Admitting mistakes

I want to take this chance to explain something, bear with me and you'll understand.

Like many others, I reluctantly supported the war in Iraq and hoped for a quick end and for the minimal number of deaths and injuries. The final total may never be known.

In the run up to the war I called for a UN-route and believed that the Inspectors needed the time necessary to find the so-called weapons of mass destruction (WMD). I remember watching Colin Powell addressing the UN saying where the weapons were and of course Iraq, under Saddam, did use WMD, especially against his own people.

However, we went in and once in it is right to support British troops and whatever people think of the war, I believe that the vast majority of British people do. We will pay for years to come for the decision to go to war, it has split communities, families and friends and made others feel insecure.

Of course in hindsight it is easy to be proved right or wrong. I remember in one Labour meeting saying at the time that I wanted the anti-war people to be right and people like me to be wrong. The thought of Saddam's Iraq using WMD against other countries and peoples is to horrible to think about and thankfully the decision taken by Blair and Bush is something we'll never have to do.

I was wrong and should have been more vocal and stronger against the war. I want British troops to come home as soon as is possible, but of course worry about what will happen in Iraq when they do come home. I am delighted that Saddam was caught and his reign of terror is at an end.

However, it is by learning from these mistakes that I could not and will not support military action against Iran as some American hawks seem eager to do. We must learn the lessons of Iraq.

This particular blog could appear to be how wonderful I am in seeing the light, it is not that at all, in fact if we could turn the clock back of course it would be easier for all of us, but we are where we are. We live in a democracy and learn by our mistakes, my mistake was listening to the intelligence which proved to be wrong and because of that thousands of Iraqis and alliance troops have been killed or injured rather than letting jaw jaw work.

I am not saying there should never be war again, we don't know what the future holds, but I do hope that in future we allow a bit more talking and a bit less action.