Britain's Chilcot Report On The Iraq War Has Been Released -- A News Roundup

Daily Mail: 'Act now, explain later': What Blair told Bush TWO YEARS before Iraq war is revealed in eviscerating Chilcot report into Gulf debacle

* Chilcot report into 2003 Iraq War` criticises Tony Blair over the way he took Britain into the war alongside the US
* Report found that invasion was based on 'flawed' intelligence about Iraq and was 'not the last resort' at the time
* Blair as not prepared for the consequences of Iraq War despite 'explicit warnings' and bypassed peace for war
* Secret email sent by Blair to George W Bush hours after 9/11 advised president to 'act now and justify later'
* He also wrote-off million-man march before war as 'fatuous' and a defence of the 'most illiberal' regime on earth
* Ex-PM today said he did not lie and 'it was better to remove Saddam Hussein' and acted in UK's 'best interests'
* Families of 179 war dead call him 'the world's worst terrorist' and promised to pursue him through the courts
* Mr Blair will be very unlikely to face war crime trial in The Hague - but British soldiers could still be prosecuted

Tony Blair's reputation was today lacerated by the Iraq War report as it revealed he told George W Bush they should 'act now, explain later' in a secret memo sent two years before the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The former prime minister was also accused of twisting intelligence about the threat posed by Saddam Hussein to justify the war that led to the deaths of 179 British soldiers and left hundreds of thousands of Iraqis dead - but Mr Blair still insists he never lied.

Families of the 179 servicemen and women who died in the Iraq War said today they are set to pursue him through the courts and called Mr Blair 'the world's worst terrorist' and slammed him for not 'looking us in the eye' as the report was released.

After seven years of deliberations, the Chilcot report found that the former prime minister overplayed evidence about the dictator's weaponry and ignored peaceful means to send troops into the country.

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Britain's Chilcot Report On The Iraq War Has Been Released -- A News Roundup

Chilcot report live: Corbyn says parliament should act against Blair after inquiry says case for Iraq war exaggerated -- The Guardian
Live Chilcot report: 2003 Iraq war was 'unnecessary' and invasion was not 'last resort' -- The Telegraph
Reaction to Iraq war report: Live -- BBC

Read the executive summary and Sir John's statement in full -- The Telegraph
Chilcot delivers crushing verdict on Blair and the Iraq war -- The Guardian
Corbyn: war was 'act of military aggression launched on a false pretext'Blair statement: 'report should lay to rest allegations of bad faith, lies or deceit' -- The Telegraph
Chilcot report: Tony Blair's Iraq War case not justified -- BBC
Bush largely ignored UK advice on postwar Iraq, Chilcot inquiry finds -- The Guardian
Chilcot report: Blair didn't tell truth about WMDs, the deal with Bush or the warnings of fallout – how Britain went to war in Iraq -- The Independent
Chilcot report: Intelligence on WMDs exaggerated to justify going to war, inquiry finds -- The Independent
U.K. Iraq Inquiry Criticizes Blair, Spies Over War Failures -- Bloomberg
UK went to war in Iraq before diplomatic options were exhausted, says inquiry head John Chilcot -- DW
Long-awaited British inquiry into Iraq war brings scathing critique of Blair -- Washington Post
Chilcot report delivers damning verdict on British role in Iraq War -- CNN
Chilcot Report on Iraq War Offers Devastating Critique of Tony Blair -- NYT
Chilcot report: Iraq War based on 'flawed intelligence' -- Al Jazeera
'I will be with you, whatever': Blair's fawning messages to George Bush reveal he complimented US President on a 'great speech' and signed off 'Yours ever, Tony' -- Daily Mail
Tony Blair believed invading Iraq would 'free up the region', declassified memo shows -- The Independent
What Blair said to Bush in memos -- BBC
Blair's letters to Bush reveal his doubts over war just months after Iraq invasion -- The Telegraph
Chilcot report: Tony Blair claims findings show he did not lie over Iraq War -- The Independent
'I didn't lie!' Tony Blair is STILL in denial as he claims Chilcot report proves he didn't act in 'bad faith or deceit' and declares his decision to go to war in Iraq was in the 'best interests of UK' -- Daily Mail
Chilcot report published: Read Tony Blair's statement in full -- The Independent
Chilcot report - how the world reacted: 'A very British masterclass in quiet, restrained but devastating critique' -- The Telegraph
“An intervention that went badly wrong”: The UK’s vast Iraq inquiry finally gives its verdict -- Quartz
Chilcot inquiry: How to read the report into the Iraq War in full -- The Independent
Chilcot report: The seven most important lines from the Iraq Inquiry -- The Independent
Chilcot report: Findings at a glance -- BBC

British Veterans From Iraq May Face War Crime Charges

A British soldier looks through the scope of his rifle after a roadside bomb attack that targeted their convoy in Basra, 420 km (260 miles) northeast of Baghdad © Atef Hassan / Reuters

The Independent: British soldiers could face prosecution for crimes committed during Iraq conflict, investigators confirm

Exclusive: The unit established to test allegations of torture and unlawful killings has been overwhelmed with cases

British soldiers who have served in Iraq may face prosecution for crimes including murder, the head of the unit established by the Ministry of Defence to investigate allegations of torture and unlawful killing in the war-torn country has said.

In his first major interview, Mark Warwick, a former police detective in charge of the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (Ihat), told The Independent that he believed there would be sufficient evidence to justify criminal charges.

More News On Reports That British Veterans From Iraq May Be Facing War Crime Charges

British soldiers may face Iraq prosecutions: investigator -- Reuters
UK inquiry: Soldiers who fought in Iraq may face prosecution for war crimes -- AP
Iraq veterans could be prosecuted for war crimes, says head of inquiry -- The Guardian/Press Association
UK Iraq veterans 'may face prosecution' -- BBC
British veterans could face charges over Iraq War -- DW
British Vets May Face War Crime Charges Over Iraq Conflict -- Sputnik
UK veterans may be prosecuted over Iraq 'war crimes' as claims grow tenfold -- RT

More British Troops To Be Deployed Next Month To Iraq

More British soldiers are expected to be deployed in Iraq (Reuters)

'Hundreds' More UK Troops To Be Sent To Iraq - Michael Fallon -- BBC

Hundreds of British troops will be sent to Iraq in the New Year, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has said.

The deployment - to help train local forces - will be in the "very low hundreds" but could also include a small protection force of combat-ready soldiers, he said.

About 50 UK troops are already training Iraqi and Kurdish forces fighting Islamic State militants in Iraq.

The Ministry of Defence said the move had not yet been formally approved.

An MoD spokesman said: "No decisions on troop numbers, units or locations have yet been made".

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More News On Reports That More British Troops Will Be Deployed Next Month To Iraq

UK defense chief says more British troops to Iraq -- AP
UK boots on the ground in Iraq: 100 Paras deployed in battles against ISIS... the first fighting troops in the region since 2009 -- Daily Mail
Britain to send hundreds more troops to Iraq, says defence secretary -- The Guardian
Britain confirms 'hundreds' of extra trainers for Iraq -- AFP
Hundreds of British troops going to Iraq, official says -- CNN
Hundreds of British troops will return to Iraq in the New Year to train local forces -- The Independent
Details of Iraq deployment urged -- Press Association
UK to Send Hundreds of Troops to Iraq in January to Train Local Forces -- Sputnik
British troops to return to Iraq next month to fight ISIS -- RT

British Troops Returning To Iraq

AFP Photo / Essam AL-Sudani

UK To Send Military Personnel To Help Train Iraqi Army -- The Guardian

Minister confirms military officers will play training and advisory role, after reports that a small number will be sent to Baghdad

British military officers are heading back to Iraq to help train and advise the country’s army in its fight against Islamic State, Nicky Morgan, the education secretary, has said.

Morgan gave confirmation before a government statement on the operation, after reports that a small number of officers would be sent to a US-led training centre in Baghdad.

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More News On British Troops Returning To Iraq

Britain to send military personnel back to Iraq -- The Telegraph
UK 'stepping up' troops in Iraq -- Daily Mail/Press Association
UK's role in Iraq to be boosted -- BBC
Britain to send more army trainers to Iraq in fight against Islamic State -- Reuters
Britain to send more military trainers to aid Iraq forces -- AFP
British troops head back to Iraq to help Kurdish forces fight off Islamic State -- Daily Mail
Iraq War II: UK to send new batch of troops to fight ISIS -- RT

British SAS Team Stops An Islamic State Convoy In Iraq With Only Two Bullets

EXCLUSIVE: SAS Team Halt Islamic State Attack In Iraq With Just TWO Shots -- The Daily Star

TWO shots from the world’s most powerful sniper rifle halted a jihadi attack.

An SAS team used the AW50 to blast a lorry ­taking Islamic State killers towards an undefended Iraqi village.

It is the first report of British ground troops in action in the region and comes after Prime Minister David Cameron said there would be no UK “boots on the ground” in a combat role.

Two SAS troopers spotted the Islamic State convoy from a hillside ­observation point in northern Iraq.

The elite troops feared the fighters were planning to target vulnerable civilians in a nearby village. They tried to call in an airstrike but no jets were in the area.

Instead, the SAS pair blasted the lead vehicle with a single round from their AW50 rifle fitted with a silencer.

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Update: SAS stops Islamic State convoy with just TWO bullets as British Army troops return to Iraq -- Express

My Comment: One can now safely say that British ground troops are in combat against Islamic State forces. The above video shows the effectiveness of the AW50 sniper rifle.

British Forces Are Now In Iraq Training Kurdish Forces

Kurdish peshmerga forces, who are set to receive training in firing weapons by British forces being sent to Iraq

UK Troops Training Kurdish Forces In Iraq, Says MoD -- BBC

A "specialist team" of 12 UK soldiers is training Kurdish forces fighting Islamic State militants in Iraq, the Ministry of Defence has said.

It said troops from the Yorkshire Regiment were training Iraqi Kurds to use UK-supplied heavy machine guns.

The soldiers are expected to spend a week in Irbil, in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq.

Royal Air Force Tornado jets based in Cyprus have been flying combat missions over Iraq since September.

The UK training mission comes amid heavy fighting between Syrian Kurds and IS forces in the town of Kobane, in Syria.

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More News On British Forces In Iraq Training Kurdish Forces

British soldiers are training peshmerga forces in Iraq, says MoD -- The Guardian
British soldiers training peshmerga in Iraq -- AFP
British troops back in Iraq to help Kurdish peshmerga fighters use heavy weapons to beat ISIS -- Daily Mail
British troops in Iraq to train Kurds -- The Telegraph
War against Isis: British soldiers training Kurdish forces in Iraq, says Ministry of Defense -- The Independent
British troops back in Iraq to train peshmerga on gift machineguns -- The Times
British Troops Back In Iraq To Help Beat IS -- SKY News
UK Defense Ministry Approves Training of Kurdish Forces by its Soldiers in Erbil: Reports -- RIA Novosti
Kurdish peshmerga forces, who are set to receive training in firing weapons by British forces being sent to Iraq -- Al Arabiya

Britian Is Now At War As Two Tornado Jets Fly Over Islamic State Territorys

The MOD confirms RAF Tornados fly over Iraq from Cyprus following parliamentary approval. pic.twitter.com/R663Hv0D6f
— Ministry of Defence (@DefenceHQ) September 27, 2014

Female Top Gun Leads UK's First Iraq Combat Mission: As Britain Goes To War For First Time In Six Years, Two Tornado Jets Take Off For Secret Sortie Over Jihadi Held Territory... But Drop No Bombs -- Daily Mail

* Unnamed officer flew from RAF base in Cyprus on the highly dangerous sortie over IS-held territory in Northern Iraq
* The sortie, lasting several hours, was the first mission for the RAF’s Operation Shader against IS militants
* Pair of Tornado GR4 jets flew in support of Iraqi troops engaging IS terrorists in trench warfare below
* But defence sources conceded last night that neither of the Tornados engaged the enemy
* Both jets returned to RAF Akrotiri with their full payloads of rockets and ammunition intact
* Americans continued their heavy bombardment of key IS strongholds around the city of Raqqa, in Northern Syria
* It is believed British hostages Alan Henning and John Cantlie are being held there under threat of decapitation

A female fighter pilot yesterday led Britain’s first combat mission against Islamic State – as the RAF launched two waves of attack against the deadly terrorists.

The unnamed officer piloted one of two heavily-armed jets that flew from a top-security RAF base in Cyprus on the dangerous sortie over IS-held territory in Northern Iraq, before returning safely to complete her 2,000-mile round trip.

The sortie, lasting several hours, was the first mission for the RAF’s Operation Shader against IS militants. And last night two more Tornado GR4 aircraft took off from the Cyprus base, bound for Northern Iraq.

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More News On Britain Conducting It's First Air operations Over The Islamic State

Britain is at war: RAF Tornados in the air over Iraq with orders to strike ISIS as SAS teams on the ground prepare to guide arsenal of smart bombs to terrorists' lairs -- Daily Mail
British warplanes attack ISIS in Iraq after Commons votes to join coalition -- The Australian/AP
British fighter jets fly over Iraq, ready to strike - ministry -- Reuters
Britain launches fighter jets against Isis forces in Iraq -- The Guardian
British warplanes return from Iraq without bombing -- AFP
British jets deployed on 1st Iraq anti-ISIS mission -- RT
British fighter jets fly over Iraq, ready to strike -- Euronews
British aircraft return to skies of Iraq in hunt for jihadis -- The Guardian

U.S. And British Leaders Concede That Their 'Iraq Mission' Will Not End Quickly

REUTERS/Stringer Iraq

US, UK Leadership Warn Iraq Mission Won't be Quick; US Escalates Air Offensive -- Defense News

WASHINGTON — In an interview with New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman on Aug. 7, President Barack Obama promised that while the United States would use its formidable air power to help Iraq push back extremist Islamic State fighters from Erbil and other key northern Iraqi cities, Baghdad shouldn’t count on the US “being the Iraqi Air Force.”

But just 10 days later the White House sent a very different letter to Capitol Hill, in which it informed congressional leadership that the president had ordered the US military to “conduct targeted airstrikes to support operations by Iraqi forces to recapture the Mosul Dam,” which had fallen to the Islamist group about two weeks ago.

From Aug. 8 to 17, 35 of the 68 airstrikes conducted in Iraq were launched “in support of Iraqi forces near the Mosul Dam,” the US Central Command said in an Aug. 18 statement, with most of those coming in the past three days.

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Update: Analysis of the UK's military role in Iraq conflict -- BBC

My Comment: What's my take .... Patrick Smith from the Fiscal Times is right .... This is just a quagmire.

British SAS Forces Are On The Ground In Northern Iraq

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

SAS Sent In To Iraq As US Troops Land On Mount Sinjar -- The Telegraph

David Cameron has suggested that British helicopters could be used within days as US forces deploy to herald start of rescue operation

The SAS is on the ground in Iraq as part of the operation to rescue 30,000 “desperate” Yazidi refugees, it emerged on Wednesday, as US forces landed on Mount Sinjar.

American officials confirmed that a combined contingent of 20 US Marines, special forces and USAID disaster assistance experts had "briefly" landed on Mt Sinjar just hours after David Cameron pledged that Britain would help with the mission.

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More News On British SAS Forces Are On The Ground In Northern Iraq

Britain deploys SAS special forces in northern Iraq: Telegraph -- Reuters
British SAS sent to Iraq on 'intelligence' mission before airlift of Yazidi refugees -- The Guardian
SAS 'on the ground' in Iraq -- Channel 4 News
SAS in Iraq for 'six weeks' as British aid efforts continue in bid to save refugees -- Express
British forces sent to Iraq, but Mt. Sinjar evacuation mission 'unlikely' -- RT
Iraq: US-UK Row Back On Yazidi Rescue Mission -- SKY News
SAS 'in Iraq', A-level 'scramble' and shrinking average pay -- BBC

U.S. And Britain Prepare To Go Back Into Iraq

An F18 fighter jet (Reuters / Luke MacGregor)

US, UK Create Joint Team To Prepare For Air Strikes In Iraq – Report -- RT

Over a decade after the US and UK invaded Iraq in 2003, the military allies have created a joint 'counter-terrorist' team to send to the country. British officers are already on their way “to prepare for possible air strikes,” The Sunday Times reports.

"SAS [Special Air Service of the British Army] officers were on their way to Iraq this weekend to prepare the ground for possible air strikes. Senior defence sources confirmed that military personnel were part of a joint British and American “counter-terrorist” team ordered in on Friday by William Hague, the foreign secretary, and John Kerry, the US secretary of state. The team is understood to include MI6 operatives as well as high-ranking special forces officers," The Sunday Times reported.

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My Comment: The prospect of returning to Iraq .... after all of that blood and treasure being lost .... should make everyone of us ill.

Britain's Own Abu Ghraib?

Daoud Musa, left, holds photographs of the grandchildren he was left to care for after his son Baha died in British custody. (Toby Melville/Reuters)

Britain Faces Payout Shame As Hundreds Of Detainees Claim Soldiers Abused Them -- Times Online

The cash-strapped Ministry of Defence faces the prospect of further compensation payouts as hundreds of Iraqis held in British custody file complaints of abuse, described to The Times by former detainees.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has already paid millions of pounds to claimants who alleged physical and sexual abuse in detention in southeast Iraq, where British forces were based between 2003 and 2009.

The family of Baha Musa, an Iraqi who died in British custody in 2003, shared a £2.83 million MoD settlement with nine others. An inquiry into his death saw evidence suggesting that the illegal treatment of prisoners, such as hooding and sleep deprivation, was widespread.

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My Comment:As bad as this is .... I suspect many in the DoD are heaving a sigh of relief that picture or videotapes were not taken to chronicle this abuse.