London (CNN) – A long-awaited official inquiry delivered a devastating indictment of Britain’s decision to invade Iraq Wednesday, finding that the war was based on flawed intelligence and had been launched before diplomatic options were exhausted.
The findings of the 2.6 million-word Iraq Inquiry — seven years in the making — were released following a statement by probe chairman John Chilcot in London Wednesday.

“No imminent threat” when the U.S-led invasion was launched in March 2003

The former civil servant said that Saddam Hussein posed “no imminent threat” when the U.S-led invasion was launched in March 2003, and that while military action against him “might have been necessary at some point,” the “strategy of containment” could have continued for some time.
Chilcot said former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was warned of the risks of regional instability and the rise of terrorism before the invasion of Iraq, but pressed on regardless.
The UK failed to appreciate the complexity of governing Iraq, and did not devote enough forces to the task of securing the country in the wake of the invasion, he added.
“The people of Iraq have suffered greatly,” he said.

Chilcot: Plan for Iraq after Hussein wholly inadequate

Was it legal?

Blair’s decision to invade Iraq was influenced by his interest in protecting the UK’s relationship with the United States, the report said.
While the legal basis for the war was “far from satisfactory,” the inquiry did not express a view on whether the invasion was legal, Chilcot said, arguing that that was a decision for another forum.
The inquiry was commissioned in June 2009 by Blair’s successor, Gordon Brown, following pressure from the public and Parliament.
Charged with examining the build-up to the conflict, the war itself and its bloody aftermath — over a period from 2001 to 2009 — the inquiry was initially expected to take a year to complete.
Instead it has taken more than seven — longer than the war itself — with the final report running to 12 volumes.

Calls for action against Blair

There have been increasing calls for Blair to face legal action over his role in taking Britain into the deeply unpopular war, the country’s most controversial foreign policy decision of the modern era.
In a sign of the still-lingering anger over the invasion, anti-war protesters gathered outside the London office building where the report was released.
Lindsey German, a founding member of the Stop the War Coalition — a group behind the mass demonstrations against the invasion in 2003 — called the report a “damning indictment” and said that there “must be legal sanctions against Tony Blair and he should no longer be considered fit for any office.”

Veterans’ families: Loved ones died in vain

The families of some of the 179 British service personnel who lost their lives in the Iraq War said following the release of the report that they felt their loved ones had died for nothing.
“When I look at Iraq on our TV screens today, the 200-plus deaths that took place the other day, I can only conclude that unfortunately and sadly, my son died in vain,” said Reg Keys, whose son died serving in Iraq, at a news conference.
Matthew Jury, a lawyer representing families who lost loved ones in the conflict, said his clients are “of course saddened that it appears to have been confirmed that their loved ones died unnecessarily and without just cause or purpose.”
Sarah O’Connor, whose brother was killed in the war, said she was angry that “11 and a half years of healing” had been undone.
“I’ve gone back to that time when I learned that my brother had been killed.” she said. “And there is one terrorist in this world that the world needs to be aware of, and it’s Tony Blair — the world’s worst terrorist.”
The families would be examining the report to see whether it forms the basis of any legal proceedings, they said.

Reaction from the Middle East

“People don’t feel that the Iraq of today is much better than under Saddam Hussein,” said CNN’s Ben Wedeman, after asking people on the streets of Baghdad what they thought of Wednesday’s report.
“Many feel that Tony Blair and George Bush should be put on trial for their botched (military) operation.”
“Opinion here is divided,” said Wedeman. “Though you won’t find too many kind words about Tony Blair.”
Faisal Al Yafai, a reporter with Abu-Dhabi newspaper The National, said the real toll of the war could be seen in ordinary Iraqis.
“By failing to prepare, the U.S. and UK prepared to fail. And the consequences of that can be seen on the streets of Baghdad today,” he said.
“When you look at those millions of words and hundreds of people interviewed, there was not one who talked about Iraq today — and this is not a faraway war.”

More than 250,000 people have died violent deaths since the 2003 invasion, according to the Iraq Body Count project, while millions of Iraqis have been made homeless in the conflict with ISIS.

Source: CNN, 6 July 2016