Iraq War

The Iraq War is, at best, a very controversial topic which has divided peoples opinion.  It is something that a lot of people have been investigating for a while.  Until we get the Chilcot Report, we are not going to get any clear, or official, answers.  That being said, it doesn't mean that people aren't investigating it. So what have people found so far on this matter?  Let’s have a look.

What is the legality of the Iraq War?  One very direct response didn't turn up much, but then again others did like this one as well.  The thing is they say roughly the same, until the Chilcot Report is finalised, they cannot answer this question.  Does this mean that this is the end of the matter, thought?  Of course not!  There is plenty more to look at!  It does show, however that sometimes patience is a virtue.

So what are the other things that have been found in this matter?  Well, minutes of the meeting discussing the regime and Saddam are still in the process of being answered.  That’ll be an interesting one!  What about the CPS looking into war crime prosecutions? That’s pretty interesting, isn't it?  How about briefing papers from the Foreign office? The answer was sent by post BUT it shows that they were willing to answer something.

What about other meetings and other issues?  Well the Cabinet Office has been asked numerous time about this. The Meetings between Iraq Inquiry Secretary and Cabinet Office Officials was refused, and the Cabinet office did not hold information on Meetings and communications with the White House Iraq Group in the lead up to the Iraq War.  The request to the Cabinet Office for the papers prepared but not circulated in the run up to the Iraq Invasion got a rather terse response from the cabinet office.

WHat about Alastair Campbell? When asked, the Cabinet office refused to give all the records held of meetings between Alastair Campbell and senior civil servants over Iraq WMD dossier was refused. The Cabinet office didn't have the information either over the minutes and/of records of communication between Alastair Campbell and senior civil servants contributing to 'WMD: Programmes of Concern'.  

So why am I bringing this up here?  It shows that people are still interested in this and not only that it shows that there is still a lot of questions out there. It also shows that people have sent in some pretty cool requests, which have not been there. It also shows that we need to have the report from Chilcot.  That will give us everything that we need to be able to investigate further.  Until that point, we will have to get this information the old fashioned way.  Asking a lot of requests and building a picture of this up.

PS have a little look at this request.  It is quintessentially British in its wording!