Steve Richards: Egypt is a reminder of the errors that drove the Iraq war
[Steve Richards is a columnist at the Independent.]
While regime change from within is sought in Egypt, the more sedate investigation into the lessons of the Iraq war draw to a close at Westminster. This week, the Chilcot inquiry completes its questioning of witnesses. Soon it will make a judgement on a venture aimed at bringing about regime change in the Middle East through a military campaign conducted from without.
The questioning, especially during the later stages, gives a clue as to where the inquiry's concerns lie. In his second appearance, Tony Blair was asked repeatedly about the extent to which his cabinet was consulted in advance of the war. At one point during the second Blair session, one of the inquisitors returned from a break with a rare flourish to say he had checked the records and there had been no discussion in the cabinet about Iraq between April and September 2002. "Does that include the summer recess?" Blair asked hopefully, rather like Basil Fawlty wondering whether everything else about his hotel was alright after the inspector had read out a long list of appalling defects.
Subsequently, the inquiry questioned the Cabinet Secretary, Gus O'Donnell, at length about why he felt consultation with the cabinet was so limited. Chilcot is ready to condemn Blair over the process of decision-making rather than the decisions themselves...
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While regime change from within is sought in Egypt, the more sedate investigation into the lessons of the Iraq war draw to a close at Westminster. This week, the Chilcot inquiry completes its questioning of witnesses. Soon it will make a judgement on a venture aimed at bringing about regime change in the Middle East through a military campaign conducted from without.
The questioning, especially during the later stages, gives a clue as to where the inquiry's concerns lie. In his second appearance, Tony Blair was asked repeatedly about the extent to which his cabinet was consulted in advance of the war. At one point during the second Blair session, one of the inquisitors returned from a break with a rare flourish to say he had checked the records and there had been no discussion in the cabinet about Iraq between April and September 2002. "Does that include the summer recess?" Blair asked hopefully, rather like Basil Fawlty wondering whether everything else about his hotel was alright after the inspector had read out a long list of appalling defects.
Subsequently, the inquiry questioned the Cabinet Secretary, Gus O'Donnell, at length about why he felt consultation with the cabinet was so limited. Chilcot is ready to condemn Blair over the process of decision-making rather than the decisions themselves...