct in war where their soldiers kill indiscriminately the local people, they have some reasons for being afraid of an independent justice. Now Britain accept the American request that anyone extradited from the US, American citizens or not, will not be handed to the international court. Human rights groups are furious. Many British people say that Brussels runs their country. What about being run by the USA?
- On March 7, 2004, the former Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Michael Boyce, who led the British forces in the invasion of Iraq, said in an interview that Britain went to the brink of a constitutional crisis after he demanded unequivocal legal cover from the Attorney General before letting the soldiers fight on March 10, 2003. They were already massed at the Iraqi border in Kuwait, but he did not want him and his soldiers to be brought before the International Criminal Court. He received the assurances he wanted on March 15, five days before the war began. From there to believe that Blair asked to change Lord Goldsmiths advice at the last moment is obvious.
- On March 14, 2004, an ICM survey made it clear that the British Muslims, who traditionally vote Labour in their vast majority, are moving towards the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. Most of them are against the war in Iraq and did not appreciate Blair's decision to join President Bush in the invasion. It is a sign that Tony Blair should not ignore, especially after the Spanish elections' results.
- On March 21, 2004, local authorities in Britain said that the country was not prepared for an attack such as the latest one in Madrid. Of course, the government replied that it was confident that the country was well prepared for such an event.
- On March 21, 2004, people all over the world demonstrated against the war in Iraq. In London 25,000 people, according to the police, 100,000 according to the organisers, shouted their objections. Two demonstrators climbed the outside wall of the Big Ben's Tower and displayed a banner against the war. They were arrested. Similar demonstrations took place in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Madrid, Paris, Brussels, and in many other cities.
- Mrs Clare Short said on March 25, 2004, that the chaos in Iraq has left the Iraqis worse off that under Saddam Hussein. She added that the war was "a disaster for the Middle East and a disaster for the people of Iraq". She asked for the coalition forces to be pulled out and replaced by UN peacekeepers.
- On April 26, 2004, 52 former British diplomats, most of them having served as ambassadors in the region, wrote to Tony Blair to blame his close alliance with President Bush and their "doomed" Middle East policy. They especially criticised the brutal American's policy in Iraq that will result in a sharp increase of the opposition to the democratic process. They see the baking of Sharon policy towards the Palestinian proposed by both Bush and Blair as senseless, and born to fail.
- Downing Street, Blair and Jack Straw, of course, rejected the criticism saying that Sharon's plan would lead to further negotiation. What is there to negotiate when nothing in the plan is acceptable to one part, the Palestinians? The diplomats' letter is unprecedented. Diplomats do not do this kind of things, they do not want publicity, and they do not reveal their views to the media.
- On May 24, 2004, a poll showed that two third of the British are opposed to the government plan to send 3,000 more troops to Iraq. Even 60% of Labour voters are against it. At the same time, President Bush's ratings of his handling of the situation in Iraq reached their lower point yet (47%)
- In the local elections of June 10, 2004, the Labour party took a bad beating. The Conservatives got 38% of the vote, the Liberal Democrats 29 and the Labour party 26%. This is obviously due to Blair's decision to go to war against the wish of the majority of the British people.
- On July 2, 2004, following the US Supreme Court decision that the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay are covered by US laws, the lawyers for two Britons and seven other prisoners will fill "Habeas Corpus" lawsuits, challenge their clients' detention, and demand lawyer access. In the case of the British subjects, Moazzem Begg and Feroz Abbasi, the petition was filled in a federal court in Washington DC. The other seven prisoners are two British residents, three French, a Turk resident in Germany, and a Canadian teenager.
- On July 4, 2004, the former British envoy to Baghdad, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, said that the Bush administration undervalued the post-war problems: "There were different options and those making the decisions in Washington chose the wrong ones under the influence of Ahmed Chalabi who wanted the invasion to happen, and convinced his American friends that it would be easy." Asked if the invasion had been worth the price paid he said, "You cannot say that yet." He also said that Britain had been "wrong" to claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. He also added that he had to work hard to convince himself of the merit of the invasion of Iraq when he was representing his country at the UN Security Council.
- On July 16, 2004, Iraq is still a big political issue on both sides of the Atlantic. This week Tony Blair's Labour government lost one parliamentary by-election to the anti-war Liberal Democrats, and narrowly avoided defeat in a second one.
- On July 18, 2004, The Observer revealed that even Downing Street now recognise that Tony Blair's claim that 400,000 bodies had been found in mass graves in Iraq was far out of the mark: by excess. Until now about 5,000 corpses have been recovered. One more lie attached to the British prime minister.
- On July 18, 2004, a poll indicated that the majority of the British people believe that Blair should apologise for his handling of the war in Iraq. Taking full responsibility for the mistakes was not enough. This is the only way to repair his damaged reputation. At the same time Michael Howard, the head of the Conservative party, distanced himself from the conflict by saying that if he had known that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction, he would not have voted for the resolution that authorised Britain to go to war. He added, however, that the invasion of Iraq was still justified. Not very clear, but it is his opinion; Labour aid that he was an opportunist. Another poll shows that a majority of 46% (against 43%) of the British would not trust Blair to lead Britain in another conflict. Moreover support for the war has dropped from 66% after the fall of Baghdad to 38% today.
- On August 18, 2004, a poll showed that voters, including Labour supporters, rank Iraq last out of a list of 10 issues that they consider to be most important when deciding how they will cast their vote in the next general election. Only 12% say it is a crucial issue for them in deciding whom to support.
- On August 26, 2004, a Welsh Nationalist MP, Adam Price, says he will try to have Tony Blair impeached over the Iraq war; the move will embarrass the prime minister but will not drive him from office. He added "Tony Blair has misled this country time and time again, it is our duty as members of parliament to hold him to account and restore the people's faith in the democratic process."
- On September 19, 2004, the Liberal Democrat Party leader Charles Kennedy called on Prime Minister Tony Blair to apologize for taking the nation to war in Iraq. Opposition to the war helped boost support for the Liberal Democrat party, at the expense of Blair's Labour Party and the Conservatives. Speaking to party members, Kennedy said Iraq didn't have the banned nuclear, chemical and biological weapons Blair said justified the US-led invasion in 2003, and that the war hasn't made the world a safer place.
- On September 26, 2004, Iraq overshadowed the start of Tony Blair's Labour Party conference despite the prime minister's efforts to turn attention to the domestic agenda ahead of a general election expected next year. Party members, divided over Blair's decision to back the US-led invasion, backed a motion on Sunday to debate the Iraq war, a move that will keep Iraq in the headlines and could prove embarrassing for Blair. But the fate of 62-year-old Kenneth Bigley, whose captors in Iraq have threatened to behead him, took the spotlight as his brother Paul spoke via telephone to a packed anti-war meeting on the fringe of the conference.
- Prime Minister Tony Blair faced his critics over the Iraq war at his Labour Party's annual conference on September 28, 2004, and said he had erred in accepting faulty intelligence that Iraq possessed chemical and biological weapons. But Blair asserted that the British, in Iraq and elsewhere are fighting "a wholly new phenomenon, worldwide global terrorism, based on a perversion of the true, peaceful and honourable faith of Islam." For those who realize the threat, he said, the only option is "to confront this terrorism, remove it root and branch, and at all costs stop them acquiring the weapons to kill on a massive scale - because these terrorists would not hesitate to use them." After outlining his ten priorities for a third term in office, Blair said he could not apologize for having been involved in the effort to remove Saddam
- On October 1, 2004, British Prime Minister Tony Blair avoided a damaging defeat at Labour's annual conference over pulling troops out of Iraq after winning the backing of the big trade unions. A constituency party motion urging Blair to set an early date for the withdrawal of British forces was defeated as 86% of the representatives voted against the motion. It was also agreed that British troops will remain in Iraq as long as that country's government wishes them to do so.
- Tens of thousands of demonstrators -between 65,000 and 75,000- have taken to the streets of central London to protest against the Iraq war as Prime Minister Tony Blair struggles to shake-off fierce criticism of the invasion. Police put the figure at between 15,000 and 20,000. Marchers carried signs reading "World's No. 1 Terrorist" over a picture of US President George W. Bush. British Prime Minister Tony Blair was also a target: other placards read "Out with Blair."
- On February 7, 2005, the British Ministry of Defence agreed to admit liability for the death of the first British soldier to die in combat in Iraq. Sergeant Steven Roberts, 33, of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, died from gunshot wounds in a friendly fire incident after handing over his body armour to a colleague. Now, nearly two years after the tank commander's death, Samantha Roberts, his widow, has been told that the MoD will accept that there were equipment failings. Admission of liability is a relatively rare occurrence in a war because normally the MoD claims, "combat immunity" when soldiers die in battle. It emerged that he died after several colleagues had opened fire in an attempt to rescue him from an Iraqi attacking him with a stone. The Iraqi was killed, but Sergeant Roberts was also hit.
- On February 17, 2005, the families of six British military policemen killed by a mob in Iraq have called for an independent inquiry into the deaths. They believe the Ministry of Defence has "white-washed" the incident by refusing to discipline, or blame, any of the soldiers involved. A MoD inquiry found the deaths "could not have been reasonably prevented". But the relatives of the Royal Military Police officers say negligence of Army personnel led to the deaths on 24 June 2003.
- On March 18, 2005, an armoured vehicle driver, Private Johnson Beharry, 25, of the Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment, who immigrated to Britain from the Caribbean island of Grenada, who twice saved himself and his crew from ambushes under fire in Iraq, has become the first soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross since 1982. He was cited for 'valour of the highest order' after he drove out of an ambush of rocket-propelled grenades, and extracted his wounded colleagues from the vehicle while under fire in May 2004. Six weeks later, rockets again attacked his vehicle. His commander and other troops were incapacitated and he was seriously wounded in the head, but he kept driving to safety until he lost consciousness, the ministry of defence said in a statement. Beharry, who is still recovering from brain surgery for his injuries, said he did what any soldier would do.
- The US-led coalition failed to prepare for the deadly insurgency in Iraq after the ousting of Saddam Hussein due to a series of "mistakes and misjudgements," a British Parliamentary committee said on March 24, 2005. The committee also said that despite the "encouraging signs" recently, British troops would need to remain in Iraq until 2006 as the country's security forces would not be capable to take over until then at the earliest.
- US forces in Iraq are provoking civilians and hindering reconstruction efforts by using extensive force, a British parliamentary committee said on Tuesday April 5, 2005. Many British officials have privately complained that US troops are too heavy-handed in Iraq, compared with UK troops.
- Britain's opposition Liberal Democratic Party launched its election manifesto Thursday April 14, 2005, pressing for a phased withdrawal of British troops from Iraq at the end of this year. The party has been strongly against Britain's military involvement since before the invasion.
- Every Labour and Conservative candidate should be held to account by voters over the Iraq war, Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy has argued on April 25, 2005. Mr Kennedy said Tony Blair had taken the UK into an illegal war, and voters could deliver "justice by the ballot box" at the general election. Tory leader Michael Howard said the war was right, but Mr Blair lied about it. Mr Blair says he was given clear advice the war was legal.
- The British Labour party suffered its worst day in the 2005 elections campaign after Tony Blair finally succumbed to pressure to publish the legal advice on the Iraq war on April 28, 2005. Privately, anxious cabinet ministers admitted that the renewed eruption of the Iraq issue may prove "a gift to the Tories" a week from polling day.
- On Tuesday May 3, 2005, the wife of the latest British soldier killed in Iraq, Guardsman Anthony Wakefield, has blamed Tony Blair for his death. A bomb killed him on Monday. His widow, Ann Toward, said Mr Blair should not have sent him to war. Mr Blair said he understood the widow's grief but defended his war decision. Relatives of troops killed in Iraq say they intend to take legal action to force a public inquiry into the war. But Tony Blair has ruled that out.
- On National Elections Day, Thursday May 5, 2005, an exit poll showed the Labour Party winning with around 356 seats in the 646-member Parliament; however, this is a loss of nearly 100 seats. The projection virtually assured Blair, who celebrates his 52nd birthday Friday, of a record-breaking third consecutive. But Britons clearly have reduced his mandate while boosting support for the opposition Conservative Party, which is projected to gain about 50 seats. Analysts said British voters remained confident in Blair's overall management of the country.
- British MP George Galloway will face US senators who claim he received oil rights from Saddam Hussein. On May 13, 2005, Mr Galloway denied claims that he and a former French minister, Mr Pasqua, were given Iraqi oil vouchers to reward their support to the regime. The US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said it would be "pleased" to listen to Mr Galloway at a hearing in Washington on May 17. The MP accepted, declaring he would take "them on in their own lions' den".
- British Member of Parliament George Galloway returned to the UK Wednesday May 18, 2005, confident he won a fiery showdown with US senators, who accused him of profiting from the UN's defunct oil-for-food program in Iraq. Galloway said he was "absolutely" convinced he had been vindicated from allegations that he received vouchers for 20 million barrels of oil from Saddam Hussein's regime. "These people think they can smear people without them having the right to speak back" he told reporters before leaving the US. He said after his appearance before the Senate panel Tuesday that his accusers had little credibility "outside of Washington." But the panel's Republican chairman, Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota, hit back, telling media after the session that Galloway's credibility was "very suspect." Galloway called the Senate panel's investigation the "mother of all smokescreens" used to divert attention from the "pack of lies" that led to the 2003 invasion.
- The families of those killed in the London terror attacks of July 7 will be eligible for basic bereavement compensation of £11,000, it has been announced on August 3, 2005. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority said payments for financial loss could take the amount paid to dependants to a maximum of £500,000. The £11,000 sum is a basic payout, if more than one family member of a 7 July victim applies, they will get £5,500 each. Those financially dependent on a victim can also apply for compensation for earnings lost. Dependent children are entitled to £2,000 a year until age 18, and families can also obtain "reasonable" extra payments to cover funeral costs. Survivors who are seriously debilitated can claim a maximum of £500,000 compensation, loss of earnings, and care costs.
- Robin Cook, the former U.K. foreign secretary died after he collapsed while hill-walking in Scotland on August 6, 2005. He was 59. Cook died at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness. He had been walking with his wife Gaynor near the summit of Ben Stack Mountain in western Scotland. He suffered a heart attack. Cook resigned from Blair's government in March 2003, saying he couldn't support an invasion of Iraq without the agreement of the United Nations. The next day, he led a third of Blair's Labour Party voting against the war. A brilliant debater and accomplished raconteur, Cook was a spokesman for the Labour Party for 23 of his 31 years as a lawmaker.
- Robin Cook was a controversial and not always successful foreign secretary. Voicing the concerns of a large section of British voters, he told the House of Commons, the lower house of parliament: "Neither the international community, nor the British public, is persuaded that there is an urgent and compelling reason for this military action." When he sat down, almost in tears, he prompted the first standing ovation in the history of the Commons. Yet he was always a loner, and his often prickly personality counted against him in politics and diplomacy. Born in Lanarkshire in 1946, Robin Finlayson Cook was the only son of a schoolmaster and grandson of a miner. He read English at Edinburgh University, where he met Gordon Brown, later to become Labour's finance minister. Mr Cook considered studying divinity, but in the end he put his faith in politics, becoming an MP in 1974, at the age of 28. In his early years he was opposed to Britain's entry into the European Union. A man of the radical left, he was always a Labour heavyweight, through talent.
- The families of 17 British soldiers killed during the Iraq war and its aftermath have launched a legal bid on August 17, 2005, to secure an independent inquiry into the legality of the conflict. Two of the bereaved parents, Reg Keys and Rose Gentle, attended the High Court for the lodging of papers in the case.