By Andrew Grice, The Independent UKMinisters have hinted repeatedly that an investigation would be held after British forces leave the country. But they have now changed tack in the hope of “moving on” in Iraq rather than looking back at what went wrong.
Asked if an inquiry would take place after British troops withdraw, David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, replied: “I am obsessed with the next five years in Iraq, not the last five years in Iraq. And I think that the best ‘inquiry’ is putting the best brains to think about how to make sure the next five years in Iraq get that combination of political reconstruction, economic reconstruction and security improvement that are so essential.”
His statement will bitterly disappoint anti-war campaigners, who hoped that Gordon Brown would draw a line under Iraq after succeeding Tony Blair by holding an investigation to ensure the lessons are learnt.