Watching and Documenting from Afar

Learning how, why of Iraq war from afar

After four weeks of public testimony on how and why the 2003 invasion of Iraq began, a five-member British inquiry commission is taking a holiday break, doing the work that American truth-seekers should be doing but aren't.

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President Obama pointedly ruled as he took office that his administration should and would look past how Bush brought the United States to war in Iraq and Britain with it, focusing instead on its challenges ahead. The decision roiled liberal Democrats who argued not only that a similar inquiry was imperative, but also that it would underscore Republican culpability in the mess Obama encountered when he entered the White House.

The new president's stated commitment to govern in a spirit of bipartisanship with the Republican minority in Congress was in keeping with that forward look, but he immediately encountered the opposition party's determined strategy of stonewalling him at every turn.

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Five more weeks are planned for the new year. Chilcot in closing the first phase observed: "We have not been trying to ambush witnesses or score points. ... We are not here to provide public sport or entertainment." What American committee chairman would likely risk such a statement with a straight face, even if such an inquiry were held on Capitol Hill?...>>>>>