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Iraq Inquiry

Having spent the weekend reading Sir Hilary Synnott's book, I am determined to impart my knowledge of it to the House. He makes an important point when he states:"““Understanding the causes and consequences of what went wrong in Iraq should not therefore be regarded as just an academic or historical exercise.””" In his opinion,"““Britain and America seem likely to be involved in more, not fewer, nation building efforts in the coming years…Even in Afghanistan, after more than six years of operations, the challenges show little sign of abating, and several of these are, yet again, being examined from first principles—police training…the role of Provincial reconstruction teams””," and so on. He continues:"““Many of the shortcomings in that country have similarities with those in Iraq and still need to be properly assessed, with appropriate conclusions drawn.””" That, as I see it, is why a full-scale inquiry is of practical relevance, and why it might be of assistance to the future operations of this or any other Government and to our armed forces in the field elsewhere. To close our minds to learning from or to delay learning from the issues that Sir Hilary Synnott—the man in charge of governing southern Iraq on our behalf—has been talking about would be a dereliction of our duty, as well as that of the Government.