Downing Street Says » Iraq Inquiry Debate

» Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Iraq Inquiry Debate

Asked to comment on Hilary Benn’s interview on Radio 4 today where he had said that he did not rule out an inquiry at some stage into the causes of war in Iraq the PMOS said, as he had said this morning we continued to learn lessons all the time in Iraq, and apply those lessons. The PMOS had no doubt at all that at the end of our engagement there people would want to look back and learn the lessons of the engagement. However, the time to deal with that was then not now.

Asked why the Government then does not accept the amendment the PMOS replied that the amendment contained a time scale, and a format but what was important was that we learn what lessons needed to be learnt as time went on and deal with the here and now. What also mattered with the hear-and-now was the signal being sent to the people we are fighting in Iraq, our troops on the ground and to the Iraqi government. What matters is the headline tomorrow in Iraq. When it was observed that the time scale suggested went beyond the Prime Minister’s term of office the PMOS said that due to the nature of the question he would not be able to address it.

Asked why another inquiry would undermine the troops in Iraq the PMOS pointed out that the previous four inquiries had been into why the war started but this inquiry was when the conflict is ongoing. When asked if the case was that we did not object to an inquiry, just not an inquiry now whilst the troops were in Iraq the PMOS replied that it was yet another Channel Four-esq question and that the time to deal with the end of the conflict was just then at the end, not now.

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