Tony Blair Should Be Tried for War Crimes If Chilcot Commission Rules 2003 Iraq Invasion Illegal, Says Jeremy Corbyn

PRESS RELEASE

Tony Blair Should Be Tried for War Crimes If Chilcot Commission Rules 2003 Iraq Invasion Illegal, Says Jeremy Corbyn

Aug. 4, 2015 (EIRNS)—British Member of Parliament Jeremy Corbyn, the frontrunner candidate for Leader of the Labour Party, said today that Tony Blair should be tried for war crimes if the Chilcot Inquiry rules that Blair broke international law by invading Iraq in 2003, Reuters reported.

Besides affirming that national leaders must follow international law respecting the sovereignty of nations, a finding that the 2003 Iraq War was illegal would discredit U.S. President Obama’s ongoing bombing of Syria solely on his own authority.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair could be tried for war crimes committed during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, depending on the findings of the Chilcot Inquiry, said Corbyn, who has a 22% lead in the September election for Labour Party Leader.

Speaking on BBC’s Newsnight, Reuters reports, Corbyn said Blair should "confess" to any plans he made with George W. Bush to invade Iraq in 2003, and added that if Blair remains silent, the publication of the Chilcot report would "force Blair’s hand." Corbyn called the Iraq war "an illegal war," adding, "I am confident about that. Indeed, [Former UN Secretary-General] Kofi Annan confirmed it was an illegal war..."

"The Chilcot report is going to come out sometime," said Corbyn.

"What happened in Crawford, Texas, in 2002 in [Blair’s] private meetings with Bush? Why has the Chilcot Report still not come out? Because, apparently, there is still debate about the release of information on one side or the other of the Atlantic."

Addressing the current ISIS threat in Syria, Corbyn said that he

"would want to isolate ISIS. I don’t think going on a bombing campaign in Syria is going to bring about their defeat. I think it would make them stronger. I am not a supporter of military intervention. I am a supporter of isolating ISIS and bringing about a coalition of the region against them."

As a result of Corbyn’s demands for action on Blair, British Prime Minister David Cameron has called for Sir John Chilcot to announce the date on which his report will be published. The Chilcot Commission began its inquiry on the legality of the 2003 invasion of Iraq in 2009, finished gathering evidence in 2011, and has yet to issue a report.