20 years after the invasion it's hard to see how such a tragic miscalculation could have happened. But the 'foreign' voices that urged caution were not listened to, when they were heard at all.
It’s a really interesting and complicated issue, isn’t it? I certainly agree that the West should never have gotten involved in Iraq (it wasn’t our war) - but at the same time I don’t think that justifies countries in the Global South refusing to support Ukraine (and I know ‘not supporting Ukraine’ is not necessarily the same as ‘supporting Russia/Putin’). Again, it’s incredibly nuanced and I know there are many, many factors at play as to why each country chooses the allies it does. I guess that’s realpolitik for you.
Hi Barbara, Heard the Correra show on R4: yes, good, but nothing new (for those of us long enough in the tooth).
AFAIR, the BBC was totally craven at the time, this is true. It's a great tradition that most Americans know F.A. about other parts of the world, so what would have been surprising would have been if even one of the US pure-junk media channels or outlets (ABC, NBC, Fox, Washington Times, NY Times, etc. etc.) had questioned the narrative from Bush and Blair.
But seemingly there were *some* strong enough alternative media sources in the UK: a million people, including me, marched in central London in February 2003 in protest. Correra also failed to mention the fact that Robin Cook resigned over the illegality and the pathetic nature of the WMD evidence.
But it's also important to stress that some voices even from Iraq at the time, *welcomed* the invasion, notably the Kurds, but also many Shi'ites. I remember seeing two Iraqis discussing the coming invasion in early 2003 on Channel 4 News: one was passionately against, the other passionately in favour. (Which is of course irrelevant to the question of legality).
A specific anti-Saddam agent at the heart of the Washington establishment, Ahmad Chalabi, was also instrumental in pulling the wool over the eyes of Bush and Blair's gullible military (in collusion therefore with Bush and Blair's already taken decision).
Hi Barbara, I listen to The Rest is Politics podcast with the Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart. The Episodes on March 15 & 16 are about the Iraq war and are very interesting in terms of what was happening inside the Labour Party leading up to the war in Iraq. Rory Stewart was sent to govern one of the Irag provinces after the invasion and in his opinion the invasion was a catastrophic mistake.
Thanks for the heads up. I must listen to those episodes. I'm guessing few people these days disagree with Rory Stewart over the invasion... except maybe his co-host.
Yes indeed. Rory gave Alastair quite a grilling over the whole situation. I still think it is and was a monumental catastrophe but I think you will be interested in the conversation.
It’s a really interesting and complicated issue, isn’t it? I certainly agree that the West should never have gotten involved in Iraq (it wasn’t our war) - but at the same time I don’t think that justifies countries in the Global South refusing to support Ukraine (and I know ‘not supporting Ukraine’ is not necessarily the same as ‘supporting Russia/Putin’). Again, it’s incredibly nuanced and I know there are many, many factors at play as to why each country chooses the allies it does. I guess that’s realpolitik for you.
Hi Barbara, Heard the Correra show on R4: yes, good, but nothing new (for those of us long enough in the tooth).
AFAIR, the BBC was totally craven at the time, this is true. It's a great tradition that most Americans know F.A. about other parts of the world, so what would have been surprising would have been if even one of the US pure-junk media channels or outlets (ABC, NBC, Fox, Washington Times, NY Times, etc. etc.) had questioned the narrative from Bush and Blair.
But seemingly there were *some* strong enough alternative media sources in the UK: a million people, including me, marched in central London in February 2003 in protest. Correra also failed to mention the fact that Robin Cook resigned over the illegality and the pathetic nature of the WMD evidence.
But it's also important to stress that some voices even from Iraq at the time, *welcomed* the invasion, notably the Kurds, but also many Shi'ites. I remember seeing two Iraqis discussing the coming invasion in early 2003 on Channel 4 News: one was passionately against, the other passionately in favour. (Which is of course irrelevant to the question of legality).
A specific anti-Saddam agent at the heart of the Washington establishment, Ahmad Chalabi, was also instrumental in pulling the wool over the eyes of Bush and Blair's gullible military (in collusion therefore with Bush and Blair's already taken decision).
Hi Barbara, I listen to The Rest is Politics podcast with the Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart. The Episodes on March 15 & 16 are about the Iraq war and are very interesting in terms of what was happening inside the Labour Party leading up to the war in Iraq. Rory Stewart was sent to govern one of the Irag provinces after the invasion and in his opinion the invasion was a catastrophic mistake.
Thanks for the heads up. I must listen to those episodes. I'm guessing few people these days disagree with Rory Stewart over the invasion... except maybe his co-host.
Yes indeed. Rory gave Alastair quite a grilling over the whole situation. I still think it is and was a monumental catastrophe but I think you will be interested in the conversation.
Really good article on the vital importance of diverse points of views and voices of all backgrounds.
Thank you. I do think a lot has changed in 20 years. Some voices still get more airtime but it’s definitely a much more varied media landscape