Chilcot Report Reveals US Charged Into Iraq War Without Plan

© Flickr / The U.S. ArmyUS soldier in Iraq
US soldier in Iraq - Sputnik International
Subscribe
The new UK report on the origins of the 2003 war in Iraq show that the United States hastened into the conflict without any overall plan, former First US Army Infantry Division commanding general in Iraq John Batiste told Sputnik.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, former UK civil servant Sir John Chilcot released a report on the United Kingdom’s role in the Iraq war. The report concluded that London’s decision to join the war was based on flawed intelligence data and assessments.

British soldiers stand guard at Umm Qasr port in Basra, Iraq - Sputnik International
US Needs Chilcot-Style Inquiry to Probe Origins of Iraq War Plan

"The Chilcot report is all about the rush to war when you don’t have a comprehensive plan," Batiste stated on Wednesday. "We bought the Iraq war hook, line and sinker."

In April 2006, Batiste was one of six retired US generals who publicly criticized then US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's handling of the Iraq war, and called for his resignation.

"We were on the Bus to Abilene, so to speak."

The "Bus to Abilene" refers to "groupthink" and is a common frame of reference in the US Army, indicating caution.

Chilcot headed the committee that examined the case for war presented by then-UK Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government. Blair claimed the 2003 conflict was necessary to prevent the development of weapons of mass destruction by then-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

The Chilcot report is 12 volumes long and took seven years to complete.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала