Iraq, Regret and Responsibility

Last week saw the re-appearance of Tony Blair in public life for a few hours. The former Prime Minister was answering questions put to him by the members of the Iraq Inquiry, who required him to 'clarify' some of his evidence given last year. Mr Blair's presence before the committee brought out the usual coalition of Islamists, Trots, and Guardian readers, all of whom expressed their disgust at Mr Blair's belated remorse for the war.

Many people felt Mr Blair did not do enough when he first gave evidence to get across how sorry he was for Iraq. Some people want a full and frank apology for his role in the conflict, citing the thousands of Iraqis who 'unnecessarily' died as a result of his actions. Others go further and demand Mr Blair's indictment before the International Criminal Court for war crimes.

One such individual is the former Respect MP, George Galloway. Mr Galloway has consistently opposed the war in Iraq. This is perhaps unsurprising given his previous support for Sadaam Hussein - on one visit to Baghdad Mr Galloway told Sadaam that he 'saluted' his 'strength, courage and indefatigability'.

I'm sure many Iraqis would agree with the description of Sadaam as 'indefatigable'. He was a man who reigned over his people for over 20 years and never for a moment relaxed his repressive grasp on power. Moreover, he led a brutal regime in its persecution of Shi'a Muslims and Kurdish minorities. During the Al-Anfal campaign against the Kurds, Sadaam's Government murdered over 180,000 people. Sadaam's victims could pay testament to his indefatigability.

This brings me back to the issue of Mr Blair and his regret for the Iraq war. Should it ever be necessary to regret the overthrow of a fascist, genocidal maniac? There should be a distinction here between the means and the end. Obviously everyone regrets the number of people who died in order to effect regime change in Iraq. Thousands of innocent people were killed as a result of poor planning on behalf of coalition forces; thousands more as a result of poor implementation. Those mistakes should never be forgotten and should always be regretted. However, how can anyone regret the forcing out of one of the world's most repressive, vile dictators?

Not many Guardian columnists stood up to oppose Mr Blair's interventions in Sierra Leone and Kosovo, where British forces saved the lives of thousands of people. So why the difference with Iraq? Surely Sierra Leone and Yugoslavia were sovereign states too? Why should the Iraqi people deserve less protection from genocidal rulers than people in those countries? These are all questions neither Mr Galloway nor Guardian leader writers would be able to answer.

When Mr Galloway appeared on Question Time last week, one of his fellow panellists was the Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes, who most people now acknowledge to be the slipperiest man in British politics. Mr Hughes was asked the question I posed a few paragraphs above, namely why we should regret the overthrow of a brutal dictator. His reply was that we shouldn't, but only where that overthrow has been sanctioned by international law. This was a response utterly devoid of thought.

Anyone who has ever stumbled across international law will know that it doesn't really work. Jurisprudential scholars agree that in order for something to be a law, it must be clear and socially effective. Neither of these things can be said about international law. Where is my proof? Firstly, no-one really knows whether it was necessary to obtain a second UN resolution before invading Iraq. Lawyers of the most senior stature disagree. Therefore, it can hardly be said that international law is clear. Secondly, the UN Security Council system allows any one of five (yes five) countries to veto military action. These countries include China and Russia, neither of whom are exactly beacons of tolerance, democracy and freedom. As a result, there is a very real chance that intervention in countries where there has been genocide or crimes against humanity will fall foul of international law. This being the case, how can it be said that international law is socially effective?

If you were to take Mr Hughes' view through to its logical conclusion, the international community could be faced with a situation where it is illegal to take action against states who perpetually murder and violate the dignity of their people. I'm not too keen on this. In my view, whenever a country has the economic and military means to effect regime change in countries that follow such a course of conduct, it should do so, 'legally' or 'illegally'. International law did not serve the people of Iraq, Rwanda or Bosnia that well.

So in conclusion, it is right that Mr Blair should have regrets about the Iraq war. However, those regrets should be about the planning and implementation of the campaign. They should never be about the outcome of the war: the overthrow of a menacing, vile, murderous dictator. The day that civilised people demand such regrets is the day we lose all sense of morality and principle.