„Chilcot-Bericht“ – Versionsunterschied

The Iraq Inquiry, also referred to as the Chilcot Inquiry after its chairman, Sir John Chilcot, is an ongoing British public inquiry into the United Kingdom's role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The inquiry was announced on 15 June, 2009 by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, with an initial announcement that proceedings would take place in private, a decision which was subsequently reversed after receiving criticism in the media and the House of Commons.

The inquiry is currently an ongoing inquiry by a committee of Privy Counsellors with broad terms of reference to consider the UK’s involvement in Iraq from mid-2001 to July 2009. It will cover the run-up to the conflict, the subsequent military action and its aftermath with the purpose to establish the way decisions were made, to determine what happened and to identify lessons to ensure that in a similar situation in future, the UK government is equipped to respond in the most effective manner in the best interests of the country.

The open sessions of the inquiry commenced on 24 November 2009, televised from the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre.

It is expected to report its findings after the 2010 General Election, due before Thursday, 3 June 2010.

Brown stated, "No British documents and no British witness will be beyond the scope of the inquiry."

Committee members

The committee of inquiry, the members of which were chosen by Gordon Brown, comprises:

• Sir John Chilcot (chairman), a career diplomat and senior civil servant who was previously a member of the Butler Review.
• Sir Lawrence Freedman, a military historian, and Professor of War Studies at King's College London. His memo outlining five tests for liberal military intervention was used by Tony Blair in drafting his Chicago foreign policy speech.
• Sir Martin Gilbert, a historian who supported the invasion of Iraq and claimed in 2004 that George W. Bush and Tony Blair may one day "join the ranks of Roosevelt and Churchill."
• Sir Roderic Lyne, former Ambassador to Russia and to the United Nations in Geneva, previously served as private secretary to Prime Minister John Major.
• The Baroness Prashar, a crossbencher, member of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, and the current chairwoman of the Judicial Appointments Commission.

The committee also takes secretarial support during proceedings from Margaret Aldred.

Proceedings

The inquiry commenced in July 2009, with public hearings commencing on 24 November 2009 with Sir Peter Ricketts as the first witness, chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee at the time of the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Opening the proceedings, Sir John Chilcot announced that the inquiry was not seeking to apportion blame, but to "get to the heart of what happened" but that it would not "shy away" from making criticism where it was justified.

29 October Protocol

On 29 October 2009 The UK Government published a Protocol in agreement with the Iraq Inquiry on the treatment of sensitive written and electronic information. Evidence which will not be made available to the public includes anything likely to:

• a) cause harm or damage to the public interest, guided by the normal and established principles under which the balance of public interest is determined on grounds of Public Interest Immunity in proceedings in England and Wales, including, but not limited to,
  • i) national security, defence interests or international relations;
  • ii) the economic interests of the United Kingdom or of any part of the United Kingdom;
• b) endanger the life of an individual or otherwise risk serious harm to an individual;
• c) make public commercially sensitive information;
• d) breach the principle of legal professional privilege (LPP);
• e) prejudice, in the case of legal advice (following any voluntary waiver of LPP) rather than material facts, the position of HMG in relation to ongoing legal proceedings;
• f) breach the rules of law which would apply in proceedings in England and Wales under the provisions of Section 17 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000;
• g) breach the rules of law applicable to the disclosure of information by the Security Service, SIS or GCHQ, the third party rule governing non-disclosure of intelligence material or other commitments or understandings governing the release of sensitive information;
• h) breach the Data Protection Act 1998; or
• i) prejudice the course or outcome of any ongoing statutory or criminal inquiry into matters relating to the information proposed for release.

Witnesses

The inquiry will hear evidence from a variety of witnesses, such as politicians, including several cabinet ministers at the time of the invasion; senior civil servants, including lawyers and intelligence chiefs; diplomats, mostly composed of British ambassadors to Iraq and the United States; and high-ranking military officers including former Chiefs of the General Staff and Chiefs of the Defence Staff as well as senior operational commanders.

The inquiry heard mostly from civil servants, intelligence and security officials, diplomats and military officers from the first public hearings up until it recessed for Christmas. Key witnesses included Sir Christopher Meyer, former ambassador to the United States who gave evidence on November 26; Admiral Lord Boyce, former Chief of the Defence Staff; Sir John Scarlett, Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service; Major-General Tim Cross, the most senior British officer on the ground in the aftermath of the invasion; and Air Chief Marshall Sir Brian Burridge, overall commander of British forces in the invasion.

From the inquiry's resumption in January 2010, it has been hearing predominantly from politicians and former government officials, including Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's director of communications;

Criticism

The timing and nature of the inquiry generated a certain amount of political controversy. Conservative Party leader David Cameron dismissed the inquiry as "an establishment stitch-up", and the Liberal Democrats threatened a boycott.

In a Parliamentary debate over the establishment of the inquiry, MPs from all the major parties criticised the government’s selection of its members. MPs drew attention to the absence of anyone with first hand military expertise, the absence of members with acknowledged or proven inquisitorial skills, and the absence of any elected representatives. Gilbert’s appointment to the enquiry was criticised on the basis that he had once compared George W. Bush and Tony Blair to Roosevelt and Churchill. Several MPs drew attention to the fact that Chilcot would be unable to receive evidence under oath.

The criticism by the Liberal Democrats continued with the start of public hearings, with party leader Nick Clegg accusing the government of "suffocating" the inquiry, referring to the power given to government departments to veto sections of the final report. Meanwhile, a group of anti-war protestors staged a demonstration outside the conference centre.

Concerns were also raised about the expertise of the panel, particularly with regard to issues of legality.

External links

• The Iraq Inquiry – official government site
• Iraq war inquiry – ongoing coverage from The Guardian
• Iraq inquiry - day by day timeline of evidence given – ongoing coverage from the BBC
• The key points of the Iraq war inquiry explained – FAQ list by BBC