CRI听力:Britain Publishes 2.6 Report into Iraq War

Sir John Chilcot made a statement before the official release of the long awaited report. He said it's difficult to explain the report which included 2.6 million words and took almost 7 years to finish, but he made the key points very clear. He said the decision to join military actions in Iraq was based on "flawed intelligence and assessments.”

"Military action in Iraq might have been necessary at some point. But in March 2003 there was no imminent threat from Saddam Hussein, the strategy of containment could have been adapted and continued for some time, the majority of the Security Council supported continuing UN inspections and monitoring."

Furthermore, Chilcot said there were evident failures in planning and preparation for the military intervention. The Report also examined several letters between former Prime Minister Tony Blair and Former US President George Bush. In one particular memo, Blair wrote that "I will be with you, whatever.”
 
The Chilcot Report believed that Blair "overestimated" his influence over US policies.

"There are many lessons set out in the Report, some are about the management of relations with our allies, especially the US. Mr. Blair over estimated his ability to influence US decisions on Iraq. The UK's relationship with the US has proved strong enough over time to bear the weight of honest disagreement. It does not require unconditional support where our interests or judgments differ."

The Report also shows that Blair had been given warnings that military action would increase the threat from al-Qaeda to the UK and an invasion would lead to Iraq's weapons being transferred into the hands of terrorists.

At a press conference right after the publication of the Chilcot Report, Tony Blair defended his government's decision as being made "in good faith" and "to the best interests of the country."

"I accept the report makes serious criticisms of the way decisions were taken. And again I accept full responsibility for these points of criticism even where I do not believe or agree with."

Later in the day's parliamentary debate, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the Parliament will hold a two-day debate on the Chilcot Report next week. He also stressed that the report offers many lessons for future policy making and that "intervention is not always wrong. "

"War fighting is not always the difficult part, often the state building that follows is a much more complex challenge. We should not be na?ve to think that just because we have the best prepared plans, in the real world things can't go wrong. And equally just because intervention is difficult it doesn't mean that there is not times when it is right and necessary."

The Prime Minister said that Britain will continue with its counter-extremism actions in Iraq and Syria.