Iraq war inquiry to be in private

[AledJ]

Why the hell am I not surprised!!!!!!!!!!!!! Again this worthless government lead by a lame duck PM stuffs things up!! You might as well not hold a damn inquiry if we the public won't be able to known the full out come. Another cover up by a cover up government. Anyone remember Brown when he became PM talking about a new way of politics etc etc and again after he saved hi skin last week??

Same old same old!!!!! Labour may as well leave now!!!


Guess the government wants to wash its hands of blood behind closed doors!

[kalniel]

Why the hell am I not surprised!!!!!!!!!!!!! Again this worthless government lead by a lame duck PM stuffs things up!! You might as well not hold a damn inquiry if we the public won't be able to known the full out come. Another cover up by a cover up government. Anyone remember Brown when he became PM talking about a new way of politics etc etc and again after he saved hi skin last week??

Same old same old!!!!! Labour may as well leave now!!!

Isn't this exactly the same as the Conservative inquiry after the Falklands? Doesn't seem to be a specifically labour thing then - you'll be avoiding voting the tories for the same reasons I presume.

[AledJ]

Isn't this exactly the same as the Conservative inquiry after the Falklands? Doesn't seem to be a specifically labour thing then - you'll be avoiding voting the tories for the same reasons I presume.

No i won't vote for Tories as i do not understand their polices, but thats another matter. It was only last week Brown was talking about transparency!!

I assume from your post your all happy and dandy about this government again back handing another issue. This has just proven beyond any doubt that there is something big to cover up otherwise why is it not being held in public??

[kalniel]

I assume from your post your all happy and dandy about this government again back handing another issue. This has just proven beyond any doubt that there is something big to cover up otherwise why is it not being held in public??

I can't speak for the govt, but presumably there is some information in there that is sensitive, like intelligence methods etc. and I don't mind them being covered up.

I'm not happy and dandy about it, nor am I sad or angry about it - I trust my MP to do his job and represent me in matters of government. If the people who know more about it than I do think this is the right thing to do then so be it - I wouldn't claim to know more about their jobs than they do.

You have every right to ask your MP (in confidence) why they voted as they did regarding the Iraq war, and you should be able to judge them on that answer without needing a public inquiry.

[AledJ]

I can't speak for the govt, but presumably there is some information in there that is sensitive, like intelligence methods etc. and I don't mind them being covered up.

I'm not happy and dandy about it, nor am I sad or angry about it - I trust my MP to do his job and represent me in matters of government.

Well if you trust your MP fine but i certainly don't trust any of them. Thats not because of the expense things!!!! Its because any government or MP never seem to give straight answer but instead spin and jump out the way of giving a direct answer. There is also the fact of a million people marching in London against the Iraq war. And do you really believe your MP will do their job??? I mean after all its the party whips who control them!!


By sensitive information do you mean how they falsified the evidence that took us to war??? A public inquiry can be called with those bits deemed too sensitive to be realised kept secret. As i said they have something to hide!! The whole sensitive info matter is a minor point, and does not mean it shoudl be a public inquiry.

[pollaxe]

I trust my MP to do his job and represent me in matters of government.

You're lucky, I wrote to mine twice and didn't even have the courtesy of a reply. I wouldn't trust mine to empty a bucket... fortunately he's not running again as he knows the electoral kicking he'd get, I suspect.

At least there's going to be an enquiry, that's a good thing however, I understand it's to 'learn lessons' rather than point the finger of blame at anyone who, say for argument's sake, may've lied to us to justify a war that was planned long beforehand... so, that and given the [understandable] privacy bits I'm not really sure what the outcome of this will be and whether it's a worthwhile exercise in time and money (but then, what is these days?)

God I'm cynical...

[AledJ]

You have every right to ask your MP (in confidence) why they voted as they did regarding the Iraq war, and you should be able to judge them on that answer without needing a public inquiry.

I don't mean to offend but hare you being serious???


You expect me to get a truthful answer from some MP who was not at the centre of the decision to go to war??? How can you base any trust on what an MP tells you after the last 10 years of Labour (i would comment on the Tories but too younf to remember them)


The reason people want a public inquiry is to fidn out why we went to war!!! As we all know it was phony evidence that was fed to us!!!

[kalniel]

Well if you trust your MP fine but i certainly don't trust any of them. Thats not because of the expense things!!!! Its because any government or MP never seem to give straight answer but instead spin and jump out the way of giving a direct answer. There is also the fact of a million people marching in London against the Iraq war. And do you really believe your MP will do their job??? I mean after all its the party whips who control them!!

My MP *is* the party whip!

If you don't trust any of them then you should either find someone to vote for who you do trust, or stand yourself.

By sensitive information do you mean how they falsified the evidence that took us to war???

Sounds like we don't need an inquiry if you're so sure of the details

A public inquiry can be called with those bits deemed too sensitive to be realised kept secret. As i said they have something to hide!! The whole sensitive info matter is a minor point, and does not mean it shoudl be a public inquiry.

I don't know - depends what you would learn from it - if the point is for government and the intelligence services to learn more and do their job better in the future then I don't see how being public could possibly help.

You're lucky, I wrote to mine twice and didn't even have the courtesy of a reply. I wouldn't trust mine to empty a bucket... fortunately he's not running again as he knows the electoral kicking he'd get, I suspect.

Sounds like it - I would not support an MP who never replied. I might not agree with the reply mine gave, but he did reply.

You expect me to get a truthful answer from some MP who was not at the centre of the decision to go to war???

Are you seriously suggesting that your MP would not be able to justify the way they used the vote you gave them? If that's the case then get rid of him or her immediately. All MPs were at the centre of the decision to go to war.

[AledJ]

If your MP is the party whip then your stuffed as they most likely have their hand in with Brown. Oh come on we known that what the UK and US went to war on was false!!! Care to point out where the WMD stash is?

"I don't know - depends what you would learn from it - if the point is for government and the intelligence services to learn more and do their job better in the future then I don't see how being public could possibly help."

Because it being public is more likely to hold both to account! If neither can figure out what went wrong then 1. the government need to quit and 2. the the intelligence services need to look for a new job.



Are you just playing devils advocate or is whats posted above your view?

[kalniel]

If your MP is the party whip then your stuffed as they most likely have their hand in with Brown.

For the other party.. sadly.

Are you just playing devils advocate or is whats posted above your view?

The bit about MPs being at the centre of the decision to go to war? Of course that's my view - we don't go to war without parliament voting on it. And yes, I would automatically vote against my current MP if they refused to justify to me the way they used the vote on my behalf. Whether I agree with the reason or not is something for consideration when I choose who I want to represent me next time.

[AledJ]

For the other party.. sadly.

The bit about MPs being at the centre of the decision to go to war? Of course that's my view - we don't go to war without parliament voting on it. And yes, I would automatically vote against my current MP if they refused to justify to me the way they used the vote on my behalf. Whether I agree with the reason or not is something for consideration when I choose who I want to represent me next time.

Ok well your MP will be snuggling with David then lol


Have you forgotten what Parliament voted on? They voted on false evidence! Have you also forgotten that 1 million people who marched plus those signing petition etc did not want the war?? Yet MP's decide to go against the public mood!

[kalniel]

Have you forgotten what Parliament voted on? They voted on false evidence! Have you also forgotten that 1 million people who marched plus those signing petition etc did not want the war?? Yet MP's decide to go against the public mood!

750,000 is still a fraction of the voting public, and I'm glad that the government didn't make the decision based on a vocal minority who knew less than the government did. Not that I agree with the decision or not - just that it's not mine to make, or the protesters to make on my behalf either. The MPs will have voted in the best interests of their constituents - all of them, not just the few who marched.

If more people had voted for the lib dems (as I have done in the past) then perhaps the outcome would have been different. Elections can't be too far away and we'll see if the lib dems come to power, that'll show the real feelings of the British public - all of them.

[AledJ]

750,000 is still a fraction of the voting public, and I'm glad that the government didn't make the decision based on a vocal minority who knew less than the government did. Not that I agree with the decision or not - just that it's not mine to make, or the protesters to make on my behalf either. The MPs will have voted in the best interests of their constituents - all of them, not just the few who marched.

How can you say they knew less than the governemnt??? They knew the war was about oil and there no WMD existed in Iraq. Oh and guess what no WMD's but a whole load of oil!!

There should be a public inquiry show that we the public can finally know how it was that the government used false evidence to take us into an illegal war.

Yes those that marched were not the entire British public, but they did represent the feeling of a large majority. you only have to look at forums, the news etc

[kalniel]

How can you say they knew less than the governemnt??? They knew the war was about oil and there no WMD existed in Iraq. Oh and guess what no WMD's but a whole load of oil!!

What's oil got to do with it? We're no longer a colonial power that invades places for it's natural resources. As far as I can tell we haven't profited from the war at all - quite the opposite.

Yes those that marched were not the entire British public, but they did represent the feeling of a large majority. you only have to look at forums, the news etc

Yeah because they always represent the majority...

[AledJ]

What's oil got to do with it? We're no longer a colonial power that invades places for it's natural resources. As far as I can tell we haven't profited from the war at all - quite the opposite.

Yeah because they always represent the majority...

You seem to have forgotten the number of American and few British contractors who have made a lot of money from this war.

Lets just agree to disagree.

[Rave]

750,000 is still a fraction of the voting public, and I'm glad that the government didn't make the decision based on a vocal minority who knew less than the government did.

I was on the march. I knew that Iraq had no Weapons of Mass Destruction. The government 'knew' that they did.

And- they didn't.

Would you care to explain to me how that means I knew less than the government? And when you're done explaining that, perhaps you could explain how black is white etc. Cheers.