Word: chilcot
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Dates: during 2009-2009
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...court," John Chilcot, a retired civil servant who is leading the inquiry, said in an opening statement Tuesday after a moment of silence to remember those killed in the conflict. "No one is on trial. But I make a commitment here that once we get to our final report, we will not shy away from making criticisms where they are warranted. [We will be] thorough, rigorous, fair and frank...
...fiercest critics - including the family members of dead soldiers - have expressed concerns that the Iraq inquiry was set up to "whitewash" British and American failures during the war. As the panel has no statutory powers, witnesses are not required to testify under legal oath. Some of Chilcot's fellow committee members, such as the British academic Lawrence Freedman, had also been enthusiastic supporters of the invasion. And, critics say, Chilcot himself has been deeply entrenched in the culture of Westminster for his entire government career...
...Chilcot has said that his panel will be unbiased - and he has already shown signs that it will be thorough and transparent. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Gordon Brown had suggested the inquiry should be held behind closed doors, but Chilcot insisted that many of the hearings be held in public. And with Brown's backing, Chilcot will call several high-profile witnesses to testify, including Blair, who will be questioned sometime in 2010. It will be the first time he appears before an Iraq war inquiry. (See a TIME video with Brown...
...inquiry committee, made up of two historians, a diplomat and a member of the House of Lords without party affiliations, and chaired by a civil servant, Sir John Chilcot, can be expected to probe the political hinterland to Britain's actions, in particular the government's abandonment of its oft-stated objective of destroying Saddam Hussein's WMD in favor of pursuing regime change. Among other conundrums likely to be scrutinized: To what extent did British concerns about the dangers of American unilateralism trump competing fears about the reliability of intelligence and risk of rupturing European relations? How much effort...