The report found that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who was in power at the time, posed "no imminent threat." It also suggested that while war is supposed to be the last resort, not all options had been exhausted before war was pursued.
In pursuing the war, neither Britain nor the United States gave enough consideration to the long term ramifications of the invasion, which turned out to be a quagmire, and a long, drawn out military involvement ensued. The invasion of Iraq served to destabilize Iraq (and frankly, helped to destabilize the entire region, which was already volatile prior to the invasion), which helped to set up the conditions from which terrorism thrived. And terrorism, of course, was basically the main stated reason that Britain and the United States were supposed to be fighting the war in the first place.
The report suggested that Blair made clear to President Bush that he would be with them no matter what decision they arrived at. Specifically, in a letter addressed to Bush, Blair wrote on July 28, 2002. 'I will be with you, whatever.'
That kind of unconditional support, which seems not to have taken into consideration the actual legality of justifications of the invasion, probably empowered President Bush to go ahead with the invasion, as did, surely, the vote of approval by Congress.
The timing of the release of the report comes amid some of the greatest upheaval that Great Britain has seen in many decades, as the Brexit vote to leave Europe, as well as the political and economic turmoil that has followed, has rocked the nation and, indeed, the world. Also, England's side was eliminated in a shocking upset at the Euro tournament, which added some mockery against Britain.
Of course, this is revisiting a very bad decision of the fairly recent past, one that proved costly in several ways. Many British soldiers were killed in the war, and Britain (and particularly Tony Blair and his supporters) lost a lot of credibility around the world.
The justifications that Blair gave in the aftermath of the release of this report? Pretty much the same ones that he gave once the war started to turn sour, and the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD's) were not found. That had largely been the grounds of the stated justifications prior to the actual invasion, when Blair and Bush both strongly suggested that Saddam Hussein posed an immediate and dire threat to peace, and they urged the world to take strong, quick, and decisive action.
Of course, Saddam Hussein was a bloody dictator, and nobody is lamenting his demise. However, that was not the stated reason for the war, and the situation in Iraq worsened, rather than got better. And since the reasons for justifying the invasion were proven false, we go back to the notion - however much Blair tries to refute it - that the reasons were fabricated precisely so that the invasion could take place. And Blair's apparently unconditional support of military action means that he is, indeed, guilty.
Blair did express regret:
"I express more sorrow, regret and apology than you may ever know or believe."
Blair also took "full responsibility, without exception and without excuse” for the wrongdoings that the Chilcot report's suggested he was guilty of.
Still, he tried to justify it. He has regrets but, overall, he feels that it was something that he would do over again. That suggests that the lesson was not learned.
The British people themselves are furious, and many feel that some sort of action needs to be taken against Blair, with some even suggesting that he now qualifies as a war criminal.
Here are some links to this incredible story, which adds still yet more drama to an already turbulent political scene for Great Britain:
Chilcot report delivers damning verdict on British role in Iraq War By Tim Hume, July 6, 2016:
This report might have yielded substantially different results had it been made roughly a dozen years ago. As it now stands, the damage is done and irreversible, and those seeking to prosecute Blair are hopelessly naive if they think for one moment that such an endeavor might prove successful. Contemptible little worms like him never pay a meaningful price for their actions – the rest of the world does.
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