British soldiers, not Tony Blair, face war crime trials over Iraq War

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have ruled out putting former British prime minister Tony Blair on trial for war crimes as they prepare to examine the Chilcot report about the Iraq War.

The Chilcot Inquiry, established in 2009 to investigate the UK’s role in the Iraq War, will publish its long-awaited 2.6 million-word report on Wednesday.

The report is expected to strongly criticize Blair for his role in the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. The inquiry, however, will not offer a view on the legality of the war.

In an official statement to the Telegraph, the ICC said its prosecutors would examine the report for evidence of war crimes committed by British troops.

The decision has angered families of soldiers killed in Iraq who blame Blair for taking the nation to a war that later proved to be based on faulty intelligence.

“It is outrageous. It is double standards. These soldiers have gone out to do their best for us and here they are being hounded and yet the guy who took them there is not being looked at. That is completely wrong and disgusting,” Roger Bacon, whose son Matt was killed in Iraq, told the Telegraph.

Reg Keys, another father who lost his son Tom to the Iraq War, slammed the ICC’s stance.

“The ICC should be using the Chilcot report as a basis for a legal action against Tony Blair not as ammunition against British soldiers for alleged abuse,” he said.

The ICC said that the decision to launch the war was outside the court’s jurisdiction, meaning that Blair will not be put on trial.

The statement added that the ICC was looking at introducing a “crime of aggression” to cover illegal invasions, but that “will not apply retroactively.”

In addition, the Chilcot report is not expected to accuse Blair of misleading parliament, something that would trigger calls for his prosecution.

A number of British lawmakers, however, are seeking to impeach Blair using an ancient parliamentary law.

The MPs say the former prime minister should be prosecuted for breaching his constitutional duties and taking the country to an illegal war.

Not used since 1806, the process simply requires an MP to propose a motion and support evidence for an impeachment. A simple majority is needed to convict and pass a sentence.

Last year, current Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Blair should be prosecuted for war crimes for the war in Iraq which he said was “illegal.”

“We went into a war that was catastrophic, that was illegal, that cost us a lot of money, that lost a lot of lives,” he said.

Blair may also face legal action from grieving families on the grounds that he exceeded his powers and that led to mass casualties. Some 179 British soldiers were killed during the course of the war.

Launched by the administration of former US president George W. Bush with strong UK backing, the war led to the deaths of more than one million Iraqis.

The invasion plunged Iraq into chaos, resulting in years of deadly violence and the rise of terrorist groups like Daesh (ISIL).

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk