EA Video Special: Intelligence, the Iraq War, and What's Next --- Key Questions and Some Answers

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Last week, we featured extracts from an interview with Steve Hewitt, one of the world's top specialists on intelligence services and counter-terrorism, about the place of "intelligence" in the drive to the 2003 Iraq War.

This is the full discussion, ranging from the significance of intelligence to the way that politicians manipulated it to create the reasons for the War to the possibility that this could be done again.

EA Video Analysis: Iraq, 10 Years Later --- 5 Points About the "Intelligence" Factor

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Extracts from an interview with Steve Hewitt, one of the world's top specialists on intellilgence services and counter-terrorism, about "intelligence" and the 2003 Iraq War:

1. Is "Intelligence" Important?
2. Did Intelligence Services, Before the War, Have A Good Sense About Iraq and WMDs?
3. Did Politicians Manipulate the Intelligence to Declare that Saddam Had WMDs?
4. Was the Truth Deliberately Distorted?
5. Could Intelligence Be Used This Way Again, to Take Us Into Military Conflict?

The full interview will be posted over the weekend.

Iraq Audio Analysis: The 2003 War...and What Came Next --- Scott Lucas with the BBC

I did a series of BBC interviews yesterday, on the 10th anniversary of the Iraq War, complementing my written analysis of the conflict and its consequences.

BBC Hereford and Worcester: The discussion begins at the 2:06.30 mark.
BBC Coventry and Warwickshire: The item starts at the 1:04.53 mark.
BBC WM: The discussion starts at the 54:13 mark.

Iraq Opinion: Three Thoughts on the War --- Lies, Disaster, and the Unexpected Outcome

A reflection 10 years to the day that US warplanes launched the first phase of the war on Iraq: this was a conflict deliberately designed on deceptions and whose consequences are still proving disastrous - most of all for the Iraqi people.

Far from producing the anticipated result, at least for the Bush Administration, the invasion of Iraq led to the opposite; rather than demonstrating the "unipolar" nature of American power, Iraq has become an ongoing illustration of the limits of that power.

Today, as Iraq tries to recover from the past decade, events extending beyond its borders to the wider Middle East highlight the twist in the tale --- that the US, good or bad, is rarely centre stage. Quite often, it is waiting in the wings.

Click to read more ...

Reflecting on 9-11: Why It Was Not a Turning Point for the World

There has already been a cascade of commentary for the 10th anniversary of 9-11, much of it centred on what it has meant for the US. 

EA will have a few selected pieces to prompt discussion --- the first, by David Dunn, has just been posted. I did not intend to write anything for the occasion; however, I was asked to send a few paragraphs to news services on what I thought was the lasting significance of 9-11 for the US. Amending this to "the US and the world", I offered the following:

For me, the most significant lesson of 9/11 is where it was NOT a turning point for people across the world. 

I should be clear. 9/11 was a tragedy, with the loss of thousands of lives. And it led to other tragedies --- a war within Afghanistan that continues to this day, a US-led intervention in Iraq that killed many more thousands of people, the misguided belief that force, torture, and rendition could win a "War on Terror". The response to 9/11 helped undermine the American economy, with consequences for the economies of other nations, and it tried to remove the notion of a fundamental 'civil liberty' that should not be sacrificed in the name of 'security'.

See also Reflecting on 9-11: What the War on Terror Has Cost the US...and Us (Dunn)

But, in the end, 9/11 has not been the catalyst for the most significant changes in our world a decade later. Al Qa'eda --- if it ever had any appeal --- is a spent force. The dream of some Americans, notably within the Bush Administration, for an era of "unipolar" US super-power is dispelled. In that sense, if you want to talk about a significant turning point in the last decade, it was not 11 September 2001, but the long, drawn-out failure of the Bush Administration in its invasion of Iraq.

The quest for freedom and democracy would not be embodied in that misguided adventure. Instead, the quest for freedom, democracy, and rights is embodied in movements which --- while drawing lessons from the response to 9/11 --- have been devoted to dealing with their local conditions, concerns, and aspirations. From Iran to the "Arab Spring" to Latin America to Asia, we are witnessing political, economic, and social change which does not depend upon Washington or its enemies for its motivation, hopes, and objectives.

Reflecting on 9-11: What the War on Terror Has Cost the US...and Us (Dunn)

The near decade of war that followed the attacks has been destructive of America’s geopolitical position. The two wars have cost the US more than $3 trillion and have been fought, unlike all previous wars, while simultaneously cutting taxes. The result, together with the 2008 financial crisis, is that the US is $14 trillion in debt, is in a deep recession, and is too politically divided to agree a pathway out of this crisis.

Geopolitically, while the US has focused on the Middle East, the international system has been dominated over the last decade by the rise of new emerging powers, most notably China, but also by India, Brazil, Russia and others.

Click to read more ...

Tony Blair's Back Video: "Iran is a Looming Threat...If Necessary, Use Force"

Out of courtesy, I will not besiege readers with my thoughts on today's testimonial by former Prime Minister Tony Blair --- replete with evasions, distortions, and some outright deceptions --- justifying the 2003 Iraq War to a British enquiry.

It is worth noting, however, that he would do it all again...this time with Iran.