Saddam Hussein's execution has thrust the Iraq war back into the headlines. In typical fashion the anti-war lobby have found an angle to attack the coaltion leaders, notwithstanding that that the execution was soley a matter for the sovereign state of Iraq. Had the West intervened to produce a more "acceptable" outcome no doubt this would have been presented as evidence that the Iraqis were not in control of their own affairs. Yet another example of Blair and Bush being damned if they do and damned if they don't on the Iraq issue.
Underlying this hostility to everything the coalition is doing in Iraq is a mindset that's been cleverly created by opponents of the war (aided and abetted by their many friends in the media) whereby the war is so obviously wrong that it is regarded as the cause of any bad thing happening in Iraq. The mindset makes great play of "the lies" that led us into war. Yet it is itself founded upon a number of fasehoods that have so permeated the public consciousness that they have come to be taken for granted, even by Blair supporters. if there is to be a sensible debate on the rights and wrongs of the war it is essential that we should first sort out fact from fiction regarding its key elements.
So here are the ten most commonly accepted lies which have shaped our attitudes to the war.
Lie 1: The war was fought to rid Iraq of non-existent weapons of mass destruction.
The reality:The casus belli of the war was Iraq's serial non-compliance with UN resolutions which were formulated after the first Gulf war to ensure that Saddam would never again threaten the region with WMD. After being given every opportunity to meet the terms of these resolutions (over several years) Saddam rejected the final demand under Resolution 1441(unanimously agreed) which called for "an accurate, full and final disclosure of Iraq's WMD's and all aspects of its WMD programme". Hans Blix, the UN chief weapons inspector, confirmed that "Iraq had not fully accepted its obligation to disarm". At this point the actual existence of WMD was immaterial since this could only be determined by proper inspection and disclosure.
Lie 2: The war was illegal.
The reality: The legal justification for the war was set out in the Prime Minister's written answer to a Parliamentary question on March 17, 2003. Essentially this argued that non-compliance with UN Resolution 1441 and previous related UN resolutions provided sufficient grounds for military action without a further resolution. Certainly there were differences of opinion on the need for a second resolution. However such differences are quite common in this fairly new area of the law and a challenge to the Attorney- General's advice does not constitute proof of illegality, whether it comes from another lawyer or the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Lie 3: Coalition troops are responsible for the deaths of over 500,000 innocent civlians in Iraq.
The reality: To support their case the anti-war lobby always quote the highest possible number of civilian casualties. In fact, estimates quoted in Wikipedia range from the 50,000 of the Iraq Body Count project to the 655,000 of the second Lancet survey of mortality. As Wikipedia points out the differences reflect differing methodologies as well as differing definitions of the types of deaths counted. In particular the Lancet study from which the higher estimates are taken includes non-civilians and deaths due to degraded infra-structure and poor health care. There is also the difficulty of distinguishing between between civlilian and insurgent deaths since it is in the nature of this type of warfare for the combatants to melt into the civlian population during and in between battles. And in the case of genuine civilian deaths who is to say who is responsible when insurgents operate from densely built-up areas, in effect using civilians as human shields?
Lie 4: Coalition troops are responsible for the never-ending violence in Iraq.
The reality: The violence is being perpetrated mainly by Iraqi and other Middle Eastern groups. This is being done to settle sectarian scores, to gain power or to prevent the elected Iraqi government from doing its job. Of course the presence of coalition troops will attract fire in certain areas in the way that any peace-keeping force will be resisted by those who oppose peace but such actions are very much in the minority at the present time. In the final analysis the coalition can argue that they gave the Iraqis the chance to govern themselves in a free and democratic manner. If they do not or cannot take that chance the responsibility lies primarily with those who seek to destroy that chance , not with those who gave them the chance in the first place.
Lie 5: The war is responsible for acts of terror elsewhere.
The reality: Acts of terror preceded the Iraq war and have taken place in countries that were not involved in the war (like the Bali massacre) or have been thwarted in countries that actively opposed the war (like the recently announced foiled plots in France). Terrorists will always exploit any grievance to justify their actions, especially where they relate to countries that are resisting them.From this standpoint it can be argued that the main recruiting sergeant for terrorism is not the war but those who continually dwell on its negativities.
Lie 6: Iraq is an Occupied Territory.
The reality: The occupation was ended in 2004 under UN Resolution 1546 when the interim Iraqi government took power. Coalition troops were then mandated by the United Nations to keep the peace. The U.S. government has pledged itself to comply with a UN resolution requiring American troops toleave if requested by the Iraqi government.
Lie 7: Iraq has a puppet government.
The reality: Millions of Iraqis (representing well over 60% of the population) risked death to choose their government in the two elections of 2005. International monitors concluded that the elections generally met international standards. On this basis their government has a greater claim to legitimacy than any other government in the world.
Lie 8: The Iraq war was a war against Islam.
The reality: Islamic Shias, Sunnis and Kurds rejoiced at being liberated from Saddam's oppression. Even now, despite the post-war carnage, polls have shown that over 60% of the Islamic population believe that overthrowing Saddam was worth the hardships that followed.
Lie 9; Tony Blair took us to war on lies about the related Iraqi intelligence.
The reality: Two independent investigation, The Hutton and Butler Inquiries have cleared Tony Blair of this charge. A lie is a known untruth. At the time of Blair's decision to go to war the UN inspectors, every intelligence agency in the world, most governments, and even Saddam's own generals were convinced that Saddam was concealing WMD stocks and a WMD programme. In a post-war interview with the Iraq Survey Group Saddam actually admitted that he was trying to give the impression that he still had WMD's, for deterrent purposes.Tony Blair can hardly be blamed for acting on that impression.
Lie 10: Tony Blair was George Bush's poodle on all things to do with the war.
The reality: Since the Americans were bent on war regardless of the British position, Blair's choice was to resist them and to be thereby excluded from the decision making process or to support them and thus gain some influence in that decision making process. By taking the course that he did Blair can be regarded as being more of a guide-dog than a poodle.
The pro-war case emerging from this analysis is that a legally defensible war was fought to uphold UN resolutions designed to rein in an evil dictator, with Blair's role being one of damage limitation rather than supine aquiesence. Yes, mistakes were made in the post-war period but the resulting mayhem has more to do with the determination of Iraq's enemies to thwart the efforts of the democratically elected government of Iraq (supported by UN -mandated peace- keeping forces) than anything else.
An anti-war case can, of course, still be made but stripped of its lies component, I suspect that this will carry far less weight in the final judgement on the war which will form such an important part of Blair's legacy.