Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair resisted public pressure for a comprehensive inquiry into the Iraq war. On June 15, his successor, Gordon Brown, raised the white flag, informing the House of Commons that he had ordered an inquiry even before British troops complete their withdrawal from Basra this summer. “Thanks to our efforts and those of our allies over six difficult years, a young democracy has replaced a vicious 30-year dictatorship,” said the Prime Minister.
Tag Archives: british
After 7 years at Gitmo, resettled Uyghurs grateful for freedom
Two of four Uyghurs relocated to Bermuda after seven years of detention in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, denied Friday that they had ever been terrorists, and expressed gratitude toward President Obama for working to free them. Asked what he would say to someone who accused him of being a terrorist, one of the men, Kheleel Mamut, told CNN’s Don Lemon, “I am no terrorist; I have not been terrorist. I will never be terrorist.
London officers accused of waterboarding
The conduct of six suspended London metropolitan police officers is under investigation, Scotland Yard confirmed, amid British reports they allegedly waterboarded drug suspects.
Argentine soldiers sue officers, alleging torture
In 1982, they were young men serving their obligatory military service — Argentine conscripts who fought against the British that year during the Falklands War. More than 25 years later, many of those former combatants are in a legal battle against their former officers, alleging torture, starvation and murder at the hands of their own military
Iraq releases man held in slayings of U.S. soldiers
In a good will gesture to militant groups, the Iraqi government has freed a man who had been held in connection with the killing of five U.S. soldiers, a government spokesman said Tuesday
Obama in Dresden, Germany: the Non-Controversy Controversy
Sometimes location is everything. Other times, it’s just a convenient place to spend the night. On both sides of the Atlantic, much has been made of Barack Obama’s decision to spend Thursday night in Dresden, the German city known primarily as the site of a horrific bombing campaign by U.S.
Why the World Cares More About Somalia’s Pirates Than its People
A warning this week from the British aid group Oxfam that the humanitarian crisis in Somalia is the worst in Africa is not new. Last year, the U.N.
Under-pressure British PM reshuffles Cabinet
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown began a government reshuffle Friday which is crucial to his political survival and marks a reassertion of his authority. Crucially, Alan Johnson — the man who many Labor lawmakers expect to succeed Brown if he is forced to step down — has signaled his support for the beleaguered prime minister. He has accepted the promotion from Health secretary to Home secretary, taking the place of Jacqui Smith — one of three Cabinet ministers who rocked Brown by resigning this week
English soccer clubs rake in $3.4 billion
European football clubs are bucking the trend of the worldwide recession, with England’s Premier League leading the way after posting $3.4 billion in revenues for the 2007-08 season.
Kidnapped Briton feared killed by al Qaeda
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says there’s "strong reason to believe" a British citizen has been killed by an al Qaeda cell in the west African nation of Mali.