188 Faces
Samantha Warner www.samwarner.co.uk sam@samwarner.co.uk Printed May 2015 The research used in this book is taken from a wide range of sources including social media, The Guardian online, BBC News, Al Jazeera, Wikipedia. All quotes are taken as truthfully attributed to the persons in question.
188 Faces Statements collected about the Gulf Wars fought by forces allied to the US in Iraq and Kuwait. (dates)
1 - 1990 - 1991 2 - 2003 - 2011
Page 1 - 9
2-3
10 - 17
4-5
18 - 26
6-7
27 - 34
8-9
35 - 46
10 - 11
47 - 58
12 - 13
59 - 68
14 - 15
69 - 78
16 - 17
79 - 94 95 - 106
18 - 19
107 - 117
22 - 23
118 - 127
24 - 25
128 - 134
26 - 27
135 - 146
28 - 29
147 - 162
30 - 31
163 - 170
32 - 33
171 - 179
34 - 35
180 - 189
36 - 37
20 - 21
Index 38 - 39 Glossary 40 - 41
1
George W. Bush (Jr.) US President
2
George H. W. Bush (Snr.) US President
President George W. Bush claimed to have hard evidence that Saddam Hussein* possessed WMD*s and that Iraq had aided, trained and harboured al-Qaeda* terrorists.
Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990; the oil-rich states of the Persian Gulf* were important to the world economy and the invasion was a threat to the international system.
In a televised address in 2003, he gave Saddam an ultimatum: leave Iraq within 48 hours or face war. US and allied forces launched an attack on Iraq on March 20 2003 and thus began the second Gulf War / what became known as the Iraq War.
President George H. W. Bush commanded military action to force Saddam Hussein* and the Iraqi army out of Kuwait (the first Gulf War). Bush’s decision to conclude the war without removing Saddam Hussein from power would become controversial.
3
Dick Cheney Secretary of Defence (Gulf War 1)
“We’re always going to have to be involved [in the Middle East]. Maybe it’s part of our national character, you know we like to have these problems nice and neatly wrapped up, put a ribbon around it.You deploy a force, you win the war and the problem goes away. But it doesn’t work that way in the Middle East. It never has, and isn’t likely to in my lifetime.” Vice President (Gulf War 2) Cheney helped shape Bush’s (1) approach to the “War on Terror*”, making numerous public statements alleging Iraq’s WMD*. “So?” was Cheney’s response to a poll showing Americans had lost confidence in the war.
4
Colin Powell Secretary of State
5
“My colleagues, every statement I make today is backed up by sources, solid sources. These are not assertions. What we’re giving you are facts and conclusions based on solid intelligence.” “Iraq’s record on chemical weapons is replete with lies. It took years for Iraq to finally admit that it had produced four tons of the deadly nerve agent, VX. A single drop of VX on the skin will kill in minutes. Four tons.” Powell resigned in 2004 after acknowledging his defence of an Iraq invasion was based on faulty information.
7
Hillary Clinton First Lady / Secretary of State & U.S. Senator “Many Senators came to wish they had voted against the resolution. I was one of them. As the war dragged on, with every letter I sent to a family in New York who had lost a son or daughter, a father or mother, my mistake became more painful.”
2
Condeleeza Rice National Security Advisor
“Saddam Hussein* had nothing to do with the actual attacks on America, Saddam Hussein’s* Iraq was a part of the Middle East that was festering and unstable, [and] was part of the circumstances that created the problem on September 11*.” “We don’t want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud.”
6
Donald Rumsfield Secretary of Defence
“No terrorist state poses a greater and more immediate threat to the security of our people and the stability of the world than the regime of Saddam Hussein* in Iraq.” “I suppose the implication of that is the president and the vice president and myself and Colin Powell (4) just fell off a turnip truck to take these jobs.”
8
Bill Clinton US President
Clinton previously defended President Bush’s decision to go into Iraq however he now blames Bush for the current turmoil in the region. “If they hadn’t gone to war in Iraq, none of this would be happening. Iraq would not have been, in effect, drastically altered as it has been.”
9
Laura Bush
“I remember an intense weekend at Camp David*. George (1) and Prime Minister Tony Blair (35) were discussing the threat from Saddam Hussein*. And I remember sitting in the window of the White House*, watching as my husband walked on the lawn below. I knew he was wrestling with these agonising decisions, that would have such profound consequence for so many lives and for the future of our world.”
3
10
Barack Obama US President
Obama gave a speech in 2002, as an Illinois state senator, opposing military action in Iraq. In 2011 when Barack Obama was President he withdrew the American troops.
12
John Edwards North Carolina senator
“It wasn’t just the WMD’s* I was wrong about.” “It’s become absolutely clear - and I’m very critical of myself for this - become absolutely clear, looking back, that I should not have given the president this authority.”
13
Paul Bremer American Diplomat
11
Michelle Obama First Lady
“While I know there have been critics [of American Sniper, see 152 & 153], I felt that, more often than not, this film touches on many of the emotions and experiences that I’ve heard first hand from military families over these past few years.”
14
Alan Greenspan Federal Reserve Chairman “The Iraq War is largely about oil.”
At the end of the Iraq war, vast sums of money were available to the US-led provisional authorities (headed by Bremer) to spend on rebuilding the country. Eight months later when Bremer left, $8.8bn of that money had disappeared. Critics claim Bremer bears a significant share of responsibility for Iraq’s descent into chaos.
15
John Kerry American Politician
“Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein*. He is a brutal, murderous dictator; leading an oppressive regime he presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation. So the threat of Saddam Hussein* with weapons of mass destruction is real.”
4
16
Robert Gates U.S. Secretary of Defence
Gates directed the war in Iraq’s troop surge, a marked change in tactics from his predecessor (6). Gates also began the troop withdrawal of Iraq.
17
Paul Wolfowitz Deputy Secretary of Defence The Bush Doctrine* is said to be largely Wolfowitz’s handiwork. Rumsfeld (6) said that Wolfowitz was the first to bring up Iraq after the 9/11* attacks during a meeting at Camp David*.
5
18
David Petraeus Commander of U.S. forces
19
Eric Shinseki Army Chief of Staff
Petraeus was an early recogniser of the difficulties that would follow at the fall of Baghdad.
Shinseki publicly clashed with Rumsfield (6) during the planning of the war in Iraq.
“We’re here so that Afghanistan does not once again become a sanctuary for transnational extremists the way it was when al-Qaeda* planned the 9/11 attacks in the Kandahar area, conducted the initial training for the attackers in training camps in Afghanistan before they moved on to Germany and US flight schools.”
Shinseki testified to Congress that the military would need far greater manpower than they had planned for in order to achieve their objectives in Iraq. He was publicly humiliated by Rumsfeld (6) and Wolfowitz (17).
21
Walter E. Boomer Commanding General US Marine Forces (Gulf War 1)
22
John Abizaid USA general “We’ve treated the Arab world as a collection of big gas stations.”
“I continue to be asked if we stopped too soon. The answer in retrospect is Yes.”
Stanley R Arthur US Vice Chief of Naval Operations (Gulf War 1) Arthur oversaw the U.S. Navy buildup for Gulf War 1. He directed the operations of more than 96,000 Navy and Marine Corps personnel and 130 U.S. Navy and Allied ships.
25
John J Yeosock U.S. Army General (Gulf War 1) d.2012
“It was such a different reaction than Vietnam*. That had been a protracted thing. In this, the whole country welcomed them back.” Patricia,Yeosock’s sister in law
6
Norman Schwarzkopf U.S. Army General (Gulf War 1) d. 2012
“He is neither a strategist nor is he schooled in the operational arts, nor is he a tactician, nor is he a general. Other than that he’s a great military man.” Schwarzkopf describing Saddam Hussein* (1991) “Yesterday Iraq had the fourth largest Army in the world. Today they have the second largest Army in Iraq.”
“I think those guys (Iraqi troops) can expect the worst.”
24
20
23
Chuck Horner US Air Force General (Gulf War 1)
“Would have killing Saddam Hussein* solved the problems in Iraq, I think the answer to that is flat out no, it’s like the Mafia*, they’ve got a head gangster, they kill him, another 23-30-48 gangsters going to take over.You’d have to just pull the entire Ba’th party* out of power [...] so whether we killed Saddam Hussein* or not really to me was not a big issue.”
26
Tommy Franks USA General
“No one in this country probably was more surprised than I when weapons of mass destruction were not used against our troops as they moved toward Baghdad.”
7
8
27
Ricardo Sanchez Military commander in Iraq
28
Wesley Clark US Army General Gulf War 1
“The Bush administration* “led America into a strategic blunder of historic proportions.”
Gulf War 1 occurred during Clark’s command. Apparently it was very clear Sanchez and Bremer (13) hated each other.
“We’re going to take out seven countries in 5 years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran.” Gulf War 2 Clark continued to warn people that he believed the US were undermanned in Iraq. He said the war was “never [about]... WMD* or regime change” and believes “the connection to the War on Terrorism* was not shown.”
29
George William Casey Jr. Senior coalition commander
30
“It’s always been my view that a heavy and sustained American military presence was not going to solve the problems in Iraq over the long term.”
32
Jessica Lynch US Solidier
Lynch was attacked and captured in Iraq. Details of the attack and rescue by US forces were questioned by the media and the Pentagon* was critisised for creating ‘a media spectacle.’ Lynch signed a $1 million book deal and made her film debut in a role loosely based on her own Iraq experiences.
Frank Wuterich Senior US Marine
31
William Caldwell Army General and spokesman
Speaking about the Haditha incident*. Wuterich admitted that he told his men to “shoot first, ask questions later.”
Caldwell discovered the power of social networking in 2007 when he was the U.S. military’s top spokesman in Iraq.
Many news reports have contradicted Wuterich’s version of events (the killings were retribution for the attack on a convoy of Marines), claiming that the Marines entered several houses and deliberately killed civilians.
“We now had the ability to help inform and present information that people might want to hear about or see in a way that was never there before.”
33
Vincent K. Brooks Brigadier General
Brooks was the US Army’s Deputy Director of Operations during the Iraq War and frequently briefed the media, which raised his public profile.
34
Peter Chiarelli Army Vice Chief of Staff
“We saw murders every single night. We didn’t really see them at night, we saw them in the mornings when we went on patrol. We would find men with hands tied behind their back and shot between the eyes, and there were days where we would find a hundred bodies out in the streets of Baghdad.”
9
35
Tony Blair Labour Prime Minister
Blair strongly supported much of the foreign policy of President Bush (1) and ensured that British armed forces participated in an invasion of Iraq. “I can apologise for the information [about WMD*s] that turned out to be wrong, but I can’t, sincerely at least, apologise for removing Saddam*.”
36
Jack Straw Foreign Secretary
“The issue is whether I believe that I should have made a different decision on the basis of what was or could have been known at the time. I’ve thought about this endlessly and concluded that I made my choice to support the war on the best available evidence. I do not back away from it now. To do so would be contemptible.”
37
John Prescott Deputy Prime Minister
The plan “fell apart as it often does in American politics because the influence domestically is too great”. Prescott said he supported the invasion in 2003 in the belief that George Bush (1) had a plan to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict*.
38
Mr Brown slashed military spending six months after the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. “We continued to increase the defence budget every year. We made every urgent operational requirement that was necessary for our forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
“I didn’t have a nervous breakdown but I was close to one.”
39
Cherie Blair Wife of 35
“A lot of the time these choices are not clear cut [...] They are not black and white. Instead of being 80-20, many of them are actually more like 51-49.” “He (35) is also very good at then convincing everybody else that it was a 70-30 decision all along. I think it (the Iraq war) was one of those 51-49 questions.”
40
David Blunkett Home Secretary
“The mistake was believing we could influence the US in the aftermath. If they had put Powell (4) in charge instead of letting Rumsfeld (6) loose with some of the dum-dums who are running the show on the ground, including our air marshal, it would have been a lot better. The main task for us all is to make sure that in years to come Iraq is not seen as [35’s] legacy. Instead it should be “the complete transformation of Britain’s economic, social and political culture.” Blunkett quit the Cabinet in 2004 over abusing his position by fasttracking a visa application for his mistress’s (142) nanny.
43
Ken Livingstone Mayor of London / Former Labour politician
“I had never seen so many people at any one time. I doubt I will again. It was so clear to people that it was fundamentally wrong.” “It was the population of the UK at the time of 1066, two million people.” Livingstone recalling the Iraq War Demonstration* whilst he was Mayor.
10
44
Geoff Hoon Secretary of State for Defence
Hoon claimed two trailers found in Iraq were mobile weapons laboratories. Weapons inspectors said that they were nothing of the sort. Hoon asserted that the UK was willing to use nuclear weapons against Iraqi forces “in the right circumstances, namely in extreme self defence”.
Gordon Brown Chancellor / Labour Prime Minister
Whilst Prime Minister in 2009 Gordon Brown set up the Chilcot enquiry*.
41
Clare Short International Development Secretary
“I think he (35) misled the cabinet. He certainly misled me, but people let it through.” “The American people were misled to suggest that al-Qaeda* had links to Saddam Hussein*.”
42
“I can’t accept collective responsibility for the decision to commit Britain now to military action in Iraq without international agreement or domestic support.” An opponent of military action against Iraq, Cook resigned from the cabinet.
“Everybody knows that is untrue that he had absolutely no links, no sympathy, al-Qaeda* were nowhere near Iraq until after the invasion and the disorder that came from that.”
45
Margaret Beckett Foreign Secretary
Beckett has been accused of being ‘Blairite to the core’. “Of course any military action is bound to lead to deaths on both sides and it is bound to be the case that there are regrets for those deaths. And there had been “episodes of misbehaviour that should never have been done.”
Robin Cook Foreign Secretary / Leader of the House of Commons d. 2005
46
Tony Benn Labour Politician d. 2014
Benn was President of the Stop the War Coalition* and a leading figure of the British opposition to the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War. In 2003 Benn travelled to Baghdad to meet Saddam Hussein*.
11
47
John Hutton Defence Secretary
“The invasion of Iraq was based on the attorney general’s advice and was a decision made by all of government not just Tony Blair (35).”
51
Ed Miliband Labour Politician
“The combination of not giving the weapons inspectors more time, and then the weapons not being found, I think for a lot of people it led to a catastrophic loss of trust for us and we do need to draw a line under it.”
55
Douglas Alexander Shadow Foreign Secretary / Junior Minister
“If you look at the ledger with a 10-year perspective, the negatives outweigh the positives.”
12
48
Des Brown Defence Secretary
Brown admitted privately to a US general that chaos in Basra was “depressing and incomprehensible”, and “could not be resolved… by the UK’s forces.”
52
Jacqui Smith Labour Politician
“All the perfumes of Arabia” would not help wash her hands of past UK actions in Iraq - Galloway (70)
56
Gus O’ Donnell Treasury and Cabinet Secretary
“I think one of the reasons the prime minister (35) was reluctant, at times, to take as many Cabinet discussions as possible was because he felt that they would become very public, very quickly.”
49
Peter Hain Labour MP
“Hunting and Iraq are fringe issues [...]The main dominating issue is how does the country go forward; how do we give more security at work; how do we give more support to hard-working families; how do we improve child care?”
53
Ed Balls Labour Politician
“We shouldn’t have changed our argument from international law to regime change in a non-transparent way. It was an error for which we as a country paid a heavy price, and for which many people paid with their lives.”
57
Bob Ainsworth Defence Secretary
“The government should have offered more support to British troops at the beginning of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
50
Sally Keeble Labour Politician
The Blair government should have ‘sorted out’ its plans to rebuild Iraq after the war much sooner. Keeble wrote a letter to Blair (35) after resigning shortly from the invasion. She accused Short (41) of making “disastrous decisions”, leading to failures in planning and providing humanitarian supplies.
54
John Reid Defence Secretary
“I have absolutely no doubt that a threat was removed from the world and a burden removed from the backs of the Iraqi people when the dictator Saddam Hussein* was removed.”
58
Ann Clwyd Labour Politician
“I was taken by the wife of the President of Iraq...to the border of Iraq and Kurdistan; she pointed towards the hillside and said ‘that’s where they are going to fire the chemical weapons from.’”
13
59
John Major Conservative Prime Minister
Within weeks of becoming Prime Minister, Major presided over British participation in the first Gulf War.
60
Margaret Thatcher Conservative Prime Minister d. 2013
“This was no time to go wobbly!” Thatcher’s remark towards Bush (2) being apprehensive.
61
William Hague Conservative Politician
62
“It was ‘right’ for Britain to invade Iraq in 2003, despite the bloodshed and chaos that is now engulfing the country.”
Tom King UK Defence Secretary (Gulf War 1) King served as defence secretary under Major (59).
She recommended intervention and put pressure on Bush to deploy troops for the first Gulf War. Thatcher resigned by the time hostilities began.
63
Iain Duncan Smith Conservative Politician Duncan Smith was one of the first politicians to call for an invasion of Iraq.
64
David Cameron Conservative Prime Minister
“The world has got smaller and we have to recognise that what happens in other countries has a bearing on us.” “You’ve got to do what you think is right even if it’s unpopular, that’s the only thing you can do.”
67
David Davies Conservative Politician
Davis, who voted in favour of going to war in Iraq, said the conflict had been “with hindsight, the greatest foreign policy failure of this generation”. “When decisions are made without knowledge of all the facts, mistakes are made and sometimes people die as a result. So it is not hyperbole to say that the delay to the Iraq inquiry* could cost lives because bad decisions could be made.”
14
68
Liam Fox Shadow Defence Secretary Fox voted for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
“The consequences of a victory for extremist insurgents in Iraq are so “potentially catastrophic” that the possibility of sending British troops should not be ruled out.”
65
Boris Johnson Conservative Politician / Mayor of London
Johnson admitted he had voted in favour of military action in 2003 though he said he thought at the time that Blair’s claims about weapons of mass destruction* (WMD*) were “nonsense”.
66
George Osbourne Conservative Politician
“I’m a signed-up, card-carrying Bush (1) fan. I have been ever since I met him when he was governor of Texas.” “We could try to walk away from it now. We could distance ourselves from America, say the Iraq war was a mistake . . . But it would not save us.”
15
16
69
Nigel Farage UK Independence Party Leader
“The lesson is not, as Mr Blair (35) implies, that the West should intervene in Syria, let alone once more in Iraq. The lesson is that the West should declare an end to the era of military intervention abroad.”
72
Menzies Campbell Liberal Democrat Politician
Campbell was prominent in the Liberal Democrat opposition to the 2003 Iraq War. “A relationship with the United States based on the flawed principle, “my ally right or wrong” is not only profoundly illiberal but will be unsustainable as well.”
75
Nicola Sturgeon Scottish National Party Politician
“For as long as the Chilcot report* remains hidden from public view, the suspicion will remain that it is being kept secret because of behind-thescenes wrangling about its contents - a suspicion that is only fuelled by the extended delay until after the looming (2015) Westminster election.
76
Leanne Wood Plaid Cymru Politician
Wood is strongly anti-war, blaming George Bush (1) and Tony Blair (35) for home-grown terrorism.
70
George Galloway British Politician
“These people are criminals, and they are responsible for mass murder in the world, for the war, and for the occupation, through their support for Israel, and through their support for a globalised capitalist economic system, which is the biggest killer the world has ever known.”
73
Charles Kennedy Liberal Democrat Politician
“Those like President Bush (1) and Tony Blair (35), who have sought to link Iraq with the so-called ‘war on terror*’, can hardly be surprised when members of the public draw the same link when acts of terrorism occur here in the UK.”
71
Alex Salmond Scottish National Party Politician
“Tony Blair (35) has now claimed that the invasion of Iraq was about whether or not Saddam Hussein* remained in power. Eleven years ago he said it was about WMD*. “ “[He] clearly hopes everybody else will conveniently forget his 2003 decision, the consequences of which have played out over 11 years, with hundreds of thousands dead.”
74
Nick Clegg Liberal Democrat Politician
“Maybe one day - perhaps we will have to wait for his memoirs - could account for his role in the most disastrous decision of all, which is the illegal invasion of Iraq.” (Speaking of 35)
77
Natalie Bennett Green Party Leader
“Fifty-five per cent of Britons agree that the London marchers were right because the war was delivered on false pretences and delivered little other than bloodshed. But the Iraqi people are still struggling and dying.”
78
Willie Rennie Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader
“When I voted in the House of Commons* in 2009 for the independent inquiry, the Labour government said the final report (see 98) would be published within a year.” “Nearly six years on, it is extremely frustrating that the findings of the inquiry will not be made public in the coming days and weeks, but potentially months.”
17
79
Tim Dowse Foreign Office Director of Counter-Proliferation
“After 9/11* we concluded that Iraq had stepped further back and they did not want to be associated with al-Qaeda* [..] They were not natural allies.” “My own personal assumption on reading it (the 2002 dossier*) was that it was referring to [...] the sort of weapon or delivery system that could be kept ready for rapid deployment in the event of a conflict.”
83
Kevin Tebbit Secretary of the Ministry of Defence
“I was running essentially a crisis budget rather than one with sufficient resources to be able to plan as coherently, as well for the long term, as we would have liked.”
87
David Manning British Foreign Policy Adviser
Manning attended crucial meetings between Blair (35) and Bush (1) as they plotted how to launch a war in the face of public opinion against it. David wrote a secret memo that showed the US invasion of Iraq would definitely go ahead, discussed ways of provoking Saddam Hussein* to justify war and showed that Blair (35) was prepared to support the invasion regardless of whether WMD* were discovered.
80
Jeremy Greenstock British Diplomat
81
Greenstock wrote a book about his role in the Iraq war that was withdrawn from publication at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
William Patey Head of Middle East at the Foreign Office “We were aware of the drum beats from Washington.”
82
Christopher Meyer British Ambassador to the United States
“This is not hindsight. We knew in the run-up to war that the overthrow of Saddam Hussein* would seriously destabilise Iraq after 24 years of his iron rule.”
He stated categorically that British and American leaders had known since 1998 that Iraq under Saddam Hussein* had no WMD*.
84
Ken MacDonald Former Director of Public Prosecutions
MacDonald said it was proof of an “alarming subterfuge” by the UK government in its support for the war.
85
Bill Jeffrey Official at the Ministry of Defence
The armed forces went to war in Iraq and Afghanistan with “an outdated stock of armoured vehicles”
86
Jeremy Heywood Cabinet Secretary
Heywood was accused of trying to block the publication of classified material – including 30 notes between Blair (35) and Bush (1).
Jeffrey told the inquiry the defence budget had been squeezed by rising staff and equipment costs and the fall in the value of the pound.
88
Edward Chaplin British Ambassador
“I think what they held against us was different, it was the way we had handled the run-up, particularly on the Sunni* side, the way we had allowed the Iraqi army to be dissolved and the way we had set up the CPA and the way we had set up the new government.”
89
Hilary Synnott British Diplomat (d. 2011)
With Blair’s (35) assurance that he could telephone, Synnot flew overnight to Kuwait and found that the “bloody mess” he had been warned about was still worse than he had feared. He lived for several days without sheets, soap, or any means of communication. He found the British in Iraq had to rely on the Americans.
90
Peter Ricketts British Diplomat
“One immediate difference that we discovered with the incoming Bush (1) administration was that they were much less keen on getting weapons inspectors into Iraq, but apart from that, we saw considerable similarity of approach.”
Senior British government officials had refused to visit Basra. “I found this quite extraordinary.”
91
Queen Elizabeth II The Queen of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth
Ellizabeth refused to grant her consent to allow the bill (to transfer the power to authorise military strikes against Iraq from the monarch to Parliament) to be debated in Parliament. Newspaper reports claim the Queen was “frustrated” by the policies of Blair (35) and that she had shown concern that the British Armed Forces were overstretched in Iraq and Afghanistan.
18
92
Prince Charles The Prince of Wales
The Prince refused any documents detailing discussions he had about the war with Blair (35) to be seen by the Chilcot inquiry*.
93
Prince William Duke of Cambridge
“The last thing I want to do is be mollycoddled or wrapped up in cotton wool [...] It’s the most humiliating thing and it would be something I’d find very awkward to live with, being told I couldn’t go out there when these guys have got to go out there.” William wasn’t deployed in combat because, as second in line to the throne, it would be too precarious.
94
Prince Harry Prince Henry of Wales
The army decided it was too dangerous for Harry to serve in Iraq and deployed him to Afghanistan on condition thathis whereabouts remained a secret in case he became a Taliban* target.
19
95
Brian Hutton Judge
Hutton was appointed by the Blair (35) government to chair the inquiry on the circumstances surrounding the death of Kelly (96) - The Hutton Inquiry*. Critics commented that he had given the “benefit of judgement to virtually everyone in the government and no-one in the BBC.”
96
David Kelly Government Scientist/ Biological Warfare Expert/ Weapons Inspector d. 2003
An unauthorized conversation claiming the government had exaggerated the WMD* capabilities of Saddam Hussein* to justify thewar, which Kelly had had with the BBC before the invasion of Iraq, were made public.
97
Hans Blix United Nations Weapons Inspector
Blix accused the US and British governments of ‘dramatising the WMD* threat’ as they strengthened the case for the Iraq war.
98
John Chilcot Civil Servant
Chilcot chaired the inquiry* into the Iraq War. Chilcot admitted he did not know when the inquiry – which cost over £9million – would finally be published, five-and-a-half years after it was launched.
Kelly’s ‘suicide’ not long after led to a public inquiry - The Hutton Inquiry*.
99
William Ehrman Foreign Office’s director general
“We did...get a report that chemical weapons might have remained disassembled and Saddam hadn’t yet ordered their assembly.”
100
Peter Goldsmith Attorney General
Goldsmith believed the war was illegal, but changed his opinion several weeks before the invasion.
Ehram also said the situation had been complicated by Saddam Hussein* not wanting to reveal the true state of his weapons arsenal for fear of showing himself “quite so weak” to Iran.
103
Richard Dearlove Director of MI6
Dearlove threatens to publicise his account of the run-up to the invasion “depending on what Chilcot (98) publishes”.
104
Michael Wood Foreign Office Lawyer
Wood warned ministers three months before the invasion that it was not certain if military action would be legal. “In my opinion, that use of force had not been authorised by the security council, and had no other basis in international law.” “They really needed advice, even if they didn’t want it at that stage, in order to develop their policy in the weeks leading up to the failure to get a second resolution.”
20
101
Eliza Manningham-Buller Director General of MI5
“Our involvement in Iraq, for want of a better word, radicalised a whole generation of young people, some of them British citizens who saw our involvement in Iraq, on top of our involvement in Afghanistan, as being an attack on Islam.”
105
David Omand Secretary for Security / Intelligence Coordinator
“When the inspectors started to report that they weren’t finding what we thought was going to be found, the response, for example in SIS* was simply to turn up the volume control to say, “That just proves how devious Saddam Hussein* is and how incompetent the inspectors are.”
102
John Sawers UK Special Envoy to Iraq / Head of MI6
“‘Very few observers’ foresaw that Iraq would attract al-Qaeda* terrorists and Shia* extremists backed by Iran. Britain may have had ‘second thoughts’ about the Iraq invasion had the scale of post-war violence been anticipated.”
106
Elizabeth Wilmshurst British Deputy Legal Adviser to the Foreign Office Wilmshurst resigned in protest of Britain’s decision to invade Iraq without Security Council authorisation.
21
107
Michael Laurie Major General
“We knew at the time that the purpose of the dossier* was precisely to make a case for war, rather than setting out the available intelligence, and that to make the best out of sparse and inconclusive intelligence the wording was developed with care.”
108
Richard Shirreff Lieutenant General
“I got what was possible, as far as possible... But I would stress, though, that what was possible was not going to be enough.”
109
Tim Collins British Military Officer
“We go to Iraq to liberate not to conquer. We will not fly our flags in their country. We are entering Iraq to free a people and the only flag which will be flown in that ancient land is their own. Show respect for them.” Eve-of-battle speech in 2003
“Alastair Campbell (135) said to the inquiry that the purpose of the dossier was not ‘to make a case for war’. I had no doubt at that time this was exactly its purpose and these very words were used.” Laurie was opposed to the Iraq War and has frequently spoken out against it citing his concern that many thousands of civilians would die unnecessarily.
110
Patrick Cordingley British Major General (Gulf War 1)
In 1996 Cordingley published a book detailing his leading the troops into Iraq titled ‘In The Eye Of The Storm’.
111
Timothy Cross British Army Officer and Military Logistics Expert
There is no doubt that with hindsight the US post-war plan was fatally flawed and many of us sensed that at the time.
112
Jock Stirrup Air Chief Marshall
The problem of course was that we simply didn’t have enough time, as it turned out, to do everything we needed to do before the operation started.”
He opposed the 2nd Gulf War stating it would be pointless as it would only lead to tens of thousands of Iraqis being needlessly killed.
114
Charles Guthrie Head of the British Army
“By fighting two wars they are underfunded and “very, very stretched”. They need more money, urgently. Lives will be lost if we go on doing what we’re doing.”
John Reith British Army Chief of Operations
“I had a discussion with Hoon (44), because we had been ... saying that we needed ships up from trade, we needed UORs*, we needed mobilisation of the reserves and so forth, and it had kept being put off.” Apparently Reith was prevented by the government from preparing for the Iraq invasion so the public would not know military action was being planned.
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Brain Burridge British Air Marshall
“The UK media has lost the plot […] you stand for nothing, you support nothing, you criticise, you drip.” “It’s a spectator sport to criticise anybody or anything, and what the media says fuels public expectation.”
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Arthur Denaro British Major General (Gulf War 1)
“As we drove through the minefield breach advancing into combat, I thought so much about whether we would all get back to see our loved ones again.” “I had written to the parents of all the crew before we went into battle, saying I would do my best to bring them home.”
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Michael Boyce Chief of Defence Staff
“As I said before, if they had chosen to go on their own, they could have done so. They had the capability and the numbers to do so, and at the early planning time, yes, they could have done it without us, but I think they very much wanted to have us there as an ally, as another flag; and, knowing the quality of our people, we could actually make a serious contribution, but if they had decided to go on their own, of course they could have done so.”
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Frederick Viggers Britain’s Senior Military Representative
“I am not talking about the soldiers and commanders and civilians ... who did a great job ... it’s the intellectual horsepower that drives these things (which) needs better co-ordination.”
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Mike Jackson Chief of the General Staff
“The US approach to combating global terrorism is ‘inadequate’ and too focused on military might rather than nation building and diplomacy.”
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Jonathon Riley Senior British Commander
“What was left of its infrastructure had been largely torn apart by the population which had lost all respect for its own army, a very bad situation to be in.”
“It was rather like going to the theatre and seeing one sort of play and realising you were watching a tragedy as the curtains came back.”
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Peter Wall British Chief of the General Staff
“We were found wanting in both these respects in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it took some time to get things right.”
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Nick Houghton Senior British Military Officer
Houghton was responsible for devising the strategy to withdraw 8,000 British troops from southern Iraq.
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Richard Dannat Chief of the General Staff
“I think history will show that the planning for what happened after the initial successful war-fighting phase [following the invasion of Iraq] was poor, probably based more on optimism than sound planning.” Dannat decided Prince Harry (94) would not be sent to Iraq because of the “unacceptable risks”.
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John Kiszely British Military Officer
“Attacks on coalition forces were rising sharply. Iraqi police and army units were severely undermanned, the government machine was not functioning and “little” reconstruction had taken place. The rule of law did not really exist in a number of provinces.”
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Graham Binns British Army Officer
Binns signed a document that returned the responsibility for running the province of Basra to local Iraqi leaders.
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Graeme Lamb The Commander of Multinational Forces
Lamb saw disorder turn to an “insurgency on steroids”, to serious sectarian violence. Lamb said working with the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad was like “dancing with a broken doll”.
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Harold Pinter English writer, director and actor
“Because of propaganda and control of the media, millions of Americans believed that every word Mr Bush (1) said was ‘accurate and moral’.” Pinter attended the Iraq War demonstration*.
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Lauren Booth Public Speaker (Half Sister to 39)
Booth was a vocal opponent of the Iraq War giving speeches against the invasion. She is an outspoken activist and a supporter of the Stop the War Coalition*.
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Lindsey German Conveyor of the Stop the War Coalition*
“Blair (35) has yet again been given a lengthy platform to promote his demented warmongering.” German said it was precisely the bombing of the country’s infrastructures 11 years ago that lead to “disastrous consequences which are still playing out to the cost of the Iraqi people”.
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Ron Kovic American anti-war activist Kovic led the march of several hundred thousand demonstrators at the Iraq War demonstration* in London .
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Jesse Jackson American Civil Rights Activist
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Andrew Murray Chair of the Stop The War Coalition*
“It did only slowly dawn on us that it would be the biggest demonstration Britain had ever seen. We had no idea, even on the day. And far more people wanted to speak at the demonstration than possibly could. There was no shortage of temperamental personalities.”
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Noam Chomsky Academic, Linguist, Anti-War Activist, Journalist
Jackson attended the Iraq War demonstration*. “I am here to show support for the British people, most of whom recognise that war is not the way to relieve the Iraqi people of their suffering.”
“The number of people killed by the sanctions in Iraq is greater than the total number of people killed by all WMD’s* in all of history.”
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Alastair Campbell Director of Communications and Strategy (for 35)
“Come on, you don’t seriously think we won’t find anything?” Campbell was involved in two documents arguing the case for concern over WMD*s in Iraq. “
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Piers Morgan Journalist
Morgan was sacked as editor of the Daily Mirror* over fake photographs of British troops apparently abusing Iraqi detainees.
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Andrew Marr Broadcaster and Journalist
“I can make Tony Blair (35), Michael Howard*, Charles Kennedy (73)or anyone else look bumbling, irrelevant, tetchy... or rather brilliant.”
“If nobody knows the provenance of these photographs, why should we apologise?”
Campbell resigned in August 2003 during the Hutton Inquiry* into the death of Kelly (96).
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Rupert Murdoch Business and Media Man
Murdoch pushed Blair (35) hard to back George Bush (1) in invading Iraq. A Vanity Fair* article claimed Murdoch had “virtually put him in office” (35) in 1997 and “from 1997 to 2007 the two men virtually ran Great Britain”. Murdoch believed the allegations of 35 and 142‘s affair. Some claim it was the excuse the tycoon had been waiting for. Blair (35) is godfather to one of Murdoch’s daughter’s.
Campbell claimed in June 2013 that Blair (35) had “greater commitment to wartime truth than Winston Churchill*.”
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Jeremy Paxman British Presenter
Paxman claimed he had been “hoodwinked” by US government propaganda prior to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. “From the initial lies that took us to war, through to the summoning of clubby members of the House of Lords* to conduct later “inquiries” that claimed so much and revealed so little, it tarnished everything it touched.”
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Kimberly Quinn American Publisher
Quinn had a three year affair with Blunkett (40) during the time of the Iraq War which caused questions about the father of her children.
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Andrew Gilligan BBC Journalist and Presenter
In 2003, Gilligan made a broadcast in which he claimed that the British Government had “sexed up” a report in order to exaggerate the WMD* capabilities of Saddam Hussein*. Gilligan resigned from the BBC in 2004 in the wake of the Hutton Inquiry*.
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Jon Snow News Anchor
Snow examined the brutal reality of life inside post-invasion Iraq, meeting a variety of its citizens from victims of bomb blasts and war widows to human rights activists and politicians.
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Trevor McDonald News Anchor
Interviews include Bush (1), Blair (35) and Saddam Hussein*. I remember the first question I asked Saddam Hussein* before the first Gulf war clearly: “Mr President, is it a very Arab thing to do to go into a neighbouring country and invade it and rape its people?”
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Carne Ross Iraq Expert
Ross testified that at no time during his work on Iraq (1998-2002) did the UK or US assess that Iraq’s WMD* posed a threat.
141
Wendi Deng Former Wife of 81.
Deng allegedly developed a passionate obsession with 35 and wrote this note: “Oh, s***, oh, s***. Whatever why I’m so so missing Tony. Because he is so so charming and his clothes are so good.“He has such good body and he has really really good legs But… And he is slim tall and good skin. Pierce blue eyes which I love. Love his eyes. Also I love his power on the stage… and what else and what else and what else… ”
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Owen Jones Left-wing British columnist
“Tony Blair (35) says we’re not to blame for Iraq - disaster. Quite right. Him and his cheerleaders are.”
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146
Arnold Schwarzenegger Body Builder / Actor / Governer
“It seemed clear at the time that Iraq was sheltering terrorists. Saddam Hussein’s* regime was a dictatorship that cost a lot of lives. There was good justification to invade, especially after 9/11*. Four years later, we have to look at it and ask if Iraq is becoming another Vietnam*, and I do not want it to become another Vietnam.”
150
Steve Martin American Actor & Comedian Martin visited troops and put on shows during Gulf War 1.
147
Angelina Jolie Hollywood Actress
Jolie is a regular visitor to Iraq with her humanitarian efforts.
148
Leonardo DiCaprio American Actor
149
In Body of Lies (see 156) DiCaprio plays a CIA operative who uncovers a link to a major terrorist leader.
Williams was a USO regular performer but fierce critic of the war.
“You know, it’s a very difficult job and it made me realise how we’ve bitten off so much more than we can chew in this war. That’s what it made me realise; how difficult their task is; this job that they actually do.”
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Tom Hanks American Actor
“Let’s take a look at one of the problems of war in Iraq. The vast majority of Americans prior to 2001, never mind 2003 when the invasion began, had no idea that there was a huge difference between a Sunni Muslim* and a Shia Muslim*.”
152
Clint Eastwood Actor & Director
Eastwood directed the controversial biographical war film ‘American Sniper’ (2014).
Robin Williams American Actor & Comedian (d. 2014)
“I’m there for the [troops], not for W.”
153
Bradley Cooper American Actor
Bradley Cooper played Navy SEAL Chris Kyle in the ‘American Sniper’ (see 152).
“I was against going into the war in Iraq since I figured we would probably trip over ourselves in some way.”
“Why wouldn’t they greet us as liberators? We had no idea of what Iraq really was.”
154
Samuel L Jackson American Actor
Jackson played a heroic medic in ‘Home of the Brave’ (2006) who has a difficult time adjusting to life back home.
155
Russell Crowe Actor
Crowe plays a CIA agent in Body of Lies. A 2008 American action-spy film set in the post-Iraq war Middle East.
Uma Thurman American Actress
Thurman was one of the celebrities who signed an anti-war letter to Bush (1) urging him not to start a war with Iraq.
Bruce Willis American Actor
Willis was one of very few Hollywood celebrities to publicly support the Iraq war. While visiting the troops in 2003, he offered $1million of his own money for the man who would capture Saddam Hussein.*
“These people, when they do come home, if they get home, [are] being denied a lot of different things that they didn’t actually know. They joined up to be kind of weekend warriors at some point. All of a sudden they were going somewhere for a couple of weeks [...] and before you knew it, they’d been there for two years, a year and a half.”
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156
When Hussein was captured, it turned out that military rules prevent troops from collecting such a reward.
159
Matt Damon American Actor
Damon portrayed an idealistic US Army Officer on the hunt for WMDs* in Iraq in the British-FrenchAmerican film ‘Green Zone’ (2010).
160
Tom Cruise American Actor
“Personally, I don’t have all the information President Bush (1) has.”
157
George Clooney American Actor
“America’s policies frustrate me. I think a war against Iraq is as unavoidable as it is senseless. But I also think the real danger is what happens after it.You can’t beat your enemy any more through wars. Instead you create an entire generation of people revenge seeking. Our opponents are going to resort to car bombs and suicide attacks because they have no other way to win.”
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Seth Rogan American Actor
“American Sniper kind of reminds me of the movie that’s showing in the third act of Inglorious Basterds.*” Rogen was comparing Eastwood’s (153) film to Nazi propaganda*. Later, Rogen clarified his tweet. “I just said something “kinda reminded” me of something else. I actually liked American Sniper.”
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Madonna American Musician
The American Life music video featured Madonna cavorting with female soldiers and throwing a hand grenade at Bush (1). After the invasion of Iraq, Madonna cancelled the release of the original music video and released an alternative.
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Britney Spears American Popstar
“Honestly, I think we should just trust our president in every decision he makes and should just support that, you know, and be faithful in what happens.”
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Curtis (50 Cent) Jackson American Rapper
163
Michael Jackson American Musician d. 2009
Michael Jackson recorded an anti-war song about the US invasion of Iraq, “We’ve Had Enough”, which was included on his greatest hits package “Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection”. (Unreleased)
166
Jackson travelled to Iraq to perform for the soldiers. He also played a soldier who faces the challenges of coming home in ‘Home of the Brave’ a 2006 drama film.
Eminem American Rapper ‘Strap him with a AK 47, let him go fight his own war Let him impress Daddy that way No more blood for oil, we got our own battles to fight on our own soil’ Mosh, 2004
The Mosh music video involved Eminem performing for troops in Iraq, Eminem (as a soldier) returning home to family to find he has been sent back and Eminem and protesters shouting at George Bush (1).
167
Jay Z American Rapper ‘No more war, no more Iraq No more white lies, the President is black’ My President Remix (2009)
‘I feel the pain in my city wherever I go 314 soldiers dies in Iraq, 509 died in Chicago’ Murder to Excellence (2011) featuring West (169)
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168
Rihanna American Popstar
The music video for “Hard” was pro-imperialist, militaristic and featured battlefield scenes made to look like they are shot in Iraq.
169
Kanye West American Rapper
Kanye West gave returning Iraq veterans the surprise of their lives in the MTV documentary “Choose or Lose & Kanye West Present: Homecoming.” West visited their homes, listened to their stories, challenges and expressed gratitude and gave them a gift. “There are hundreds of veterans out there who are falling through the cracks. They make the ultimate sacrifices for us by laying down their lives, but it seems like a lot of them just get forgotten about.”
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170
Mick Jagger British Musician / Rolling Stones Front Man
171
Keith Richards British Musician / Rolling Stone Guitarist
172
Bono British Musician / U2 Front Man
“At the time of the Iraq invasion, I was ambivalent; getting rid of Saddam Hussein* was a gift for humanity and I thought that there was a coherent plan to put Iraq back on its feet […] (But it) shocked me to know that Blair already knew that the WMD*’s were simply an excuse and that there was nothing planned for the day after (the invasion).”
Richards said he told Blair (35) not to lose his nerve on the Iraq war.
“Tony Blair (35) is not going to war for oil. Tony Blair is sincere in his convictions about Iraq. In my opinion he is sincerely wrong.”
“I wrote him a letter, telling him he had to stick to his guns. I got a letter back, saying: ‘Thanks for the support’.”
“We must not make a martyr of Saddam Hussein*. He is good at working the cameras. We shouldn’t make it easy for him.”
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Ian Brown British Musician / Stone Roses Front Man ‘So what the fuck is this uk Gunnin’ with this us of A In Iraq and Iran and in Afghanistan’ Illegal Attacks (2007)
Morrissey British Musician / The Smiths Frontman
“The United Nations failure to imprison Tony Blair (35) and George W. Bush (1) for war crimes against Iraq has told us all that there can never be enough bloodshed, and the world is suffering its worst nervous breakdown.”
Noel Gallagher British Musician / Oasis Front Man
“Blair made an almighty cock-up about going to war in Iraq. But...don’t think for one moment David Cameron (64) wouldn’t have sent troops in, or the other guy from the Liberals.” “You get a million people walking through Hyde Park, ‘don’t send the troops’ and all that. The troops, they want to go, all they want to do is fight! They’re soldiers! They’re lunatics! They’re loving it until they get shot - and then their claiming compensation. If you’re bothered about getting shot - here’s the thing - don’t join the army.”
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George Michael British Musician Michael led an impassioned appeal to Tony Blair (35) to avert war with Iraq.
“We are just about to light the touchpaper of all these pockets of Islamic fundamentalism by doing something which is totally illegal. In thinking the British public is saying yes, we know Saddam Hussein* is an incredibly dangerous individual but we can see a larger picture. And that is what is terrifying people. The West and the fundamentalist world are going to be at loggerheads for many, many years if we don’t talk now.”
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Damon Albarn British Musician / Gorrilaz and Blur Frontman
“To be honest with you […] to the war it was very difficult to find anyone. And I don’t want to name any names because they are people who I respect but they were really, for some reason, very reticent to stand with us. A lot of people who you would now associate with being anti-war at that particular point didn’t seem to be prepared to do it.”
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Elton John British Musician
“On the one hand, you have someone like Toby Keith*, who has come out and been very supportive of the Bush administration and the war in Iraq - which is OK because America is a democracy and Toby Keith* is entitled to say what he thinks and feels.” “But, on the other hand, the Dixie Chicks* got shot down in flames last year for criticising the president. They were treated like they were being un-American, when in fact they have every right to say whatever they want about him because he’s freely elected, and therefore accountable.”
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Alex Ferguson Football Manager “I’ve told him (35) I’m against this war, absolutely.” “He told me to calm down.”
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David Beckham Footballer
“If David Beckham had of spoken out about Iraq it wouldn’t have happened, I honestly believe that hand on heart, or Britain certainly wouldn’t have got involved. Beckham’s cultural gravitas was as such in that period that if he’d have gone, ‘I don’t want this war in Iraq, it’s an awful thing, we should not do it’, it wouldn’t have happened, the public would’ve gone mad against it. But because he kept his gob shut, and everybody else did, it happened, we sleepwalked our way there.”
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Chris Eubank
Middleweight Boxer
Eubank was arrested after driving his huge American truck to Downing Street* in a one-man protest against the military occupation of Iraq. “The military occupation [of Iraq doesn’t work. All it does is cause more terror. If I come into your house with a gun, people will react against me. It’s called terrorism.”
John McClure*
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Russell Brand British Comedian / Actor / Activist
“Tony Blair (35) is by all accounts, a war criminal and he should be in cuffs behind bars, and perhaps a measure like that would go some way to alleviating the stress and tension that we have around the world now.”
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Ken Loach British Director
“Just think of the millions of Iraqis that are dead, families destroyed, children mutilated, homes smashed four million people in exile - in that context I find it very disturbing that films about this war are dedicated to the American military. Blair was made ambassador for peace in the Middle East, this man who accepted torture. If we can’t put them in the law courts we needto put them in the dock of public opinion, because they need to be held to account.”
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Harry Enfield Comedian
Enfield was a high profile figure at the Iraq War Demonstration protesting the prospect of a war in Iraq.
Loach directed ‘Route Irish’ (2010) a film focusing on the consequences suffered by security contractors after fighting in Iraq.
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Simon Cowell TV / Music Producer
“Should we or should we not be in Iraq and Afghanistan? I don’t know why we’re there. I knew why we were in the Falklands*; I don’t know why we’re over there. So when I see all these people coming back dead, I think we have a right to have a say in something like that.”
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Emma Thompson British Actress
Thompson was a high profile figure at the Iraq War Demonstration protesting the prospect of a war in Iraq.
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Jeremy Clarkson British Broadcaster
“The main reason why there are no anti-Iraq war protest songs is because protest songs don’t make a blind bit of difference.
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Kate Moss British Model
Moss was a high profile figure at the Iraq War Demonstration protesting the prospect of a war in Iraq.
Neither does shouting. So, how do we stop him? (35) If 10 million turn up for a march, he’ll simply argue that 50 million didn’t. And that night, surrounded by his friends and colleagues, he’ll have a jolly good laugh. He’ll be left a lonely and broken man whose life’s work will have been for nothing.”
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John Abizaid
7
Bob Ainsworth 13 Damon Albarn 35 Douglas Alexander 13 Stanley R Arthur 7 Ed Balls 13 Margaret Beckett 11 David Beckham 36 Tony Benn 11 Natalie Bennett 16 Graham Binns 25 Cherie Blair 11 Tony Blair 11 Hans Blix 21 David Blunkett 11 Bono 35 Walter E. Boomer
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Lauren Booth 26 Michael Boyce 23 Russell Brand 36 Paul Bremer 5 Vincent K. Brooks
8
Des Brown 13 Gordon Brown 11 Ian Brown 35 Brain Burridge 23 George W. Bush (Jr.)
3
George H. W. Bush (Snr.)
3
Laura Bush 3 William Caldwell
38
8
David Cameron 15
Iain Duncan Smith
Alastair Campbell 28
Clint Eastwood 31
Menzies Campbell 16
John Edwards 5
George William Casey Jr.
William Ehrman 21
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15
Edward Chaplin 19
Eminem 33
Dick Cheney 3
Harry Enfield
Peter Chiarelli 8
Chris Eubank 36
John Chilcot 21
Nigel Farage 16
Noam Chomsky 26
Alex Ferguson 36
Wesley Clark 8
Liam Fox 15
Jeremy Clarkson 36
Tommy Franks 7
Nick Clegg 16
Noel Gallagher 36
Bill Clinton 3
George Galloway 19
Hillary Clinton 3
Robert Gates 7
George Clooney 31
Lindsey German 26
Ann Clwyd 13
Andrew Gilligan 28
Tim Collins 23
Peter Goldsmith 21
Robin Cook
Alan Greenspan 5
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36
Bradley Cooper 31
Jeremy Greenstock 19
Patrick Cordingley 23
Charles Guthrie 23
Simon Cowell 36
William Hague 15
Timothy Cross 23
Peter Hain 13
Russell Crowe 31
Tom Hanks 31
Tom Cruise 31
Jeremy Heywood 19
Matt Damon 31
Geoff Hoon 11
Richard Dannat 25
Chuck Horner 7
David Davies 15 Richard Dearlove 21
Nick Houghton 25
Arthur Denaro 23
John Hutton 13
Leonardo DiCaprio
Curtis (50 Cent) Jackson
31
Brian Hutton 21
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Wendi Deng 28
Jesse Jackson 26
Tim Dowse 19
Michael Jackson
33
Mike Jackson 25
Piers Morgan 28
Samuel L Jackson
31
Morrissey 35
Alex Salmond 16
Mick Jagger 35
Kate Moss 36
Ricardo Sanchez 9
Jay Z 33
Rupert Murdoch 28
John Sawers 21
Bill Jeffrey 19
Andrew Murray 26
Arnold Schwarzenegger
31
Elton John 35
Barack Obama 5
Norman Schwarzkopf
7
Boris Johnson 15
Michelle Obama 5
Eric Shinseki 7
Angelina Jolie 31
Gus O’ Donnell
Richard Shirreff 23
Owen Jones 28
David Omand 21
Clare Short
Sally Keeble 13
George Osbourne 15
Jacqui Smith 13
David Kelly 21
William Patey 19
Jon Snow 28
Charles Kennedy 16
Jeremy Paxman 28
Britney Spears 33
John Kerry 5
David Petraeus 7
Jock Stirrup 23
Tom King 15
Harold Pinter
Jack Straw 11
John Kiszely 25
Colin Powell 3
Nicola Sturgeon 16
Ron Kovic 26
John Prescott 11
Hilary Synnott
Graeme Lamb 25
Prince Charles 19
Kevin Tebbit 19
Michael Laurie 23
Prince Harry 19
Margaret Thatcher 15
Ken Livingstone 11
Prince William 19
Emma Thompson 36
Ken Loach 36
Queen Elizabeth II
19
Uma Thurman 31
Jessica Lynch 8
Kimberly Quinn 28
Frederick Viggers 25
Ken MacDonald 19
John Reid 13
Peter Wall 25
Madonna 33
John Reith 23
Kanye West 33
John Major 15
Willie Rennie
Robin Williams 31
David Manning 19
Condeleeza Rice 3
Bruce Willis 31
Eliza Manningham-Buller
21
Keith Richards 35
Elizabeth Wilmshurst
Andrew Marr 28
Peter Ricketts 19
Paul Wolfowitz 5
Steve Martin 31
Rihanna 33
Leanne Wood 16
Trevor McDonald 28
Jonathon Riley 25
Michael Wood 21
Christopher Meyer 19
Seth Rogan 31
Frank Wuterich 8
George Michael 35
Carne Ross 28
John J Yeosock 7
Ed Miliband 13
Donald Rumsfield
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26
17
11
19
21
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Dixie Chicks (page 34) Al-Qaeda (pages 2, 10, 18, 20) A global militant Islamist organisation founded by Osama bin Laden in the late 1980s. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and an Islamist, extremist, wahhabi, jihadist group. It has been designated as a terrorist organization by various countries. They oppose what they considered corrupt Islamic regimes and foreign (i.e., U.S.) presence in Islamic lands. Al-Qaeda have carried out many attacks on targets. Ba’ath Party (page 6)
An American country music band. 9 days before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the lead vocalist told a London audience: “We don’t want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas”. They received a positive reaction to this from the British audience yet a negative reaction in the U.S., including being assaulted by talk-show conservatives and their albums discarded in public protest. Dossier (Iraq Dossier) (page 18, 22) A 2003 briefing document concerning Iraq and WMD for Tony Blair’s (35) Labour Party government. These documents were ultimately used by the government to justify its involvement in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
An Arab Socialist Ba’ath political party founded in Syria. Its motto, “Unity, Liberty, Socialism”, refers to Arab unity, and freedom from non-Arab control and interference.
There was controversy over the Iraq Dossier and belief that it was deliberately exaggerated.
The Bush Doctorine (page 4) A collection of strategy principles, practical decisions, and a set of ideas for guiding US foreign policy.
Downing Street (page 37) A street in central London, England. The Prime Minister’s official residence is 10 Downing Street.
Camp David (pages 2, 4) The country retreat of the President of the United States located in wooded hills northwest of Washington, D.C.
Falklands (page 37) The Falklands are islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. The Falklands War was a 74 day war (in 1982) between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It ended with an Argentine surrender returning the islands to British control.
Chilcot Inquiry / Iraq Inquiry (pages 10, 14, 167 18, 20) A British public inquiry into the nation’s role in the Iraq War between 2001 and 2009. It covered the run-up, the military action and the aftermath with the purpose of establishing the way decisions were made, to determine what happened and to ensure that the British government is equipped to respond effectively in the future. The inquiry commenced on 24 November 2009 and concluded in 2011. The million word report was due to be released to the public by 2014 but difficult negotiations were continuing with the United States over the publication of private documents and then claimed “inappropriate” to be published in the months leading up to the next general election in 2015. Daily Mirror (page 29) A British national daily tabloid newspaper.
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Haditha Incident (page 9) 24 unarmed civilians were killed by a group of US Marines. The dead included several children and elderly people, who were shot multiple times at close range while unarmed. It was alleged that the killings were retribution for the attack on a convoy of Marines. Many news reports have contradicted the version of events, claiming that the Marines entered several houses and deliberately killed civilians. House of Commons (page 17) The lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The House of Commons is responsible for making laws and checking the work of Government. The House is an elected body consisting of 650 MP*s.
House of Lords (page 29) The upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The House of Lords reviews and amends Bills approved from the House of Commons. While it is unable to prevent Bills passing into law, except in certain limited circumstances it can delay Bills and force the Commons to reconsider their decisions. Most new members of the House of Lords peers who are appointed by the Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister or the House of Lords. Hutton Inquiry (page 20, 29) An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of David Kelly. Inglorious Basterds (page 30) A 2009 German-American war black comedy film telling the fictional alternate history story of two plots to assassinate Nazi Germany’s political leadership. Iraq War Demonstration (pages 10, 27, 37) The StWC held a protest in London. At the finish rally in Hyde Park, the organiser’s announced 3 million attended. It remains probably the largest protest march in UK history. The protest was organised under the slogan “No war on Iraq - freedom for Palestine”.
IS (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) An Islamic extremist rebel group controlling territory in at least four countries, including Syria, Iraq, Libya, and Nigeria, with operations in other areas of the world. The group has been designated as a terrorist organisation. Israel-Palestine conflict (page 10) The ongoing violent confilct between Israelis and Palestinians that began in the mid-20th century. The remaining key issues are: mutual recognition, borders, security, water rights, control of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements, Palestinian freedom of movement, and resolving Palestinian claims of a right of return for their refugees. John McClure (page 37) An English musician. McClure is the lead singer and frontman of Reverend and The Makers. Joint Intelligence Committee / JIC The part of the British Cabinet Office responsible for directing the UK national intelligence organisations and providing advice related to security, defence and foreign affairs.
Internal Security Service / MI5 The United Kingdom’s domestic counter-intelligence and security agency focused on foreign threats. Mafia (page 6) An organised body of criminals known for their illegal and sinister activites. Michael Howard (page 29) A British politician who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party. MoD (The Ministry of Defence) (page 18) The British government department responsible for implementing defence policies and the headquarters of the British Armed Forces. MP (Member of Parliament) (page 40) The UK public elects Members of Parliament to represent their interests and concerns in the House of Commons. Nazi Propaganda (page 30) An instrument used to help Adolf Hitlers party implement Nazi policies, acquire and maintain power. Pentagon (page 9) The headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County,Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, “the Pentagon” is often used to refer to the U.S. Department of Defense. Persian Gulf (page 2) A mediterranean sea in Western Asia. An extension of the Indian Ocean it lies between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. The Persian Gulf was a battlefield of the 1980 –1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other’s oil tankers. It is also the namesake of the 1991 1st Gulf War. Saddam Hussein (pages 2, 4, 6, 10, 12, 17, 18, 20, 29, 30, 34) The fifth President of Iraq. Saddam cemented his authority over the apparatuses of government as oil money helped Iraq’s economy to grow at a rapid pace. Saddam was widely condemned in the west for the brutality of his dictatorship. After the Iraq invasion of 2003 Saddam was captured. He was convicted of charges related to the 1982 killing of 148 Iraqi Shi’ites and was sentenced to death by hanging.
September 11th / 9 / 11 (pages 2, 4, 18, 30) The September 11 attacks were a series of four coordinated passenger airliners, hijacked by 19 al-Qaeda terrorists. They were flown into buildings in suicide attacks on the United States in New York City and Washington, D.C on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Shia Muslim (page 20, 30) Shia and Sunni Muslims have co-existed for centuries and share many fundamental beliefs and practices. However, in some countries that have been governed by Sunnis, Shia tend to make up the poorest sections of society. They often see themselves as victims of discrimination and oppression. The Secret Intelligence Service / SIS / MI6 (page 20) The British intelligence agency which supplies the British Government with foreign intelligence. Stop the War Cololition (StWC) (pages 10, 27) A United Kingdom group established on 21 September 2001 to campaign against what it believes are unjust wars. The coalition has opposed the wars that are part of the so-called “War on Terror” of the Western nations. Sunni Muslim (page 18, 30) Sunni Muslims regard themselves as the orthodox and traditionalist branch of Islam. Between 85% - 90% of Muslims are Sunnis. The split originates in a dispute soon after the death of the Prophet Muhammad over who should lead the Muslim community. Taliban (page 18) An Islamic fundamentalist political movement in Afghanistan. It enforces a strict interpretation of Islamic law. Toby Keith (page 34) An American country music singer-songwriter. Keith had a public feud with the Dixie Chicks, clashing about their views on George Bush.
Vanity Fair (page 29) A magazine of popular culture, fashion, and current affairs. Vietnam (page 6, 30) Vietnam is a Southeast Asian country. The Vietnam War occured from 1955 to1975. The war was fought between North Vietnam - supported by the Soviet Union, China and other communist allies and the government of South Vietnam - supported by the United States and other anti-communist allies. War on Terror (pages 2, 9, 17) Refering to the international military campaign that started after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. The United States led a coalition of other NATO and non-NATO nations in the campaign to destroy al-Qaeda and other militant extremist organisations. White House (page 2) The official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States, located in Washington, D.C. Winston Churchill (page 29) A British politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the 20th century. WMD (Weapons of mass destruction) (pages 2, 9 10, 14, 17, 18, 20, 27, 29, 30, 34) A nuclear, radiological, chemical, biological or other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans or cause great damage to buildings, mountains, or the biosphere.
Urgent Operational Requirements / UOR’s (page 22) UOR is a system used by MoD to obtain urgent equipment for operations.
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