SIR – It amazes me that there are still people who think Britain joined in the US-led invasion of Iraq to save the Iraqi people from a brutal dictator. Make no mistake, the 2003 invasion of Iraq was essentially a US project based on its Middle East foreign policy.
Unlike Harold Wilson, who refused to commit British forces in Vietnam, Tony Blair joined the Iraq escapade for reasons which, it can be argued, were more to do with enhancing his reputation on the world stage than with addressing the policy interests of his own country.
As John Bolton stated (Comment, July 6) America was driven by its desire to remove Saddam Hussein and his regime in order to eliminate the threat to Israel and oil-rich Middle East states. Remember Saddam’s launching Scud missiles at Tel Aviv during the first Gulf War? It was a very big mistake indeed.
Mr Bolton’s assessment will hopefully shut down attempts to justify the invasion of Iraq on, to say the least, rather spurious grounds.
That MPs bought into Mr Blair’s claim about Saddam’s 45-minute WMD threat to British territories is disgraceful when there was already information in the public domain to indicate clearly why the US might want to destroy Saddam’s regime.
Ian Johnson
Chelford, Cheshire
SIR – I would like to see more public consideration of the consequences had we not joined America, given its jingoism (set against the then Chirac-Putin love-in). Unmoderated US action, embroiled in the inevitable descent into sectarian chaos, would have been catastrophic, leading to a no less dangerous global dynamic today.
Captain Jason Poole RN
London SW5
