Hope for a better tomorrow may have died for a generation in the sands of Iraq

Before going on to comment from a UK perspective, I must mention the 250 dead in the past few days in Bagdad, the 100's of thousands dead in Iraq all due to the war and the US, UK military dead. I am deeply sad about their loss. Their lives were wasted on a worthless and stupid cause. The loss, unimaginable in its pain, goes on today and every day in Iraq.

I was against it before, during and after. Not because I was super smart or well informed.

I did not think we should do it because
1 Saddam was a monster, who someone would remove at some point. However, he was a semi-rational mass murdered interested in his own survival.
2 He was not a credible danger to the UK, he did no possess rocketry or weapons capable of doing us harm
3 He might fund terrorists, but he was not an incubator or motivator of them.  (Unlike more religious dominated dictatorships)

I felt there were better plans
1 Sanctions were making him weaker but it was killing innocent children. Weapons inspectors and no-fly zones seemed a better route.
2 Other countries such as France and Germany were in favour of these other steps. Only an angry US was for invasion.

I felt it would not work because
1 War is always unpredictable.
2 Vietnam (USA) and Afganistan (Russia) showed the problems of creating a determined resistance even where the opponents are mismatched. (Further, the Russians fought and failed with a full "gloves off" approach so beloved of arm chair hawks that is not possible in a democracy)
3 Democracies tire of war, they look for exists and quick wins. Ergo NO strategy that requires long term nation building ever works. it is dishonest to plan otherwise.
4 I feared militant Islam would be strengthened. People capable of suicide bombing or attacks are to be feared, deterrence will not work.

I listened to Robin Cook and Menzies Campbell who both in mind at the time gave compelling arguments against the decision to take this step.

Much as I admired the investment in schools, health services and general energy of Blair (never voted for him, always been Liberal) I was not convinced by his arguments for the war, I found them evasive and lacking in depth.

However, it is beyond doubt that the legacy of Iraq destroyed our faith in politicians. It was palpably mismanaged and an obvious failure. The continued refusal to say so, apologise, account for and learn from it, has contaminated the whole system. The deaths of so many for so little, is criminal.

Perhaps this report is the long overdue purge, but I doubt it. Already the report is being used by some as a stick to beat an opponent du jour. Settling scores with Blair may help some, but there are wider issues about what sort of world we wish and how to achieve it.

This short-term tactical gain over long term lesson, is precisely what has blighted this country.

That cost, remains trivial in comparison to the deaths, the untold suffering of Iraq's and the loss of UK / US citizens.