Sanity check

[Lippytarian]

The lying takes on a life of its own, doesn't it. And then when it gets repeated over and over and over.... Orwell called it "new speak".

So it does no harm to be reminded occasionally that you are, in fact, sane.

In hitherto secret evidence to the Chilcot inquiry, Major General Michael Laurie said:"We knew at the time that the purpose of the dossier was precisely to make a case for war, rather than setting out the available intelligence, and that to make the best out of sparse and inconclusive intelligence the wording was developed with care."

His evidence is devastating, as it is the first time such a senior intelligence officer has directly contradicted the then government's claims about the dossier – and, perhaps more significantly, what Tony Blair and Campbell said when it was released seven months before the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Laurie, who was director general in the Defence Intelligence Staff, responsible for commanding and delivering raw and analysed intelligence, said:"I am writing to comment on the position taken by Alastair Campbell during his evidence to you … when he stated that the purpose of the dossier was not to make a case for war; I and those involved in its production saw it exactly as that, and that was the direction we were given."

A statement of the bleedin' obvious it may be, but welcome just the same. Why has it been so long coming?

[John]

Why has it been so long coming?

I thought you were opposed to senior officers speaking their minds.
Weren`t you one of those who denibrated Dannatt for speaking publicly?
You can`t have it always, I mean, these senior officers might forget to consult you before speaking out,quelle horreur.

[Lippytarian]

Weren`t you one of those who denibrated Dannatt for speaking publicly?

No.Link

[Lippytarian]

What this tells us is that Campbell and of course Blair were able to peddle their lies knowing that the intelligence officers would be duty-bound to remain silent. In actual fact everything was exactly as it appeared at the time. With Blair and Campbell putting together a propaganda paper and putting the stamp of the security services on the front of it.

Michael Laurie, the former director general in the Defence Intelligence Staff was only moved to write to Chilcot after:
# much time had passed
# his own retirement
# the Blair government now longer in power and fading into history
# the sight of Campbell lying through his teeth to the inquiry

[Chilcot kept his letter secret for 18 months]