London Observer: British Army chiefs feared Iraq war illegal

[Jack Rabbit]

From the London Observer (Sunday supplement of the Guardian Unlimited)
Dated Sunday February 29

Army chiefs feared Iraq war illegal just days before start
· Attorney-General forced to rewrite legal advice
· Specialist unit dedicated to spying on UN revealed
By Martin Bright, Antony Barnett and Gaby Hinsliff

Britain's Army chiefs refused to go to war in Iraq amid fears over its legality just days before the British and American bombing campaign was launched, The Observer can today reveal.
The explosive new details about military doubts over the legality of the invasion are detailed in unpublished legal documents in the case of Katharine Gun, the intelligence officer dramatically freed last week after Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney-General, dropped charges against her of breaking the Official Secrets Act.
The disclosure came as it also emerged that Goldsmith was forced hastily to redraft his legal advice to Tony Blair to give an 'unequivocal' assurance to the armed forces that the conflict would not be illegal.
Refusing to commit troops already stationed in Kuwait, senior military leaders were adamant that war could not begin until they were satisfied that neither they nor their men could be tried. Some 10 days later, Britain and America began the campaign.

Read more.

When all is said and done, the war was illegal. However, it is the politicians, not the soldiers, who should be held to account.

[mac2]

1. DA...maybe you should have asked those citizens in the .....

streets of London and around the world protesting if it was true? How do you keep your jobs?