Word: conflict
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...been nearly seven years since the British government decided to join the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq despite vocal opposition from antiwar activists at home, as well as a host of countries around the world. Years later, the bloody conflict, which claimed the lives of 179 British soldiers, remains deeply divisive in Britain. Revelations about former Prime Minister Tony Blair's intentions in the run-up to the war, as well as the views of military commanders during the fighting, continue to make front-page headlines and dominate the national debate...
...inquiry into the war - the most sweeping to be undertaken by any nation involved in the invasion - may finally help Britain put the conflict to rest. The so-called Iraq inquiry is nominally charged with suggesting how to avoid making mistakes in future conflicts, but many Brits believe it has the potential to evolve into a sort of truth and reconciliation commission. Although legally nonbinding, the inquiry will over the course of the next 18 months focus on three of the most contentious aspects of the war: the circumstances surrounding the flawed intelligence-gathering that led to the conflict...
...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...
...February 2002, despite Blair's public statements that preparations had not begun that early. The Telegraph said the government documents showed that the secretive planning for the war resulted in a rushed operation "lacking in coherence and resources" that caused "significant risk" to troops and "critical failure" after the conflict. The paper also revealed what it termed "hostility" between British and American military leaders, including reports that the top British military commander in Iraq from November 2003 to July 2004, Major General Andrew Stewart, complained about a "real difficulty dealing with the American military," which dictated that there was "only...
...Given the sensitivity of these and other aspects of the conflict, some of the war's 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...