Sir, – The response of Tony Blair to the Chilcot report is entirely predictable. He must engage in total denial of any wrongdoing as the enormity of his mistake, with at least a half million people dead, an entire region in chaos, and the spawning of Isis, is such that he could not live with himself if he ever admitted his errors. – Yours, etc,
GARRY BURY,
Dalkey,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – The publication of the Chilcot report has been a healthy day for British society and democracy. Official Britain has closely examined its own conduct in the Iraq war and its aftermath and come to the conclusion that it failed utterly. A deep sense of healthy shame over this failure will now become embedded in the British psyche.
Everyone remains keenly aware that the people of Iraq continue to live a nightmare. – Yours, etc,
JOE McCARTHY,
Arbour Hill,
Dublin 7.
Sir, – About 100,000 people marched in Dublin against the proposed US-UK Iraq invasion back in 2003. I was among them. We were not listened to by our leaders.
I knew this war was wrong. I had lived and worked in Baghdad for two years in the mid 1980s, during the Iran-Iraq War. The country functioned somehow. I travelled all over, down to Basra, over to the Syrian border and up to Kurdistan. Beautiful landscapes. Interesting places. Hospitable people.
Iraq is now a failed state.
I am so sorry for the Iraqi people who have suffered so much.
No "Eid Mubarak" (festive greeting) for the 250 people and their families and friends killed in last Sunday's bombing, nor the many injured, nor the majority of the Iraqi population now living in fear. – Yours, etc,
BREDA GAHAN,
Cabra, Dublin 7.
Sir, – Following the Chilcot report, some mothers of young British soldiers who met their death in Iraq are now calling Blair a “terrorist”.
Perhaps this is too strong a word, but seeing the consequences of the Iraq war in terms of bloodshed, with sects at war with each other, the growing radicalisation aimed against the West, and the unrelenting slaughter of innocent civilians by suicide bombers, one could say that George Bush and Tony Blair have blood on their hands. – Yours, etc,
CONCETTO LA MALFA,
Dublin 4.
Sir, – The Chilcot report has found that the public were misled, expert warnings were ignored, and that there was inadequate planning.
Too bad its publication was delayed until after the Brexit debacle, another historic mistake that could have been avoided had warnings been heeded. – Yours, etc,
FRANK SCHNITTGER,
Blessington,
Co Wicklow.
Sir, – Is there room in the dictionary for a new term? “Chilcot: to be wise after the event”. – Yours, etc,
PATRICK G MURPHY,
Belfast.
Sir, – Don’t mention Shannon’s contribution to the ongoing carnage. – Yours, etc,
DAMIEN FLINTER,
Headford,
Co Galway.
Sir, – The television shots of George W Bush and Tony Blair in the grounds of Camp David, swaggering and preening in their leather jackets and jeans, were most revealing. Far too much testosterone. – Yours, etc,
LOUIS HOGAN,
Wicklow Town.
Sir, – Watching Tony Blair’s statement, I was reminded of a thick slice of uncured ham. – Yours, etc,
PAT BRENNAN,
Bray,
Co Wicklow.
Sir, – That Britain still has a seat on the UN Security Council is a cosmic joke on a par with Tony Blair being the “Quartet” (the United Nations, the United States, Russia and EU) Middle East “peace envoy” from 2007 to 2015. – Yours, etc,
ALAN BYRNE,
Wexford.
Sir, – We all know Tony Blair is a master of masquerade and the theatrical “faux contrition” performance. The affected pauses and gulps and the mock gravitas fool no-one, yet he persists in the charade.
Everyone at this stage is aware of the contrived and tragic debacle that was the corrupt and tragic invasion of Iraq, with its harrowing aftermath continuing apace. Mr Blair’s “pathetic” poodling” and pandering to “Dubya”, woven with his insatiable desire for global kudos afforded by a war “legacy”, was patent over those pre-invasion months.
His defiance now is hollow and is an insult to decency and truth.
While Chilcot’s constrained remit ensured a somewhat euphemistically camouflaged clarity, the salient realities are fully exposed.
This should not worry Mr Blair too much, as he sits back to count his money from all his “retirement” earnings. “Peace envoy” my rear nether parts! – Yours, etc,
JIM COSGROVE,
Lismore,
Co Waterford.