Events | 2010.01.13
Letters: Appeasers and true believers
Many years ago, I wrote a book with Martin Gilbert (now on the Chilcot inquiry) that examined the story in the 1930s of the supporters of Neville Chamberlain , an earlier headstrong prime minister largely ignorant of foreign affairs, whose controversial policies led to war. For our book, The Appeasers , we interviewed survivors of that period and read their self-serving memoirs, and we found that they all held to their original opinions. No one had had a second thought.
Jonathan Freedland should not be surprised if Alastair Campbell and eventually Tony Blair continue to argue that they thought they were "doing the right thing" ( Campbell may be a true believer, but Iraq has poisoned our faith in politics , 13 January). No amount of forensic questioning would manage to budge their sense of righteousness. In our experience, the real story emerged from the huge collection of Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939 , published after the war, rather than from the recollections of key participants. Interviews, as those following the Chilcot inquiry have found, provide a useful and often entertaining sidelight on the processes of government, but the real dynamite is to be found in the documents. These will form the basis of what will eventually, and surely, be a damning inquiry report.
Richard Gott
London
• Jonathan Freedland describes Iraq as the greatest foreign policy calamity since Munich. The comparison is odd. Chamberlain is criticised for allowing a vicious dictator to remain in place unchallenged; Tony Blair, for removing one. It could be argued that the comparison is in Blair\'s favour. I should add that I think the Iraq intervention a mistake. I do however think Tony Blair acted in what he thought to be the national interest. One would like him to receive some credit for his motivation and intentions.
Brian Hayes
London
• Against the background of the Chilcot inquiry, I recall the pressure brought to bear on Dr David Kelly , the UN weapons inspector, to provide evidence that Saddam Hussein really had weapons of mass destruction. Britain\'s Tony Blair-led acolytes were, it is widely believed, responsible for the death of this professional and honourable man. I am among the many who believe that the inquest into David Kelly\'s death should be reopened and that the Chilcot inquiry should look into and, if appropriate, pursue this matter.
Dr John Martyn
London
• Lawyers are taught to view a witness\'s use of the subjunctive ("I would have done X") as indicating that the witness either does not know, or cannot remember, what actually happened ( \'We will be there\': Blair gave secret pledge to Bush on Iraq war, Campbell reveals , 13 January). Your quotations from Mr Campbell\'s evidence reveal frequent resort to this formula. Could it be that he was further removed from the decision making process than he might like to suggest? After all, he was only a press secretary.
Edward Coulson
Bradley, West Yorkshire
• The Iraq inquiry has heard that notorious spin doctor Alastair Campbell turned to the Bible for solace in the run-up to the war. I wonder if he read Psalm 55:21: "The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords."
Sasha Simic
London
• I see that Alastair Campbell played the Baudrillardian defence at Chilcot. Never mind reality, the WMD existed in the dossier and that\'s what matters.
Keith Flett
London
• The Iraq war happened, Saddam is dead, Blair is gone, so what is the point of this expensive inquiry? It was obvious at the time that the evidence of WMD was virtually worthless and that Blair was determined to support Bush no matter what. Have these politicians, lawyers and the rest got nothing better to do?
David R Reed
London
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jan/14/chilcot-inquiry-iraq-campbell-blair
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