Tag Archives: iraq

Paul Reynolds

Iraq – 20 years on. A personal story.

By Paul Reynolds | Thu 23rd March 2023 - 11:55 am

In early 2003 I was in Sierra Leone working on post-war reforms and rebel disarmament. I was running past the run-down Russian UN helicopters on Lumley beach when I received the call. 

It was already known that British Forces had attempted to find a way to appoint the first regional government; in Basra, one of the four UK-controlled Iraqi governorates. By agreement with the US, the UK had been tasked with finding a model. They were looking for someone ‘reckless’ with relevant experience. Folks knew I was against the war, but the final make-or-break question from the official was ‘you’re not a bloomin’ tree hugger are you?’.

Following bio-weapons training, my first interaction was my car being attacked by stone-throwing teenagers after I crossed the border from Kuwait. There was a lot of audible gunfire, and on the main roads there were still uncollected bodies littering the way.

Saddam’s gaudy riverside palace had been looted and all the marble floors were deep in broken glass. There was no power at first. It was 51 degrees, down to 42 by 3am. Water was scarce. Catching a breeze on the roof at nighttimes was noisy, with explosive flashes and gunfire sweeping across the city below.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 4 Comments
Tom Arms

World Review: Capitol Hill riots, Iran withdrawal, ice cream wars, China and the Taliban

By Tom Arms | Sun 1st August 2021 - 8:30 am

In this weekend’s column, Tom Arms reviews the inquiry into the Capitol Hill Riots and whether the Republicans are right to stay away. The American withdrawal from Iraq after 18 years will allow Tehran to expand its influence and move up to the border with Israel. Ice cream producer Cherry Garcia is crossing spoons with the Israeli government over its decision to stop sales of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream in the Occupied Territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, with a predictable reaction from the Israeli government. Beijing has made it clear that it is sticking to its policy of non-interference in other in countries’ domestic affairs, despite meeting with the Taliban this week.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , and | 2 Comments
George Kendall

The Iraq War must no longer poison our relations with Labour

By George Kendall | Fri 16th September 2016 - 11:48 am

What would we remember of the Labour government, if Al-Qaeda’s terrorist attack fifteen years ago had never happened? If Labour had listened to the advice of Robin Cook and John Denham, and not engaged in the catastrophe of the Iraq war?

Many of us will remember Robin Cook’s electrifying resignation speech. If only he were alive today. However, he was not the only Labour minister to step down from government office because of the Iraq war. In his prescient resignation speech, on the 18th March, 2003, John Denham said:

If we act in the wrong way, we will create more of the problems that we aim to tackle. For every cause of insecurity with which we try to deal, we shall create a new one.

This summer, I was an observer at the Fabian and Progress summer conferences. I didn’t hear anyone try to defend the Iraq war, and a number agreed it had been a terrible mistake. In fact, if you substituted the word Labour for Liberal Democrat, almost everything that was said could have been said at a Liberal Democrat conference, and probably will be in this coming week.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 30 Comments
David Gray

We must hold back on military action against ISIS

By David Gray | Thu 19th November 2015 - 10:15 am

Even in a world in which we see tragedy every day on the news, one where twenty four hour coverage of the many battles currently raging in different corners of the globe makes it easy to become numb to humanitarian disaster, the Paris attacks last week were shocking. Amongst the heartening displays of solidarity and defiance, people are angry, and rightly so. Those who committed the attacks displayed such a level of callous cruelty that it is completely understandable that many across Europe want revenge against patrons of the twisted ideology that leads people to carry out such horrific acts.

Now, however, is not the time to act on this anger. Emotions are running far too high for sensible decisions about foreign policy to be made. It is not heartless or unpatriotic to point this out, and of course we all want to see an end to ISIS, but the growing pressure on the British government to join the bombing campaign in Syria must be resisted. For now, anyway.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 28 Comments
Tom Brake

Tom Brake writes: My trip to the Calais Jungle

By Tom Brake | Mon 12th October 2015 - 1:05 pm

 

I visited the Calais Jungle a week ago, where around 4,000 people live in terribly squalid conditions. My trip was organised by staff from Lib Dem HQ, who had collected donations so we were able to distribute water, food and sanitary products.

It was a shocking experience to see the dreadful conditions people are living in. The Jungle is worse than a shanty town, with very few facilities.

There was no sign of water being provided and the people we met clutched gratefully the bottles we had transported.  Shoes, clothes and dry foods were also in demand. Portable toilets are provided by aid organisations while the local authorities seem to turn a blind eye to the conditions in the camp, simply wishing it would go away. I was told the French authorities don’t provide any help apart from a Centre where mobile phones can be charged and a hot meal is available. If someone is badly injured the local hospital bandages them up.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , , and | 17 Comments
Nick T

Russia, ISIS, globalisation and the EU – Norman and Tim answer foreign affairs questions

By Nick T | Mon 29th June 2015 - 12:24 pm

LDV recently put some questions on foreign affairs to the two leadership contenders. Here are their responses.

1. Can you summarise in around 100 words what a liberal foreign policy looks like in your view?

Tim Farron:

Liberals are proud and passionate internationalists because we believe in the rights of all people – no matter what they look like, what they believe or where they are – to live in peace, free from poverty, ignorance and conformity. We understand that only by working with other countries through strong international institutions can we make that a reality and build a fairer, greener, freer world.

It is in neither Britain’s interests nor the world’s to close ourselves off, but also that intervention abroad must be rooted in international law, decided through international institutions and clearly justified on humanitarian grounds.

Norman Lamb:

Our Party is proudly internationalist. Our leaders have often been lone voices, Paddy demanding rights for British citizens from Hong Kong, Charles opposing the Iraq War, Nick in taking on Nigel Farage‎

I share these courageous liberal values‎. Liberal values are universal – they do not respect borders.

For me Britain should play a global role and prompt Europe to do more for peace, in tackling poverty and climate change, and in standing up to oppression.

We must also be able to defend those who need our protection, our allies, and ourselves. Enduring adequate funding for our armed forces means debating Trident’s future when our world is far more threatened by terrorists and cyber attacks than by nuclear war, and pursuing reform to make sure our forces are effective and efficient.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , , , , , , , and | 22 Comments
Ruwan Uduwerage-Perera

Opinion: The Highlander who won our hearts, and will never be forgotten!

By Ruwan Uduwerage-Perera | Thu 4th June 2015 - 3:30 pm

Together with Liberal Democrat family and wider world of politics and beyond, my brothers and sisters and I within the Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats (EMLD) am deeply saddened by the untimely death of Charles Kennedy, and wish to send our heartfelt condolences to his family and many friends.

His brave stance on Iraq has rightly been the subject of much eulogising, and for many members of the EMLD this was the motivation to join our Party in the first place.

It may not have been planned but the impact of Iraq has had a profound effect on Black, Asian and minority ethnic politics in Britain.

Labour lost a hefty proportion of support, especially from Muslim communities, mostly to the Lib Dems, and Labour’s assumed hegemony over the BAME vote was irreparably damaged.

Charles almost certainly did not consider these consequences when opting to do what was simply for him, the right thing to do, and oppose the war in Iraq, but pretty soon afterwards saw that courting diverse Britain was a key part of his plan to make the Party the conscience of, and rooted firmly in the centre left of politics.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 5 Comments
The Voice

Farron: Publish Chilcot Report within a week

By The Voice | Sat 10th January 2015 - 9:22 am

On Thursday, Tim Farron, writing for this site, said that Liberal Democrats must continue to push for the Chilcot Report to be published.

In the same way, we must push for the UK’s Chilcot report into the Iraq war to be published. The delay has gone on long enough – key actors like Tony Blair and former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw must be held to account. Jack Straw steps down as an MP in May – it is vital that the truth about Iraq comes out long before that!

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 8 Comments
The Voice

Clegg: senior Labour ex-ministers should give evidence to UK torture inquiry

By The Voice | Tue 16th December 2014 - 8:55 am

Nick Clegg Q&A 12Last week came the revelations from the US Senate Intelligence Committee about the extent of the CIA’s use of “enhanced interrogation techniques”.

It immediately promoted questions about what the then Labour Government knew about what was happening on the watch of its closest ally. Nick Clegg has called for senior ex-ministers to give evidence to Parliament’s intelligence and security committee (ISC) on what they knew about torture conducted by UK or US intelligence agencies in Iraq or Afghanistan, as The Guardian reports:

The deputy prime minister said

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , , , and | 10 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: Ibrahim Taguri: It’s time for the truth: it’s time to publish the Chilcott Inquiry

By NewsHound | Wed 12th November 2014 - 5:54 pm

Brent Central Liberal Democrat candidate Ibrahim Taguri has called for the speedy publication of Sir John Chilcott’s report into the decision to go to war in Iraq. “How can we have trust without truth?” he asks in an article for the New Statesman. He asks how on earth we can contemplate taking military action (a decision he is not happy with) again in that part of the world without learning the lessons from last time:

Continue reading »
Posted in LibLink | Also tagged and | 12 Comments
Tahir Maher

Opinion: Islamic State – it’s a conundrum

By Tahir Maher | Mon 29th September 2014 - 2:28 pm

iraqI see myself as a small time politician who has an opinion on everything. But the proposed bombing of ISEL / ISIS (IS) worries me as I am conflicted as to what the right answer is. Does the term ‘We’ve been here’ before resonate?  And how about ‘We can’t just stand back and let these atrocities continue’?

Our record of being involved in the Middle East is very poor. On the last two Gulf wars we have demonstrated our military might but not foresight. We have demolished the perceived threat (although we still haven’t found weapons of mass destruction) excused ourselves out with ‘Now the right people will step up and do the right thing’. In each case we have failed to note that the population has been devastated by the wars. Ironically, we in the west have continually failed to recognise that the Middle East and the Indian sub-continent, if given the choice, much prefer the Western way of life. But if you have just been battered in a war, and those you hope would ally with you have done this, you turn to what is familiar and away from what you may have once aspired.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 11 Comments
Stephen Tall

Lib Dem members on intervention against ISIS: 59% back air strikes, 49% support sending troops

By Stephen Tall | Mon 29th September 2014 - 1:15 pm

Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum  to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 735 party members responded – thank you – and we’re publishing the full results.

Support for British intervention in Iraq and in Syria to stop ISIS

MPs voted on Friday for limited British intervention in Iraq to combat the threat posed by the terrorist group Islamic State/ISIS. According to our survey of party members, that action has the backing of most Lib Dems. By a more than 2:1 majority – 59% to 27% – Lib Dem members approve of the RAF taking part in air strike operations.

Continue reading »
Posted in LDV Members poll | Also tagged , and | 7 Comments
Paul Reynolds

Opinion: Why the Lib Dem membership should strongly oppose the UK’s new Iraq-Syria ‘bombing war’

By Paul Reynolds | Sat 27th September 2014 - 10:35 am

iraqBeheadings, women buried alive, executions for being in the wrong tribe ? This is not the democratic peaceful Iraq promised in 2003. But just 3 years after the US withdrawal, they went back again in early August with a bombing campaign, and now the UK is joining them.

The Prime Minister’s intent to bomb Syria as well as Iraq is the subject of apparent disagreement between the Foreign Office and Downing St. The flaky legal justification is that Syria is unable to prevent fighters from crossing the (unmarked) desert border into Iraq. However, since the US has declared the Syrian regime illegitimate and has supported anti-government rebels, it has contributed to that ‘inability’. That explains the Foreign Office reticence.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 46 Comments
Shaughan Dolan

The Independent View: An Arab EU could be the answer the Middle East needs

By Shaughan Dolan | Fri 22nd August 2014 - 9:25 am

The Islamic State is a symptom of a much wider and more dangerous split in the Islamic world between Sunni, Shia and Kurdish communities across the Middle East. Whatever action Western governments undertake to stop the Islamo-fascists ISIS, more must be done to mend an age-old split between Sunni and Shia Muslims.

Continue reading »
Posted in The Independent View | Also tagged , and | 21 Comments
The Voice

Liblink: Paddy Ashdown on IS and Iraq

By The Voice | Fri 15th August 2014 - 10:43 am

rally paddy ashdown 3

Three years ago, when the world obsessed about President Assad, some of us warned that Syria was only one frontline in a wider sectarian war between Sunni and Shia; that the spread of militant jihadism among the Sunni community, funded by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, was a preparation for this. And that before long this movement, like the 30 years’ religious war of 17th-century Europe, would threaten to engulf the entire Muslim world

Continue reading »
Posted in LibLink | Also tagged | 22 Comments
Martin Horwood

Martin Horwood writes …Tony Blair’s legacy

By Martin Horwood | Tue 22nd July 2014 - 11:18 am

Tony BlairTwenty years ago yesterday Tony Blair became Labour Party Leader. The man who delivered a landslide victory for Labour in 1997 is now seen as a polarising figure in British politics.

Blair loved to be seen as a ‘modernising’ force in his party. Whether it was the abandonment of Clause 4, the drinks receptions for celebrities or leading a Government which was “intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich”, this was a world away from ‘Old Labour’.

As Prime Minister, however, there is no doubt it was his approach to foreign policy that defined his premiership.

Britain’s involvement in the illegal war in Iraq left a particularly indelible mark. Blair seemed to offer Parliament a choice. But his case was built on sandy foundations: his personal word that the intelligence case presented to MPs had not been exaggerated or ‘sexed up’.

Blair had used his own personal charisma to defeat opposition to his changes to the public sector and indeed to the Labour Party itself. He used this tool once again in making the case for the Iraq invasion, alongside a particular brand of political ‘spin’ that grew to typify Labour’s approach in office.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 40 Comments
David Gray

Opinion: Sending more weapons to the Middle East is not the answer

By David Gray | Tue 17th June 2014 - 2:11 pm

iraqIt is truly saddening to read of recent events in Iraq. Seeing the horrific images that have been all over the media for the last few days, it is impossible for your heart not to go out to the millions of people in the region who have suffered for many years at the hands of oppressive governments, violent rebels and misguided Western intervention.

It is therefore maddening to see politicians in both the US and the UK suggesting that we should assist them with military aid including both troops on the …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 11 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Nick Clegg’s press conference: A new policy, looking ahead to an “independent, liberal” manifesto, Iraq, leadership and Smarties

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 16th June 2014 - 8:05 pm

Nick Clegg Q&A 19I promised you a bit more from Nick Clegg’s  monthly press conference this morning. Overnight, he had released his opening statement, but there was a surprise to come – a shiny new policy.  Now, obviously, that has to come to Conference so it’s not set in stone, but I suspect it will get a favourable hearing.

From cradle to college

Basically, all early years and school education funding, including the Pupil Premium, will be ring-fenced.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , , , and | 54 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Paddy: “A problem caused by killing Arab Muslims won’t be made better by killing more with Western weapons”

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 15th June 2014 - 3:45 pm

rally paddy 01I had been waiting to see what Paddy Ashdown would have to say on Iraq because he’s probably the person in British politics who best understands the international complexities of all the world’s flashpoints.

On a day when Tony Blair is urging speedy action to deal with extremism, Paddy spoke to Sky News’ Murnaghan programme about what he thinks should happen. He was asked if Blair was right to be interventionist. His reply that intervening didn’t necessarily mean blowing things and people up:

I’m firmly interventionist because I believe

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , and | 22 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: Sir Robert Smith – We must not turn our back on Afghanistan

By NewsHound | Sat 12th April 2014 - 2:15 pm

At a workshop on child rights at French Cultural Centre, Kabul, AfghanistanSir Robert Smith, Lib Dem MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine and Co-Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Afghanistan, has written this week about the need for Britain, as our direct military involvement comes to an end, to ensure we keep our promise to maintain support for a developing Afghanistan.

… the attacks of September the 11th brought home the fact that what happened in that far away country made a difference back here.

Continue reading »
Posted in LibLink | Also tagged , , and | 8 Comments
The Voice

Clegg: Five reasons why this is not Iraq

By The Voice | Wed 28th August 2013 - 8:44 pm

Nick Clegg has just sent the following email to Liberal Democrat party members:

Dear member,

Tomorrow Parliament will consider international action in Syria.

I have been adamant from the outset: any case for international action must be taken to the UN in an effort to achieve as great an international consensus as possible. And I have made certain this is taking place.

We must wait until we hear from the weapons inspectors.

Ahead of tomorrow’s debate, you can read the full wording of the motion we’ll be laying before Parliament here.

For the past week I have been in regular discussions with the Prime Minister, …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 56 Comments
Paul Reynolds

Opinion: We await the lessons of Iraq while new conflicts loom

By Paul Reynolds | Wed 27th March 2013 - 9:58 am

It is ten years this week since I agreed to act as lead independent political and governance adviser in Iraq, primarily in the British-controlled Southern Provinces – despite my known anti-war views. It was a harrowing experience, risking the ultimate on a daily basis, appointing directly the first regional government in Basra by way of negotiations with largely hostile tribal, political and religious groups, and then working on other problems.

There has been much reflection in the media in the last few days over the failures of the conflict, its illegality, and lessons for the future, notwithstanding the absence, as yet,  …

Continue reading »
Posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | Also tagged | 4 Comments
Ming Campbell MP

Ming Campbell writes: Britain lost moral authority as a result of its participation in Iraq

By Ming Campbell MP | Tue 19th March 2013 - 2:01 pm

Some rights reserved by mashleymorgan Today is the 10th Anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. We are marking it by publishing reflections on the war and its aftermath by senior Liberal Democrats.

The second is by Ming Campbell.

It is hard now to find anyone who will defend British participation in the American-led invasion of Iraq ten years ago. Labour’s current frontbench seek now only to distance themselves from personal involvement in the decision to go to war and it has been all but airbrushed out of recent Tory history. Even in …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 10 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: Nick Clegg – If Iraq taught us anything, it’s this…

By NewsHound | Mon 18th March 2013 - 10:45 am

This week marks the 10th anniversary of the invasion by the USA and the UK of Iraq. In an article published in The Independent, Nick Clegg reflects on the decisions made by the last Labour government and the lessons to be drawn. Here’s an excerpt:

The pretext given by the Blair government for the invasion – Saddam Hussein’s possession of weapons of mass destruction – proved false. The intervention led to years of instability, sectarian violence and religious extremism within Iraq and beyond. It strengthened Iran’s ability to destabilise its neighbours and it undermined the credibility of the United Nations.

The

…

Continue reading »
Posted in LibLink | Also tagged | 7 Comments
Caron Lindsay

LibLink… Paddy Ashdown: It’s not a fight against “us”, it’s Islam vs Islam

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 23rd January 2013 - 6:55 pm

Mali rebel - License Some rights reserved by MagharebiaIn an article in today’s Times, Paddy Ashdown concedes that David Cameron is probably right that the so-called War on Terror (a term Paddy dislikes) will go on for another decade. Paddy argues that we need to recognise that the way western countries have been operating doesn’t work. What is needed now is to recognise that the fight is between different factions of Islam. It should be our job to help out moderate governments where we can.

He outlined why the “invasions, main battle armies and occupation” of

Continue reading »
Posted in Europe / International and LibLink | Also tagged , , , and | 5 Comments
Toby Fenwick

In depth: Was the 2003 invasion of Iraq illegal?

By Toby Fenwick | Mon 10th September 2012 - 1:54 pm

In responding to Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s call for Tony Blair to face the International Criminal Court, I made clear my view that the 2003 Iraq invasion was an illegal – and criminal – act of aggression. John Rentoul of the Independent on Sunday angrily disputed this on the BBC World Service’s “World, Have your say”, and other commenters here on LDV have asked for an outline of my reasoning.

Aggression – known at Nuremburg as “crimes against

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 45 Comments
Toby Fenwick

Opinion: Is Tutu right on Tony Blair?

By Toby Fenwick | Mon 3rd September 2012 - 2:56 pm

Like so many of us for whom the anti-apartheid struggle was a political awakening in the 1980s, I revere Bishop Desmond Tutu. A voice of humanity, moderation and forgiveness when there was every chance that South Africa’s transition could have gone very differently, Tutu combines unsurpassed moral leadership with no political ambition.

It was therefore with great interest I awoke on Sunday to Tutu’s call for Tony Blair to face the International Criminal Court on charges for aggression resulting from the 2003 Iraq invasion. Tutu goes on to question why Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe should go to the ICC whilst Blair …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 41 Comments
Joe Bourke

Opinion: Foreign policy lessons for the Lib Dem approach to Iran

By Joe Bourke | Thu 22nd December 2011 - 4:26 pm

The Green movement in Iran after the presidential elections in 2009 was the first of the recent popular backlashes against entrenched corruption in authoritarian regimes. That was followed by the Arab spring, continuing upheaval in Egypt and now a similar movement in Russia and elsewhere.

At the time of the electoral protests in Tehran, Iranian staff at the British embassy were being accused by the Iranian authorities of treason and fomenting unrest. There was only muted support for the reform movement in Iran from the international community.

Last month we saw the British Embassy in Tehran ransacked and vandalised

…

Continue reading »
Posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 20 Comments
Mark Pack

A welcome shift in international interventions

By Mark Pack | Mon 28th November 2011 - 10:55 am

News of the Arab League’s sanctions against Syria brings to mind the Curate’s Egg – good in parts. That such sanctions are unprecedented shows a welcome increase once more in the Arab League’s willingness to stand up to dictators where mass violence against the population is involved. (Other dictators are another matter of course.) After the steps in Libya and now Syria, the Arab League is looking rather more like a body that does good rather than excuses evil.

That transformation only goes so far. For it has taken months and around 3,500 deaths to bring about sanctions which are …

Continue reading »
Posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 1 Comment
Helen Duffett

Nick Clegg: Learning the lesson of Iraq, planning the peace

By Helen Duffett | Mon 22nd August 2011 - 2:54 pm

Nick Clegg has given a speech on the Arab Spring today at the British Council. He also included a passage on last night’s dramatic events in Libya:

The advances made by the Free Libya Forces in Tripoli would have been unthinkable just a few months ago. Unimaginable, even, for the generations of young Libyans who have never known a world without Qadhafi. Now, that world is within their reach. The momentum for change is breathtaking and, for the cynics who said change wasn’t possible, who had written off the Libyan uprising, written off the Arab Spring, clearly, they were wrong. The

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News and Speeches | Also tagged , , and | 10 Comments
Advert



Recent Comments

  • Helen Dudden
    The veterans are one sad fact of life. It's a 10 year waiting list for an accessible flat or home. Many are left losing limbs. Often a long stay in hospital ...
  • Roland
    @Simon “ I think the real lesson there for us is, if the UK ever gets a written constitution, make sure it can be changed and updated without too much difficu...
  • Suzanne Fletcher
    Hope that the issues in the important motion are able to be promoted far and wide beyond the Lib Dems, so they end up being put into practice. our Lib Dem parl...
  • Joseph Bourke
    This author writes Politicians of...
  • Steve Trevethan
    What is your definition of democracy?...