For years, different figures and groups in the international community – and within the United Kingdom in particular – have tried to launch court cases and other legal measures to hold Tony Blair to account for his role in the Iraq war of 2003. They have failed thus far, and this week's unsuccessful attempt was yet another example. Is it time to put the past behind us and focus efforts elsewhere?
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Read more:
Con Coughlin: It's time to stop hounding Tony Blair through the UK courts - it is time to move on from the 2003 invasion of Iraq
UK high court rejects bid to prosecute Blair over Iraq war
Chilcot: Tony Blair was not 'straight with the nation' over Iraq war
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The year is 2017, and the Iraq war began fourteen years ago. Much has happened since then in Iraq, and the results have not been limited to that country. It is incorrect to blame every wrong thing in the Arab world – and in Iraq in particular – on the disaster that was the Iraq war. At the same time, however, it is dishonest and indescribably distorted to claim that the Iraq war did not play a massive role in the chaos that has unfolded and is continuing to unfold.
There are a number of problems at play in the contemporary Arab world. Two of the most prominent remain the effort to rebuild Iraq after the aftermath of the 2003 war and the continuing catastrophe that is Iraq. More generally an issue worldwide, both within the wider Arab world but also in various countries globally, is the rise of radical Islamist extremism. The rise of ISIL is only one manifestation of that, albeit one of the most dangerous. The continued attraction of Al Qaeda is yet another.
All of these issues are due to a plethora of factors. It would be false to claim the root of them all is the calamitous Iraq war – the roots are elsewhere and there are structural dynamics that predate the Iraq war. Social and economic inequalities play massive roles, as does the lack of successful political spaces where dissent and opposition can be expressed in a responsible manner. The ideological roots of radical Islamist extremism are not to disregarded – and they must be tackled thoroughly. The Iraq war, in that regard, ought not to be an excuse to ignore these tribulations.
But all too often, there are those who argue that because the problems are so complicated, we should, effectively, leave the Iraq War and Mr Blair’s role in it on the back-burner, indefinitely. To do so, however, would be a disservice – to the people of Iraq and to the people of the United Kingdom.
It ought to be clear by now that the decision to go to war was an incorrect one. It is not correct to say that thus, nothing should have been done in 2003. The people of Iraq were suffering under the tyranny of Saddam Hussein and brutal sanctions that hurt them far more than they hurt the Baathist regime of the day. But the decision taken in 2003 was incorrect. Moreover, it was a decision taken under incorrect assumptions and poorly sourced information. Mr Blair bears responsibility for both decisions, as the then prime minister of the UK, as well as for the way the case was made to the British people. Far too many legitimate questions have been raised since 2003 about the latter – and those questions have yet to be properly addressed and answered.
The ramifications of how the case was made – and the final decision – still exist today. The consequences, first and foremost, were borne by the people of Iraq, but they were not the only ones. The people of Syria have suffered from the rise of ISIL, which is unthinkable in its current form without the role of former Baathists, as well as other Iraqis who were traumatised by the Iraq war. Extremism would exist irrespective of these factors – but the Iraq war aggravated its rise and gave recruiters a valuable tool. The public testimonies of extremists that have emerged since then are convincing evidence of that.
Extremism is a scourge that has affected several countries in Europe many times since 2003, and in the Arab region itself. There is one more issue as well, and that is the damage done to British democracy.
Far too many British citizens lost faith in the British political system following the Iraq war, convinced that they had been provided a false justification for war. Indeed, a convincing case can be made that the Iraq war facilitated the rise of populism, which has led to substantial damage to the UK. It will take many years before historians are able to fully analyse just how much, but the significance of the impact of that disillusionment is clear.
Mr Blair does not deserve blame for all of that – many figures and parties have responsibility that they should bear. Nevertheless, part of the healing process within the UK has to be full and complete transparency into that crucial period in its recent history. And that effort to shed light on precisely what happened should not swept under the rug at the altar of forging ahead.
There may come a time when the United Kingdom is called upon to live up to its own international responsibilities to take legally justifiable and ethically mandated military action. It won’t be able to so without thoroughly and conclusively expunging the shadow of the Iraq war and how the country was taken to war. How that is done can be open to discussion – but the question of whether or not we do so is not a subject for legitimate debate.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Victims%20of%20the%202018%20Parkland%20school%20shooting
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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RECORD%20BREAKER
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Teams
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan Shanwari, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Corey Anderson, Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Seth Rance, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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Turkish Ladies
Various artists, Sony Music Turkey
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Bridgerton%20season%20three%20-%20part%20one
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nicola%20Coughlan%2C%20Luke%20Newton%2C%20Jonathan%20Bailey%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier
Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2014%20PRO%20MAX
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FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
%E2%80%98White%20Elephant%E2%80%99
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jesse%20V%20Johnson%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Michael%20Rooker%2C%20Bruce%20Willis%2C%20John%20Malkovich%2C%20Olga%20Kurylenko%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
