A leading cabinet minister under former UK prime minister Tony Blair's government has endorsed accusations that the government put forward bogus intelligence to justify the launch of the Iraq War two decades ago.
Lord Peter Hain, a former Northern Ireland Secretary and Foreign Office minister, said he now felt he had been taken in by the government's use of concocted information from the spy agencies.
“I genuinely believed the intelligence has proven to be absolutely false,” he said.
“So, we went to war on a total lie. And had I known that it was false at the time, I would have not supported it.”
On March 18, 2003, the UK House of Commons approved military intervention in Iraq. In the face of critical media commentary, the largest street protests ever across the UK and hostility within its own party, the New Labour government proposed and supported a motion to commit British troops to invade Iraq.
A report by the Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU) that talked to the MPs involved in the debate revealed lingering anger 20 years on that weapons of mass destruction were presented as the main motive for intervention.
The authors say this was the basis upon which many MPs voted in favour of UK deployment.
“It never occurred to me for a minute that Blair wasn’t convinced that weapons of mass destruction were there,” said Conservative MP Crispin Blunt.
“And we were going to find them. And on that basis, he was therefore recommending going to war.”
Across the Middle East, the action was seen as a decision to oust Saddam Hussein and there were doubts raised that this action was launched based on faulty intelligence that the Iraqi leader had amassed an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction.
Iraq was plunged into turmoil after Saddam was toppled.
The foreign troop deployment turned bloody as Al Qaeda and Iran-backed militias waged an overlapping insurgency. Civil war then flared from 2006 to 2008, and in 2014, ISIS captured a third of the country.
British politicians in public life at the time believe the march to war should be seen through the prism of the UK's relationship with the US — in particular Mr Blair's close alignment with George W Bush.
“[Blair] allowed himself to be sort of persuaded by the importance of standing alongside the Americans, rather than taking a more Harold Wilson-type position on the Vietnam War.”
Many MPs, particularly from Labour and the Lib-Dems, were uncomfortable with the Bush narrative which had identified Iraq as an enemy of the US.
“Tony Blair had sort of committed Britain to stand shoulder to shoulder with the USA, onwards from 9/11,” said Labour MP Richard Burden.
The subsequent exposure of the fraudulent claim that Saddam's regime could use WMDs within 45 minutes of an order going out proved decisive in collapsing support for the war, something that then dogged Mr Blair until he stepped down in 2007.
“There was a loss of trust there,” he told the CAABU team.
“The debate had been about whether or not weapons of mass destruction of Saddam was going to reach wherever in 45 minutes. To find out that, actually, they didn’t exist anywhere fundamentally sapped trust. It forever defined Tony Blair’s premiership after that, probably unfairly.”
The report, released on Tuesday, was written by Chris Doyle, the director of CAABU, and Mandy Turner, professor of conflict, peace and humanitarian affairs at the University of Manchester.
Speaking at an online briefing, Mr Doyle, who was heavily involved in briefing MPs and Lords during the Iraq War years, said apart from “the exception of former prime minister Tony Blair”, almost everyone can now agree that the invasion of Iraq was a “disaster”.
He said the West’s attempts at state-building following the fall of Saddam’s regime proved dismal.
“It was so hard to see [how] in the breakdown of the regime you could maintain law and order afterwards,” he said. He added that the West witnessed Iraqi society “crumbling” in the aftermath.
Mr Doyle said British politicians were sorely lacking in knowledge about the Middle East in the run-up to the war and many of those who backed the invasion were likely making an uniformed decision.
He cited one Foreign Office minister, whom he declined to name, as asking officials at the time of the war: “What the difference was between an Arab and a Shia?”
Turning to how Britain and America’s reputations on the international stage were affected by the war, he said both had suffered damage, but particularly that of the US.
“The United States’ influence in the world has declined as a result of the Iraq failure,” he said.
Ms Turner, who gathered evidence from people serving as MPs 20 years ago, said that a widely held view was that, rather than standing on his own feet, “Blair allowed himself to be persuaded” by Mr Bush.
On March 18, 2003, Mr Blair’s motion allowing for military action in Iraq passed a vote in the House of Commons by 412 votes to 149.
Ms Turner cited at least one case of a then-Labour MP being threatened by party whips with deselection at the next general election if they did not vote in line with the government.
Two decades on, she said the question of whether the invasion was legal is “still a matter of contention and dispute”.
She added that a desire to protect regional allies from Saddam’s regime and “neo-Conservative plans to remake the Middle East” were two factors that contributed to the US decision to go to war.
About 30,000 bombs were dropped on Iraq during the war and between 275,000 and 320,000 Iraqi civilians were killed as a direct result of the fighting, Ms Turner said.
“Several times more” Iraqis died as a result of indirect consequences of the war, such as a lack of food or health care.
She added that “it’s impossible to know the true number” of victims of the Iraq war, which triggered a deep sectarian divide between the Sunni and Shia communities.
The war cost the UK £98 million, she said, 89 per cent of which was spent on military operations.
The number of British troops and Ministry of Defence officials who were killed as a direct result of the violence was 179.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five pillars of Islam
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
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Super Saturday race card
4pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 | US$350,000 | (Dirt) | 1,200m
4.35pm: Al Bastakiya Listed | $300,000 | (D) | 1,900m
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 | $350,000 | (Turf) | 1,200m
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 | $350,000 | (D) | 1,600m
6.20pm: Dubai City of Gold Group 2 | $300,000 | (T) | 2,410m
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 Group 1 | $600,000 | (D) | 2,000m
7.30pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 | $400,000 | (T) | 1,800m
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The five pillars of Islam
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%3Cp%3EAverage%20amount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20at%20DIC%20factory%20every%20month%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EApproximately%20106%2C000%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAmount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20from%201%20litre%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%20%3Cstrong%3E920ml%20(92%25)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETime%20required%20for%20one%20full%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%20used%20cooking%20oil%20to%20biofuel%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EOne%20day%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EEnergy%20requirements%20for%20one%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%201%2C000%20litres%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%96%AA%20Electricity%20-%201.1904%20units%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Water-%2031%20litres%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Diesel%20%E2%80%93%2026.275%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
THE SPECS
Engine: 3-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 424hp
Torque: 580 Nm
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Racecard
2pm Handicap Dh 90,000 1,800m
2.30pm Handicap Dh120,000 1,950m
3pm Handicap Dh105,000 1,600m
3.30pm Jebel Ali Classic Conditions Dh300,000 1,400m
4pm Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
4.30pm Conditions Dh250,000 1,400m
5pm Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
5.30pm Handicap Dh85,000 1,000m
The National selections:
2pm Arch Gold
2.30pm Conclusion
3pm Al Battar
3.30pm Golden Jaguar
4pm Al Motayar
4.30pm Tapi Sioux
5pm Leadership
5.30pm Dahawi
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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%3Cp%3EThe%20Royal%20Navy%20raid%20is%20the%20latest%20in%20a%20series%20of%20successful%20interceptions%20of%20drugs%20and%20arms%20in%20the%20Gulf%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMay%2011%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUS%20coastguard%20recovers%20%2480%20million%20heroin%20haul%20from%20fishing%20vessel%20in%20Gulf%20of%20Oman%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMay%208%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20US%20coastguard%20vessel%20USCGC%20Glen%20Harris%20seizes%20heroin%20and%20meth%20worth%20more%20than%20%2430%20million%20from%20a%20fishing%20boat%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMarch%202%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Anti-tank%20guided%20missiles%20and%20missile%20components%20seized%20by%20HMS%20Lancaster%20from%20a%20small%20boat%20travelling%20from%20Iran%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EOctober%209%2C%202022%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERoyal%20Navy%20frigate%20HMS%20Montrose%20recovers%20drugs%20worth%20%2417.8%20million%20from%20a%20dhow%20in%20Arabian%20Sea%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESeptember%2027%2C%202022%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20US%20Naval%20Forces%20Central%20Command%20reports%20a%20find%20of%202.4%20tonnes%20of%20heroin%20on%20board%20fishing%20boat%20in%20Gulf%20of%20Oman%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Key facilities
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- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Other simple ideas for sushi rice dishes
Cheat’s nigiri
This is easier to make than sushi rolls. With damp hands, form the cooled rice into small tablet shapes. Place slices of fresh, raw salmon, mackerel or trout (or smoked salmon) lightly touched with wasabi, then press, wasabi side-down, onto the rice. Serve with soy sauce and pickled ginger.
Easy omurice
This fusion dish combines Asian fried rice with a western omelette. To make, fry cooked and cooled sushi rice with chopped vegetables such as carrot and onion and lashings of sweet-tangy ketchup, then wrap in a soft egg omelette.
Deconstructed sushi salad platter
This makes a great, fuss-free sharing meal. Arrange sushi rice on a platter or board, then fill the space with all your favourite sushi ingredients (edamame beans, cooked prawns or tuna, tempura veggies, pickled ginger and chilli tofu), with a dressing or dipping sauce on the side.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The specs: 2019 Mini Cooper
Price, base: Dh141,740 (three-door) / Dh165,900 (five-door)
Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder (Cooper) / 2.0-litre four-cylinder (Cooper S)
Power: 136hp @ 4,500rpm (Cooper) / 192hp @ 5,000rpm (Cooper S)
Torque: 220Nm @ 1,480rpm (Cooper) / 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (Cooper S)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 4.8L to 5.4L / 100km
'Spies in Disguise'
Director: Nick Bruno and Troy Quane
Stars: Will Smith, Tom Holland, Karen Gillan and Roshida Jones
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
FIXTURES
New Zealand v France, second Test
Saturday, 12.35pm (UAE)
Auckland, New Zealand
South Africa v Wales
Sunday, 12.40am (UAE), San Juan, Argentina
