Over in the UK, John Chilcot is still dragging his feet on publishing the report of his whitewash "inquiry" into the Iraq war. Meanwhile, the evidence that his "inquiry" sought to suppress has suddenly become public:
A bombshell White House memo has revealed for the first time details of the ‘deal in blood’ forged by Tony Blair and George Bush over the Iraq War.
The sensational leak shows that Blair had given an unqualified pledge to sign up to the conflict a year before the invasion started.
It flies in the face of the Prime Minister’s public claims at the time that he was seeking a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
He told voters: ‘We’re not proposing military action’ – in direct contrast to what the secret email now reveals.
The damning memo, from Secretary of State Colin Powell to President George Bush, was written on March 28, 2002, a week before Bush’s famous summit with Blair at his Crawford ranch in Texas.
In it, Powell tells Bush that Blair ‘will be with us’ on military action. Powell assures the President: ‘The UK will follow our lead’.
And it talks about the price: Blair's desire to be seen to be treated as an "equal partner" to the US, rather than the subservient poodle he really was. And for that, a little ego rub, he invaded Iraq and helped kill over half a million people - and people are still dying in the aftermath of that crime.
He should be sent to the Hague to stand trial.
