Iraq and the Butler Report A letter from Pablo Gonzales to his MP Alan Johnson

In Reply - By Rt Hon Alan Johnson MP

Alan Johnson MP House of Commons London SW1A 0AA Saturday, 17 July 2004 Dear Mr Johnson

Having caught a glimpse of you yesterday afternoon at Hull Central Library prompted me to write this letter, and my thoughts about the Iraq war. The publication of the Butler Report has made clear that Mr Blair was openly dishonest when he chose to highlight only the elements of the intelligence available at the time on Saddam's arsenal and his intentions that would support the case for war, and when he deliberately omitted to mention those aspects that did not support the case for war, and ignoring the caveats.

The legality of the case for war is looking weaker and weaker with each day that passes, as it is now clear that that there was no hard evidence of non-compliance and non-cooperation with Resolution 1441 by the Iraqi regime. Lord Goldsmith's advice was based on false assurances given by the prime minister. In other words, the war was illegal; this is the only possible conclusion that can be drawn. Good faith is irrelevant. We must not forget that the basis of Britain going to war was Iraq's supposed non-compliance with Resolution 1441, not to remove Saddam (let be clear here, I am no friend of that dictator), or because Iraq posed a threat to Britain. Coming from a background of a Catholic country, and knowing the bloody history of the Catholic Church, I came to the conclusion a long time ago that morality cannot be applied by brutal force: indeed, the end will be corrupted by the means employed, this is without any doubt the case of Iraq.

I had, and have, many doubts that the world is a safer place without Saddam. Pre-emptive military action of the kind that Mr Blair seems to be endorsing now will not reduce the spread of terrorism or protect Britain from it on the long and medium term, although it may mess-up operational bases of terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda on the short term. The consequences of pre-emptive actions, particularly those based on poor or wrong intelligence, are usually the opposite of those intended, as the case of Iraq clearly show:

Al-Qaeda is operating quite successfully within the country when it was not under Saddam. The destabilization of the Middle East with unforeseeable long term consequences just because of America's thirst for cheap oil and the momentum of the industrial-military corporations to make more "good" business (as JK Galbraith has recently indicated). The tens of thousand of deaths that have resulted as a direct consequence of the occupation. The pillage of the country's infrastructure by American corporations in the name of "reconstruction". The creation of a climate of chaos where everything goes, a "free for all" economic climate which is not conducive to the rebuilding of the country from within.

Andrew Gilligan's story has been vindicated on two counts: The 45 minutes claim was plainly wrong and should have not been included in the September 2002 dossier at all; and seems to have been included "because of its eye-catching character", in other words, to sex-up the dossier.

I am afraid that I have no longer any trust left on the Blair Government at all. Yours sincerely, Pablo Luis González pabloluisgonzalez.tripod.com/warandpeace/stopthewar.html

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