Head of supreme council says Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law group is likely victor based on preliminary resultsThe political grouping headed by Iraq's prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, today began preparing negotiations for a new coalition government after edging ahead in the latest counts of Sunday's general election.The poll's outcome is still unclear but Maliki's State of Law group is growing in confidence after preliminary results gave it victory in at least two southern provinces.Only partial counts have been released from six of Iraq's 18 provinces, excluding Baghdad. Results today from a quarter of votes cast in Maysan province, which borders Iran, showed State of Law trailing to the Iraqi National Alliance, the Shia coalition that includes followers of the radical cleric Muqtada...

"The name's Hague. William Hague." William Hague’s recent remarks in an FT interview, and in a speech to the Royal United Services Institute give us some idea of the purposes and shape of Conservative foreign policy, in the aftermath of a Tory election win. In short, it is exactly the same sort of interventionist twaddle spouted by New Labour, overlaid with the same veneer of humanitarian concern that Blair liked to bathe in. In my mind, therefore, the correct response to the great challenge of Britain accounting for a smaller proportion of the world’s economic activity is not to retreat into our shell with ever few embassies and consulates and armed forces whose power cannot be projected in the world; it is to make our efforts in international affairs more...

British IT expert held captive for more than two years after Baghdad kidnap laments not trying to escapeWatch the GuardianFilms investigation into how the hostages were taken to IranPeter Moore, the British IT expert who spent 31 months in captivity after being kidnapped in Iraq, has revealed how he thought he was about to be killed on the day of his release, spent his ordeal unable to see clearly without his glasses, and played table-tennis with a guard.Moore said he regretted not trying to escape during the early days of his detention when the captives had the opportunity to kill a guard. The computer consultant from Lincoln said he had had a chance to flee when one of the two men watching over him fell ill.The 36-year-old told Channel 4 News and the Times how he was seized, with four...

British IT expert held captive for two years after Baghdad kidnap tells of regret at not attempting to escape in early daysPeter Moore, the British IT expert who spent more than two years in captivity after being kidnapped in Iraq, tonight revealed how he regretted that he and his fellow captives did not try to escape during the early days of their detention by killing a guard.Moore, a computer consultant from Lincoln, said he had had a chance to flee when one of the two men watching over him fell ill.The 36-year-old was seized with four bodyguards from a government building in Baghdad in May 2007. He was released in December last year and arrived home on New Year's Day.He told Channel 4 News that one of his fellow captives was asked to treat the sick guard and the hostages discussed...

Prime minister and predecessor have each claimed two provinces as counts early vote tallies show them almost levelIraq's prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, and his predecessor, Ayad Allawi, are almost neck and neck in early counts after Sunday's general election, so far claiming two of the country's 18 provinces each.Maliki was leading in the Shia conservative heartlands of Najaf and Babil, while Allawi appeared to have won the Sunni strongholds of Diyyala and Salahedin, according to the Independent High Election Commission (IHEC) .Meanwhile, the first allegations of vote-rigging emerged in Baghdad. Allawi's Iraqiya list claimed 55 of its candidates had been disqualified on the eve of the election as part of a contentious de-Ba'athification process – a claim that has yet to be...

Wall of remembrance to dead soldiers brought back from Iraq and rebuilt at the National Memorial ArboretumThe music was beautiful, the lineup of political and armed forces top brass impressive, the flypast by three RAF Tornado jets perfectly timed, the prayers moving and the promises fervent that the 179 names of the dead engraved on nine long rows of shining plaques would never be forgotten. None of it helped Carol Jones much."It's the closing of a book for me. I've cried more today than I have in all the last four and a half years," she said.Her son John's name joined those of scores of men he knew on an ugly red and yellow brick wall outside the UK headquarters in Basra a few days after 20 November 2005, when a roadside bomb disintegrated one of the Snatch vehicles implicated in so...

Prime minister's coalition ahead in southern Shia provinces as electoral commission releases first preliminary resultsEarly results from Iraq's election show a coalition headed by the prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, leading in two southern Shia provinces.The first preliminary results to be released by the electoral commission showed Maliki leading in Najaf and Babil provinces, south of Baghdad. Results from the rest of the country are still being counted after the election on Sunday.Although Maliki was expected to lead in the Shia-dominated south, the results foreshadow a victory for the prime minister in an area where he was opposed by hardline religious parties with close ties to Iran. In an effort to cast himself as an inclusive leader for all Iraqis, Maliki left the main Shia...

“I find it quite unusual for people to criticise me for doing what I consider to be my duty. …This was nothing to do with partisan politics.” - Gordon Brown, who said today that the criticism he received for visiting Afghanistan a day after giving evidence to the Iraq war inquiry was “incredibly unfair”. During his Chilcot inquiry appearance, Brown had mounted a robust defence of his record as chancellor, saying he had never refused a request from the armed forces for equipment or resources.  However, within hours, two former chiefs of the defence staff, Lord Guthrie and his successor Lord Boyce, had challenged that view.  (full story HERE)...

Thee BBC are reporting that Gordon Brown thinks the criticism of his Afghanistan visit is "unfair". As they say in the Army "dry your eyes princess!"Brown knew that he would have to spin like a top to come out of the Chilcot enquiry with any dignity and he know the defence chiefs that he'd been screwing over for the last decade would kick off. The Afghan trip was a blatant attempt to...

Original Home Page Current Latest Page All Contents of Site – Index All Links to ‘The Trial of Tony Blair’ posts Sign the Ban Blair-Baiting petition here. “He’s not a war criminal. He’s not evil. He didn’t lie. He didn’t sell out Britain or commit treason. He wasn’t Bush’s poodle. He hasn’t got blood on his hands. The anti-war nutters must not be allowed to damage Blair’s reputation further. He was a great PM, a great statesman and a great leader.” Comment at end Ban Blair-Baiting 10th March 2010 Foto: Studio Babelsberg AG At the top of the German Federal Government’s Homepage – the Commission for Culture and Media  – appears this picture. Underneath this picture of the fictional British Prime Minister it says this: ‘Funded from the...

Sunday’s Iraqi national election was a moving example of a people’s willingness to exercise their democratic rights despite the threat of violence.  The vote followed a vibrant election campaign, during which there was real debate about the issues that matter to the Iraqi electorate, including security, Iraq's economic future and government accountability - Jon Wilks, Deputy Head of the British Embassy in Baghdad, has blogged about the election campaign.  I extend my sympathies to the families of Sunday’s casualties. However, the terrorists failed to stop the Iraqi people from voting in their millions and from taking the future of their country into their own hands.  Once the election results are confirmed, I hope that Iraq's political leaders will come together and...

Original Home Page Current Latest Page All Contents of Site – Index All Links to ‘The Trial of Tony Blair’ posts Sign the Ban Blair-Baiting petition here. “He’s not a war criminal. He’s not evil. He didn’t lie. He didn’t sell out Britain or commit treason. He wasn’t Bush’s poodle. He hasn’t got blood on his hands. The anti-war nutters must not be allowed to damage Blair’s reputation further. He was a great PM, a great statesman and a great leader.” Comment at end Ban Blair-Baiting 9th March 2010 From Heather Robinson at Political Mavens ~ (“for thinkers”)  ~ comes this (my bolding) - Iaqi parliamentarian Mithal al-Alusi thanked "those two great leaders" - Bush and Blair, after the wekend's election where 62% turned out despite...

Original Home Page Current Latest Page All Contents of Site – Index All Links to ‘The Trial of Tony Blair’ posts Sign the Ban Blair-Baiting petition here. “He’s not a war criminal. He’s not evil. He didn’t lie. He didn’t sell out Britain or commit treason. He wasn’t Bush’s poodle. He hasn’t got blood on his hands. The anti-war nutters must not be allowed to damage Blair’s reputation further. He was a great PM, a great statesman and a great leader.” Comment at end Ban Blair-Baiting 8th March 2010 It is suggested that no-one was listening to David Miliband’s evidence to the Iraq Inquiry today. Probably because he is not the man whose neck fits here. But I suggest people should listen. Listen, watch and read. Foreign Secretary David Miliband speaks in an...

Iraqi Women Waiting To VoteDespite the flaws in the Iraqi political system, those who bravely turned out to vote in the face of terrorist dangers have given us all a lesson in the importance of...

There’s been a big shock for the followers of Luvvies everywhere. The preachy anti American bullshit film, with spiffy special effects, and a story line penned by an adolescent lost to a gritty fairly accurate and politically impartial look at war. I’m very glad Hurt Locker won, because despite the fact that it shows an EOD Tech yanking a bunch of daisy chain 105 Shells out of the ground rather than using the barrow like proper soldiers do, and showing a bunch of ex-“Them” Brits (God Hollywood really hates us Brits) as incompetent dilettantes its actually a pretty good film. Unlike “In the Valley of Elah”, “Rendition”, “Stop Loss”, “Redacted”, “Syriana”, “Lions for Lambs” et all, Hurt Locker isn’t a 1 ½ hour finger wagged at me that all war is evil if it...

Foreign secretary says he does not have 'sleepless nights' about the war but he does acknowledge the problems associated with itDavid Miliband said today that it would be "stupid" to pretend that the Iraq war had been a total success.In an interview published ahead of his appearance at the Iraq inquiry this morning, the foreign secretary said that history's verdict on the war would be "balanced" and that it could take another six or seven years before the situation in Iraq stabilised.Asked if he agreed with the proposition that the war was justified, Miliband told the Daily Telegraph: "That falls on two counts. One, it is too glib about the loss of life and the reverses. And it's too black and white. There's a ledger, and it's still being added to. There is a positive and a negative. It's...

Sunni insurgency vowed to disrupt poll, but security dragnet and curfew keep away would-be suicide bombersDespite mortar attacks and low expectations, Iraqis have today voted in large numbers in a national poll that is widely being seen as a defiant attempt to shake free from four years of political torpor and the remnants of the American occupation.Up to 70% of registered voters in Baghdad were thought to have cast ballots for a new leader, despite the biggest surge in daily violence in more than two years, that killed at least 36 people and wounded dozens more.Early figures released by the Independent High Election Commission showed turnout was also solid in other areas of the country, especially in Sunni-dominated Anbar province, where more than 50% of voters turned up, reversing the...

Original Home Page Current Latest Page All Contents of Site – Index All Links to ‘The Trial of Tony Blair’ posts Sign the Ban Blair-Baiting petition here. “He’s not a war criminal. He’s not evil. He didn’t lie. He didn’t sell out Britain or commit treason. He wasn’t Bush’s poodle. He hasn’t got blood on his hands. The anti-war nutters must not be allowed to damage Blair’s reputation further. He was a great PM, a great statesman and a great leader.” Comment at end Ban Blair-Baiting 7th March 2010 Been away for a few days, so catching-up. To save time here is a cross-post from Julie here. Thanks Julie. Julie also has a great post here on Gordon Brown’s evidence to the Iraq Inquiry on Friday. Excerpt: Brown: “So it was, for me, a hope right up until the...

Turnout expected to be high in parliamentary election despite rocket and mortar attacks that killed 25 in Baghdad todayA barrage of early-morning rockets that killed at least 25 people across Baghdad has failed to deter voters from turning out in solid numbers in Iraq's pivotal general election.Up to 50 mortars and rockets were fired in the 90 minutes before polls opened with at least a dozen more peppering the city before noon.Despite the violence, voter turnout seemed to be within an anticipated range of 40-60% of the 19 million people registered to vote across the country. Voting also appeared to be steady in Sunni areas that boycotted the 2005 poll and then led an insurgent revolt in the face of lost political ground."Today I feel much hope for my country," said 70-year-old Qadimeyah...

Bomb and mortar attacks kill at least 25 as insurgents bid to derail Iraq's second parliamentary election since 2003A wave of bombings and mortar attacks have killed 25 people in Baghdad as insurgents bid to disrupt Iraq's second general election since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.At least 14 people died in north-eastern Baghdad when an explosion leveled a building, and mortar attacks in western neighbourhoods of the capital killed seven people, police and hospital officials said.In Mahmoudiya, 20 miles (30km) south of Baghdad, a bomb inside a polling stationkilled a policeman, said Iraqi army Colonel Abdul Hussein.There were also explosions elsewhere in the country, but no reports of further fatalities.Insurgents launched mortars toward the Green Zone, home to the US embassy and...

It’s Sunday. It’s 9am. It’s time for the best pothole photo, ever. FACT. But first, some other stuff. 2 Must-Read Blog Posts What are other Liberal Democrat bloggers saying? Here are two posts that have caught the eye from the Liberal Democrat Blogs aggregator: Fraser Macpherson has the party’s latest Scottish TV broadcast The Futility Monster ponders how many friends we can have Spotted any other great posts in the last day from blogs that aren’t on the aggregator? Do post up a comment sharing them with us all. 2 Big Stories Brown ‘disingenuous over war funds’ The Press Association reports: The head of the Armed Forces at the time of the 2003 invasion accused the Prime Minister of being “disingenuous” in saying that he provided...

As I said yesterday, Brown's statements to the Chilcot enquiry were full of holes and, as this report shows, is coming apart...

Prime minister tells Chilcot inquiry Tony Blair did 'everything properly' and rejects criticisms over equipmentGordon Brown took a major political gamble today by describing Tony Blair's decision to go to war in Iraq as "the right decision for the right reasons" and insisting that "everything that Mr Blair did during this period, he did properly".Dogged by a reputation for disowning unpopular decisions, Brown used his appearance at the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war to deliver a firm defence of Britain joining the US-led invasion, a decision taken and executed when Blair was prime minister and Brown was chancellor.In his most prolonged inquisition on Iraq since the invasion seven years ago, Brown accepted he had been fully involved in the run-up to the invasion, underlined the gravity...

Brown's attempt to be all things to all people just doesn't cut it. He tried to make out that he was at the heart of government but the failure of planning and lack of equipment wasn't his fault, claiming to have been fully "informed". INFORMED!!!!!! He was the Chancellor of the Exchequer, he was the one who had to write the...

Today's Daily Mail reports:A high number of children are being born with birth defects in an Iraqi city where U.S. forces may have used chemical weapons during a fierce battle in 2004.Children in Fallujah are being born with limb, head, heart and nervous system defects. There is even a claim that a baby was born with three heads.The number of heart defects among newborn babies is said to be 13 times higher than the rate in Europe. The BBC’s John Simpson reported on Thursday from Fallujah that, while there had been no authoritative medical investigation, there was growing evidence of an alarming incidence of birth defects.A British-based Iraq researcher, Malik Hamdan, told the BBC that Fallujah doctors were swamped by a ‘massive, unprecedented’ number of heart defects and other...

The first is at Freemania: The really important thing about Iraq: us Today Gordon Brown gives evidence to the Chilcot inquiry. This weekend, amid violent attacks on polling stations, Iraq holds an election. I wonder which will get the most coverage? The rest of the world exists primarily as a mirror for us. The second is at Skuds’ place: A week is a long time...

Prime minister tells Chilcot inquiry of frustration with US over issues of postwar planningGordon Brown today defended the invasion of Iraq but said he regretted he had not been able to persuade the US to take postwar planning "seriously enough" to ensure a "just peace".The prime minister revealed his frustration with US politicians in the build-up to the war when he told the Chilcot inquiry about his involvement in planning, discussions and decision-making while serving as chancellor.In the first hour of his evidence, Brown said the US-led invasion was the "right decision made for the right reasons".Saddam Hussein was a "serial violator" of UN resolutions and a clear message had to be sent to "rogue states" that international law could not be flouted, he said.He told the inquiry he...

Security forces, hospital patients and prisoners have been casting their ballots ahead of polling day on 7 March...

  Despite being well aware of the long-established falsehoods of the Iraq War, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has told the Iraq Inquiry that attacking Iraq was the right decision. Brown also paid his respects to all the British Army terrorists that lost their lives in a war they signed up to be part of, while he...

Minute-by-minute coverage as prime minister gives evidence to investigation into Iraq war. To start the live video stream, press the 'play' button under the picture below10.09am: Lady Prashar asks about Brown's views in the pre-war period.Brown says the international community has to be prepared to take action against aggressor states.Prashar says Blair argued in the Commons on March 18 2003 that the threat posed by the possible link between Iraq and terrorism was a real danger. Did Brown perceive this threat?Brown says after the end of the cold war a number of post-state terrorists were threatening instabliity around the world.In my view the international community was justified in taking action ... where international obligations were not being honoured.The international community has...

Today Gordon Brown gives evidence to the Chilcot inquiry. This weekend, amid violent attacks on polling stations, Iraq holds an election. I wonder which will get the most coverage?The rest of the world exists primarily as a mirror for...

Original Home Page Current Latest Page All Contents of Site – Index All Links to ‘The Trial of Tony Blair’ posts Sign the Ban Blair-Baiting petition here. “He’s not a war criminal. He’s not evil. He didn’t lie. He didn’t sell out Britain or commit treason. He wasn’t Bush’s poodle. He hasn’t got blood on his hands. The anti-war nutters must not be allowed to damage Blair’s reputation further. He was a great PM, a great statesman and a great leader.” Comment at end Ban Blair-Baiting 4th March 2010 PRESS CHIEF JUSTIFIES THE VILIFICATION OF BLAIR Possibly prompted by my “Conspiracy of Silence on the Ban-Blair-Baiting campaign” post, Dominic Ponsford (pictured left) the Editor of the Press Gazette has at last responded to the comment at The...

Ed Pilkington on the soldier suing the makers of Oscar-nominated movie The Hurt LockerEd Pilkington...

Election preparations overshadowed as provincial capital hit by deadliest attack for weeksA string of three deadly suicide bombings in Iraq killed at least 30 people in the former insurgent stronghold of Baqouba today, including an attack in which the bomber rode in an ambulance with the wounded before blowing himself up at a hospital, police said.The bombings – Iraq's deadliest in weeks – come as the country is preparing for elections on Sunday that will decide who will oversee the country as US forces go home and help determine whether Iraq can overcome the deep sectarian tensions that have divided the nation since the 2003 American-led invasion.US and Iraqi officials have warned repeatedly that insurgents were expected to launch such attacks in an attempt to disrupt the vote.Police...

Original Home Page Current Latest Page All Contents of Site – Index All Links to ‘The Trial of Tony Blair’ posts Sign the Ban Blair-Baiting petition here. “He’s not a war criminal. He’s not evil. He didn’t lie. He didn’t sell out Britain or commit treason. He wasn’t Bush’s poodle. He hasn’t got blood on his hands. The anti-war nutters must not be allowed to damage Blair’s reputation further. He was a great PM, a great statesman and a great leader.” Comment at end Ban Blair-Baiting 2nd March 2010 THE PAINFUL TRUTH IS IN THE EYES Photograph by Dan Chung – Referenced at The Guardian – if this is the right Mr Chung! Tony Blair at his lowest ebb, 2004, as the Iraq war repercussions and Brown and allies close in for the kill. (Pic: Dan Chung) Click here...

Prime minister's coalition cannot win majority in new parliament without post-election coalition helpNouri al-Maliki, the prime minister who has led Iraq through four chaotic and unpopular years, is expected to top the poll in Sunday's general election, although the horse-trading that would follow poses a threat to his possible second term as leader.Maliki's coalition has consistently performed best in polls taken by Iraqi political groups and the US embassy in Baghdad. But it cannot win a majority of the new parliament's 352 seats without one of two post-election coalitions, both of whom say they will not countenance him being renominated as prime minister.Four days before the election, the second since the US-led invasion seven years ago, Maliki's State of Law coalition, a Shia...

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber has issued the following message of solidarity to the leaders of the Iraqi Teachers' Union: 'British trade unions salute the bravery of the Iraqi Teachers Union and its leaders in resisting interference by the Government and political parties of Iraq. We call on Iraqi politicians to respect Iraqi teachers' desire for a free and independent trade union to represent them, and abandon threats and intimidation against its leaders.' For the full TUC statement and the reasons behind it see here. Hat Tip : Labour Friends of...

So The Sunday Times this past weekend reported the Tory lead over Labour now down to just two points? I am unsurprised. In households across the land, among those who intend to vote there has been much deliberation and anguish over which of the two evils—New Labour and Conservative—must win in an outdated and undemocratic first-past-the-post system come the General Election. We all know one of them is likely to be the winner, whether it has a workable majority or not—and if not, will mean a hung Parliament and at least temporary chaos and economic calamity. All that seething resentment towards the Tories from the 1980s and 1990s remains as keenly felt as ever, while the new resentments rashly and arrogantly introduced to natural Labour supporters under Blair—the...

Dear David Cameron, There is no doubt in my mind that you will be watching the polls over the next few days with even more interest than usual.  Your spring conference in Brighton, which was considerably smaller than the main party conference in October, attracted some reasonably positive coverage but yet again your hand is being forced because the spotlight is on you so intensely at the moment.  However, when the spotlight has fallen on Gordon Brown recently, any bad publicity has just bounced off him.  Will his appearance at the Chilcot Inquiry later this week buck this trend, I wonder? Over the weekend, you outlined six key election campaigning areas: dealing with the deficit, boosting enterprise, shoring up families, backing the NHS, raising standards in schools and cleaning up...

• Claim by ex-senior spy raises election tensions• Officials deny intelligence agency arms were divertedA senior Iraqi spy has accused the prime minister, Nour al-Maliki, of handing out thousands of guns to tribal leaders in a bid to win votes. The claim was made by Iraqi National Intelligence Service former spokesman, Saad al-Alusi, a week before Iraq's general election, in which allegations of vote buying and exorbitant handouts have become widespread.Maliki, who faces a bitterly contested final week of campaigning ahead of the7 March poll, has been photographed handing out guns to supporters in southern Iraq, engraved with a personal message from his office. However he denies that the delivery of weapons, along with cash payments, were improper.Alusi, who was the INIS spokesman...