Friday, May 28, 2010

Report: British Failures in Iraq


Report on British failures in Iraq delayed

28 May 2010 A damning report over British failures in Iraq has been delayed for publication amid allegations that defence chiefs are trying to suppress it, it was reported.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup Photo: GEOFF PUGH

The head of the military, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup and other senior Ministry of Defence officials are said to have stepped in to quash the paper because its criticisms were so harsh.

The report, by Lt Gen Chris Brown, is said to contain highly critical comments surrounding the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the subsequent British occupation of Basra.

It was commissioned by the MoD in order to learn lessons from the apparent failures of the conflict.

The MoD carried out the study against the background of the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war which has heard evidence from several senior officers over the poor planning of the war.

But the Guardian newspaper said last night that the paper’s views were so critical that military chiefs tried to suppress them even for internal consumption. Continued

No comments: