Britain invaded Iraq based on ‘flawed intelligence’ – Report

Britain decided to join the 2003 invasion of Iraq based on “flawed intelligence” which was not challenged and should have been, a long-awaited report has found. John Chilcot, the chair of the Iraq Inquiry and a retired civil servant, said on Wednesday the invasion went “badly wrong”. “Military action in Iraq might have been necessary […]

Britain decided to join the 2003 invasion of Iraq based on “flawed intelligence” which was not challenged and should have been, a long-awaited report has found.
John Chilcot, the chair of the Iraq Inquiry and a retired civil servant, said on Wednesday the invasion went “badly wrong”.
“Military action in Iraq might have been necessary at some point, but in March 2003, there was no immediate threat from [then Iraq President] Saddam Hussein,” he said.
The 2.6 million-word Iraq Inquiry – which took seven years to prepare – was published in full on Wednesday.
Speaking 30 minutes ahead of the official publication, Chilcot said: “The UK chose to join the invasion of Iraq before the peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted.”
Chilcot said that, despite explicit warnings, the consequences of the invasion were underestimated.
Responding to the report, former Prime Minister Tony Blair said in a press conference on Wednesday that he “accept full responsibility without exception and without excuse” for the decision to go to war in Iraq, but insisted that the world “is in a better place without Saddam Hussein”.