Comments on: “Government is gagging Iraq inquiry” http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2009/12/government-is-gagging-iraq-inquiry/ for free expression Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:40:35 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Rob Swan http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2009/12/government-is-gagging-iraq-inquiry/comment-page-1/#comment-1662 Rob Swan Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:34:09 +0000 http://www.indexoncensorship.org/?p=6509#comment-1662 The problem is twofold: 1) The slimy politicians who still hold sway in the government. Straw and Brown are two men who go back a way.There are others in the murky depths. Straw now has a powerful position and if he chooses to gag the commission,he could easily do so.Blair still exerts a huge influence in many quarters. 2) There are no 'big hitters' on this panel. They are privy counsellors and retired civil servants at that. What is needed is an ombudsman with nothing to lose and an awareness of cover ups ---who gets to the nitty gritty and asks a)the right questions and b)probes deeply into answers given. My first inkling of the inadequacies of the panel came when Greenstock kept saying (rough quotes): 'you didn't ask me that' and 'you could have asked me more on that' etc. Regrettably we're going to end up with a sham of a report and a 'half' inquiry.The Nuremberg trials (criticised as they often were, were conducted by big hitters without a bullshit agenda ergo thedeserved results). Who should assist the panel i.e. who is capable of separating manure from grass? Ken Clarke? Lord Goldstone ,Sir Richard Dannatt, Paddy Ashdown,William Hague? Not a chance in hell.Tories, Lib Dems and traitors not allowed. Game 1 to Straw. The problem is twofold: 1) The slimy politicians who still hold sway in the government. Straw and Brown are two men who go back a way.There are others in the murky depths. Straw now has a powerful position and if he chooses to gag the commission,he could easily do so.Blair still exerts a huge influence in many quarters.
2) There are no ‘big hitters’ on this panel. They are privy counsellors and retired civil servants at that. What is needed is an ombudsman with nothing to lose and an awareness of cover ups —who gets to the nitty gritty and asks a)the right questions and b)probes deeply into answers given.

My first inkling of the inadequacies of the panel came when Greenstock kept saying (rough quotes): ‘you didn’t ask me that’ and ‘you could have asked me more on that’ etc.

Regrettably we’re going to end up with a sham of a report and a ‘half’ inquiry.The Nuremberg trials (criticised as they often were, were conducted by big hitters without a bullshit agenda ergo thedeserved results).

Who should assist the panel i.e. who is capable of separating manure from grass? Ken Clarke? Lord Goldstone ,Sir Richard Dannatt, Paddy Ashdown,William Hague? Not a chance in hell.Tories, Lib Dems and traitors not allowed.

Game 1 to Straw.

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