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AMONG THE MANY opponents of the Iraq War were Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy and former foreign secretary Robin Cook.
Kennedy was then leader of the Liberal Democrats, the only main party at Westminster to vote against the war.
Robin Cook was lord president of the council and leader of the House of Commons under the Labour government, before resigning in a famous speech that eviscerated the foreign policy of Tony Blair’s government.
Among the backbenchers sitting behind Cook while he gave the speech was one Jeremy Corbyn, who this week paid tribute to his former colleague following the Chilcot report.
Cook, Corbyn told parliament, “said in a few hundred words what has been confirmed by this report in more than two million”.
No weapons of mass destruction
At the time, 13 years before Chilcot, Cook said:
We cannot base our military strategy on the assumption that Saddam is weak and at the same time justify pre-emptive action on the claim that he is a threat.
“Iraq probably has no weapons of mass destruction in the commonly understood sense of the term—namely a credible device capable of being delivered against a strategic city target.”
He added: “Why is it now so urgent that we should take military action to disarm a military capacity that has been there for 20 years, and which we helped to create?”
Why is it necessary to resort to war this week, while Saddam’s ambition to complete his weapons programme is blocked by the presence of UN inspectors?
Two years later, Cook was dead after suffering a heart attack in the Scottish Highlands on 6 August 2005.
He wasn’t the only one to take a brave stand against a war, which was backed by 412 to 149 MPs in the House of Commons.
Unwavering
The then Liberal Democrat leader, Charles Kennedy, was unwavering in his opposition to the war, and spoke at the massive anti-war rally in Hyde Park in February 2003.
Britain’s .@LibDems were right in 2003, and today in standing up for the nation's voice against the Iraq War. pic.twitter.com/oWYVzs3JzD
— Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) July 6, 2016
He was demonised for his stance by many with The Sun even calling him a “spineless reptile”.
In his speech at the time, Kennedy criticised the absence of a peace process in the middle east, and said the UN and western powers should devote their energy to that, instead of invading Iraq.
“That absence of a middle east process can only fuel extremism and international terrorism,” he said.
This is the riskiest moment for Britain since Suez.
“Our country has a principled and a responsible role to play on the world stage but to do so we have to pursue international justice through the United Nations and our government has got to take its people with them.
It’s patently failing and that is my message for you today.
Charles Kennedy died in 2015 at his home in Scotland at the age of 55, after suffering from alcoholism.
Dartboard
At the release of the Chilcot report, The Sun deleted another 2003 article from its online archive that featured a dartboard of anti-war “traitors”, including Kennedy and Cook.
Lord Hunty, a health minister and Home Office minister John Denham also featured for quitting in protest.
It surfaced on social media, however.
Here’s The Sun's full Iraq ’traitors’ dartboard article – other ‘traitors’ included the late Robin Cook & Kofi Annan pic.twitter.com/jyfHUqfouA
— Jon Stone (@joncstone) July 6, 2016
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Eh it’s the sun what do you expect. Its a total rag.
Would never ever buy The Sun.
(Except when it’s €0.50 during Euro 2016)
The Sun…keeping it classy. A $h1t wipe of a newspaper that’s barely fit for even that purpose.
The Sun is so pointless. I mean I would use it as bog roll if it weren’t more expensive than the regular stuff. A shame, really.
A shyte wipe newspaper , published by a shyte.
Aside from the sun being a toilet paper mouthpiece for Murdoch it seems Scotland is not healthy place for anti-war politicians.
From Winston Churchill to Tony Blair: How British Leaders Destroyed Iraq for over a Century.
By Garikai Chengu
” After seven years, the Chilcot report has delivered a damning verdict on Tony Blair’s role in the war on Iraq, but British Prime Ministers playing a destructive role in Iraq is a centuries old practice.
Britain has used its military might and commercial prowess to subjugate Iraq and control its oil resources for over one hundred years.”
If you were to use The Sun as bog roll you would wipe more on than you would take off
I wouldn’t dare use The Sun as toilet paper! I might catch something, like getting a case of dumb.
I would never buy it. I don’t even take it when it’s free. Complete rag.
Robin Cooks speech above is one of the greats, if you have not viewed it already it’s well worth your time.
Wow. I agree with Jammin for the first time!!
Too late to apologise now, he is dead. So who is the spineless creature now? The U.S. and U.K. declared war on a nation to get its oil and the UN stood back and did NOTHING, is that not spineless as well?
You’re blaming the UK for the actions of the US and Britain? What could they do? They don’t have a military and were powerless to do anything. Blame the guilty.
UN not UK…. :-) Wish you could edit / delete comments!
The UN did nothing? The UN security council probably would’ve authorised an invasion in a few more years if the brutality of Saddam’s regime continued. But you can never tell. Such an inept organisation that has never been fit for purpose.
Are the US and UK not members of the UN?
The Sun is pathetic
Its readers are aswell tbf
Robin cook, who just happened to fall off a mountain in Scotland. Mmmm
No word about Dr. Kelly or how he could hold a blade in his hands to cut his wrists when he cut so deep into his wrists that he couldn’t hold the blade with his fingers?
Could have, but even so, you do not f**k with the military industrial complex…the weapons inspector that ended up dead outside London before he was to give his verdict is another case.
He didn’t just happen to fall off a mountain in Scotland. He died of hypertensive heart disease, while with his wife.
He was an able and principled politician, leave the conspiracy theory nonsense out of it.
Silly Phil!!!
Keep watching Sky News Phil !
You’re confused Robin Cook with Blair’s predecessor John Smith, who died after falling ill while hill walking.
I always feel so sad about that poor man Dr Kelly, shameful what they did to him. Shameful what they did to us all!
John Smith did not die hillwalking. He had a heart attack in his flat in London and died later in St Bart’s Hospital.
Phil is right – Robin Cook’s wife was with him when he had his heart attack and therefore doesn’t see his death as suspicious in any way. Sorry if what actually happened is too mundane for you – I’m sure the conspiracy narrative is much more exciting…
The Sun is still a rag though.
Sorry to break it to you people but there are still plenty of lies going on today that the majority buy into. The propaganda ball keeps rolling and it won’t stop anytime soon.
When I was in my teens I found George Carlin who said (paraphrasing) “I have certain rules I live by. My first rule is that I don’t believe anything the government tells me, and I don’t take seriously the media or the press”. I took that on board. Words from the government and the press (generally the unofficial public relations arm of government) that try to convince you of something are nothing more than the words of a certain group of people trying to get your approval that will enable them to do something for their own benefit, not yours.
Look past the fear, the emotive language, etc. and question everything.
With you there Alan.The language used/permitted/propagated/favoured is much more significant than many realise.
Well the same is happening now, the Chilcot enquiry, and the salivating of the press over it is just a means to press the reset button. To reboot the establishment. And the public is falling for it.
It is an effort to hang all the “evil” on one man Blair and absolve the press, politicians, public and state hierarchy for a war that has become a totem for some reason. It was a war the same as any war.
It is conveniently forgotten that there was overwhelming support for the war on Iraq. After all, Tony Blair was returned to power in 2005 with a majority of 68, a landslide by today’s standards. When and why did Blair become persona non grata?
@Joe, if you’d had a look at the Daily Fail during the week, the Iraq war was just a lefty plot, all the horrible comments about lefty this & lefty that, forgetting that most, if not all of the Tories supported the Iraq war.
@alan, Vidal gore, I’m sure was his name, an American with some very good views on politics and psyche in America, sadly departed but he nailed each and every wayward step America has and explained what they (white house) were up to. Definitely a man ahead of his time.
Well said Alan.
Those British men who read The Sun are idiots. Haven’t they heard of the libellous edition of The Sun that was published after the Hillsborough disaster?
The Conservative Party was in decline under John Major. Therefore, there was no need for Tony Blair to rely on Murdoch.
Sir Humphrey: The only way to understand the Press is to remember that they pander to their readers’ prejudices.
Jim Hacker: Don’t tell me about the Press. I know *exactly* who reads the papers. The Daily Mirror is read by the people who think they run the country. The Guardian is read by people who think they *ought* to run the country. The Times is read by the people who actually *do* run the country. The Daily Mail is read by the wives of the people who run the country. The Financial Times is read by people who *own* the country. The Morning Star is read by people who think the country ought to be run by *another* country. The Daily Telegraph is read by the people who think it is.
Sir Humphrey: Prime Minister, what about the people who read The Sun?
Bernard Woolley: Sun readers don’t care *who* runs the country – as long as she’s got big tits.
I love Yes, Minister & Yes, Prime Minister, recently watched it all again from scratch, it’s amazing how nothing has really changed.
Didn’t know it was just men that read the Sun
@anthony campion
I can’t imagine that many British women would read The Sun (You might know why).
It is so sad that that both these fine men along with Dr Kelly are gone before the truth came out.
Funny enough, I could use the same headline to describe the sun
The Journal should know better than taking unnecessary pot shots at a fellow news organisation. This place isn’t exactly a paragon of virtue the whole time either.
I get what you’re saying, but calling the Sun a news organisation made your point null and void.
The Journal is pretty inoffensive in comparison to the tripe turned out regularly by that rag. There is no comparison.
Reminds me of the Michael Dwyer story In Bolivia, remember him been described as a Walter Mitt character by the newspapers here, wonder what the journalists who wrote this about an innocent man are doing now?, I wonder if any of these journalists have ever apologised to his family for the crap they wrote in order to sell their newspapers. These journalists aim their crap at the sheeple, of which there are many, they know the people, of which there are few, will wait until all the facts come out
Mitty
Automatic thumbs down for using the word “sheeple”
Ahh comeon, why.
conri, sheep don’t like to be compared with people. People have an obligation to use their brains and inform themselves as to the rights and wrongs of matters.
Sheep on the other hand simply follow all government dictats and are herded down whatever road the government wants. The rejoice in their sheepishness, and think anyone who doesn’t agree with them are fools.
Dave, how true !!!
‘The purpose of newspapers is not to sell news to readers but to sell readers to advertisers.’ The sun can easily be dismissed as a rag but its influence on society is far too malign to ignore. It panders to peoples base instincts and knows its audiences short memories only too well.
The good people of Liverpool have personal experience of the Sun and it’s lies and they take the appropriate action by not buying the rag.
The Sun has perpetrated their bile against working class people and they’ve castigated ordinary decent people as thugs and spongers etc etc.
Had they been on the ‘remain’ side they’d have had an excuse to go a rant along the same lines against the other side but of course that didn’t happen.
But ANY newspaper who’d employ Kelvin Mckenzie, in any capacity is a only fit to be burnt.
The Sun ,that Beacon of moral compass.
Yeah – Britney’s 24 hour Sexathon, pure filth.
The Sun , you wouldnt even use it to wipe up vomit .
Did you notice who is sitting behind Robin Cooke in the green suit?
The Sun: My arse deserves better.
Any Irish person who buys the Sun should be ashamed of themselves. An utter rag that has peddled anti Irish sentiment for years.
Fair play to the Sun
Dear Deirdre is the best part of the sun ;)
Why can’t we all just get along?
First i heard about charles kennedys passing. belated RIP
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