Iraq: Ten years after the vote for war
Posted by Pete Wishart, MP for Perth and North Perthshire, at 15:57, Wed 13 March 2013:
It was the 18th of March in 2003. Almost exactly 10 years ago, and it was probably the most important vote that I had ever participated in in my time as an MP. It was the vote that committed the UK to war in Iraq and was passed by 412 to 129. Some Labour members rebelled but the Government got its way when the vast majority of Conservative members supported it. I voted against the war, believing the case to be totally unconvincing, fanciful and bordering on nonsensical.
This was Tony Blair’s war. He was the driving force behind the UK case. He did everything he could to commit our troops including the now famous “dodgy dossier”. We were told that the evidence of Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction was compelling. We were told that those weapons could be deployed within 45 minutes. We were told that there was collusion with Al Qaeda and that Saddam Hussein was working towards an atomic bomb.
There were of course no weapons of mass destruction - far less any that could be deployed within 45 minutes, there was no collusion with Al Qaeda and there was no evidence of any uranium project. In short, the basis of going to war was based on a massive lie and fallacy. Worse than that there was no legal case. There was no UN mandate for military action and the Government’s own legal advice was not what could be described as convincing. And the Scottish people didn’t want it. 100,000 marched through the streets of Glasgow in opposition and 1 million took to the streets of London. World wide it is reckoned that the protests to the war in Iraq were the largest ever witnessed. But yet invasion and war went ahead.
And for what? Well, ten years after the invasion of Iraq, there are over 100,000 dead, a region destabilised, a country divided along sectarian lines and international diplomacy discredited like never before. And that's before counting the millions of displaced people, and the hundreds of millions of pounds that this war cost us.
Iraq, by any standard has been an absolute disaster and this illegal war has been one of the most regrettable and damaging foreign policy adventures ever undertaken in our name.
I never want another night like the 18th of March 2003. I never want my nation involved in such reckless action ever again. That’s why one of the most compelling reasons for Scottish independence is that we will never again have a UK Government take us into an illegal war that we want nothing whatsoever to do with.
Pete Wishart MP
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Posted by David Fulton, 16:48, Wed 13 March 2013: (Is this post abusive?) #
The war was a disaster, and based on a lie. But it is false to assert an independant Scottish Parliment would never vote for such a foolish act itself. Nobody can guarantee the actions of future parliaments. I would also point out that the English protested against the war just as much as the Scots.
I applaud your opposition to it, but hardly see it as a rationale for independence.
Posted by Iain Purdie, 16:58, Wed 13 March 2013: (Is this post abusive?) #
Pete,
You had me nodding my head in complete agreement right up until your last paragraph. It was voices like yours that did their best to prevent a pathetic, pointless and costly war. It was voices like yours that were needed.
And now that you didn't get your way you just want to turn your back on a united nation that needs people like you with the strength to stand up and say "hang on a minute - this is wrong".
With that one statement, you've demonstrated (to me at least) a complete lack of backbone, determination or will to change a system that didn't listen to the voice of reason at the time. Instead you've decided that there's an easy way out: run away and pretend you weren't involved.
I am now resident in the west of the country, but you can rest assured that you have lost any votes and support (which you may have had) from every single member of my family who still reside in Perth. This is not hyperbole. My family and I feel very strongly about the strength of a united nation, and are disgusted by the utter guff, lies, whitewash and short-sighted nonsense being spouted by those pushing for independence. Which is basically your entire party.
Thank you for at least letting us know, quite firmly, where you stand on the issue. With luck, we'll see you replaced at the next election. A shame, as I see us agreeing on so may other topics - but this one is far too important to ignore your viewpoint.
Posted by Robert Purdie, 18:41, Wed 13 March 2013: (Is this post abusive?) #
Tony Blair has now gone and this post is largely irrelevant - although it does appear that Tony passed on his "Book of Ready Ripostes and Re-arrangements of the Facts" to Mr Salmond who is now practising the same skills you attribute to Blair.