A public inquiry into the UK's role in the Iraq war has opened in London, with former civil servants first to appear in hearings that will climax with Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, taking the stand.
One-time senior officials from the foreign and defence ministries will outline Britain's policy towards Baghdad in early 2000, as the five-member committee investigates what lessons can be learned from the US-led war.
John Chilcot, the inquiry chairman and a former civil servant, said he was confident of producing a "full and insightful" account of the decision-making that led Britain to join the 2003 invasion against strong opposition at home and abroad.
An appearance by Blair, who took Britain into the conflict, is likely to be the highlight of the inquiry, although he and other Labour government figures are not due to give evidence until next year.
'No trial'
Chilcot has said that nobody will be on trial in the inquiry, to be held at a conference centre near parliament in central London, but has also vowed not to shy away from any criticism if the findings warrant it.
He and his fellow committee members have already met families of some of the 179 British troops who died during the six-year conflict, and who raised issues about whether they were properly equipped and trained.
The inquiry will also look into the justification for the war, principally the claim that Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi president, had weapons of mass destruction.
These weapons were never found.
Among the first witnesses to be called on Tuesday is Peter Ricketts, who chaired the government's senior intelligence committee between 2000 and 2001 before taking a senior post at the Foreign Office (FCO) between 2001 and 2003.
Also due to present statements at the hearing are William Patey, the former head of the FCO's Middle East department; Simon Webb, the fomer head of operational policy at the Ministry of Defence; and Michael Wood, an former FCO legal adviser.
Two official investigations into the run-up to the war have already taken place, but ministers had refused to hold a full inquiry until after the military deployment had ended.
Analysts have said the inquiry is incapable of addressing the key issue of whether the invasion was legal, because of a lack of lawyers and judges on its six-member committee. An unnamed senior judge told The Guardian newspaper that analysing the war's legality was beyond the committee's competence. AL JAZEERA |
