NPR News:英国公布伊拉克战争调查报告 前首相布莱尔称负全责

Thirteen years on, Americans are still arguing over the decision to invade Iraq in 2003, and we're not the only ones. Britain has been doing its own exhaustive examination of why its political leaders decided to join that invasion, the faulty intelligence underlying that decision and Britain's military failures in the war that followed.
That long inquiry reached its conclusion today with the release of an independent report. It heaped particular blame on former Prime Minister Tony Blair and his close alliance with former President George W. Bush. Lauren Frayer reports from London.
13年过去了，美国人仍在为2003年入侵伊拉克的决定争论不休，而我们不是唯一一个这样做的国家。英国一直在进行全面审查，调查英国政治领导人决定加入伊拉克战争的原因，这一决定是否基于错误的情报而得出，以及英国在战争中经历的军事失败。
漫长的调查于今天结束，英国发布了独立报告。这份报告将责任归咎于英国前首相托尼·布莱尔及他和美国前总统乔治·沃克·布什之间的亲密盟友关系。劳伦·弗莱尔将从伦敦带来详细报道。

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JOHN CHILCOT: Good morning, everyone. My colleagues...
约翰·奇尔科特：大家早上好。同事们……

LAUREN FRAYER, BYLINE: In a conference room next to Westminster Abbey, former civil servant John Chilcot read out his findings after an investigation that lasted seven years, longer even than Britain's combat operations in Iraq.
劳伦·弗莱尔连线：在威斯敏斯特教堂旁边的会议室里，英国前政府官员约翰·奇尔科特宣读了调查结果，这一调查历时七年，甚至比英国在伊拉克的作战时间还要长。

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
CHILCOT: It is now clear the policy on Iraq was made on the basis of flawed intelligence and assessments. They were not challenged, and they should have been.
奇尔科特：现在已经明确，英国伊战决策是基于“有瑕疵”的情报和评估。上述情报评估本应受到质疑，但却并没有。

FRAYER: His report was damning, but not surprising. It found that military action was not a last resort, that Saddam Hussein posed no imminent threat and that then Prime Minister Tony Blair rushed into war before all the evidence was in. It also revealed secret conversations between Blair and then President George W. Bush.
In 2002, the summer before the war in which Blair told Bush I will be with you whatever. That revelation that Britain promised to back the U.S. unconditionally whatever the circumstances is what rattles people here. And it prompted a frank discussion in Parliament today with Prime Minister David Cameron pounding his fist on a podium.
弗莱尔：他的报告证据确凿，却并不令人惊讶。报告发现，军事行动不是最后万不得已的手段，当时萨达姆·侯赛因还没有构成紧迫的威胁，时任英国首相托尼·布莱尔在掌握所有证据前，就匆忙地投入到战争中。报告还披露了布莱尔和时任美国总统乔治·沃克·布什之间的秘密对话。
2002年夏天，在战争开始之前，布莱尔对布什说，“无论发生什么，我都在你身边”。这表明英国承诺，无论在何种情况下，无论民众有多慌乱，英国都会无条件支持美国。今天，英国议会就此进行了坦诚的讨论，英国首相戴维·卡梅伦用拳头击打了讲台。

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
DAVID CAMERON: Look, I don't believe the United States is always right about everything, but I do believe our partnership with the United States is vital for our national security.
戴维·卡梅伦：我并不认为美国在所有事情上的决定都是正确的，但是我相信我们同美国的合作伙伴关系对我们的国家安全至关重要。

FRAYER: Outside a nearby church, mourners read out the names of some of the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and 179 British troops who died in the war.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Warrant Officer Class 2 Colin Wall, Royal Military Police. Corporal Dewi Pritchard, Royal Military Police.
弗莱尔：在附近的教堂外面，吊唁者念出了在伊拉克战争中死亡的数万名伊拉克人和179名英国军人的名字。
身份不明的女性：英国皇家宪兵队二级准尉科林·沃尔。英国皇家宪兵队戴维·普里查德下士。

FRAYER: Sarah O'Connor's brother Sergeant Bob O'Connor was one of them. She was asked for her reaction to the report.
弗莱尔：莎拉·奥康纳的哥哥鲍勃·奥康纳中士是在伊拉克战争中牺牲的军人之一。她被问及对这份报告的反应。

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
SARAH O'CONNOR: Personally, for myself, anger. I've gone back to that time when I learned that my brother had been killed. And there was one terrorist in this world that the world needs to be aware of and his name is Tony Blair...
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Yeah.
O'CONNOR: ...The world's worst terrorist.
莎拉·奥康纳：个人来说，我非常愤怒。这让我回到了我得知哥哥死亡消息的那个时候。世界上只有一个需要知道的恐怖分子，他就是托尼·布莱尔……
身份不明的男性1：对。
奥康纳：他是世界上最恶劣的恐怖分子。

(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) War criminal.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Tony Blair
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) War criminal.
FRAYER: Protesters outside called for war crimes charges. Chilcot has no power to recommend criminal proceedings, but families say they're considering civil lawsuits. At the end of the day, Blair called a news conference to defend himself. He said the Chilcot report proves he acted in good faith and in what he believed to be the best interest of his country. But he looked like he had aged much more than the 14 years since those photo ops at Bush's ranch in Texas. Today, his voice broke as he discussed failures of intelligence and the invasions bloody aftermath.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TONY BLAIR: For all of this, I express more sorrow, regret and apology that may ever know or can believe.
FRAYER: He began as one of Britain's most popular prime ministers and also one of the youngest. He won three elections, but now the Iraq War is his legacy. For NPR News, I'm Lauren Frayer in London.
身份不明的人群：（高喊）战犯。
身份不明的男性2：托尼·布莱尔。
身份不明的人群：（高喊）战犯。
弗莱尔：抗议者要求以战争罪的罪名提起诉讼。奇尔科特没有建议采取刑事程序的权力，不过军人家属们表示，他们考虑提起民事诉讼。最后，布莱尔召开新闻发布会为自己辩护。他说奇尔科特的报告能证明，他是出于真诚并以国家最高利益为重做出的决定。但是与14年前在布什位于得克萨斯州的农场拍摄的照片相比，他看上去老了很多。今天，他在谈及情报失误以及入侵后造成的血腥后果时声音沙哑。
（录音档案）
托尼·布莱尔：对此，我感到痛苦、后悔并致以歉意，希望你们可以理解并相信我。
弗莱尔：他曾是英国最受欢迎的首相，也是英国最年轻的首相之一。他赢得了三次大选，可是现在伊拉克战争成为了他留下的遗产。NPR新闻，劳伦·弗莱尔伦敦报道。