Chilcot report: Australia should learn from but not seek to replicate British inquiry, experts say

Updated

A British inquiry into the Iraq war holds lessons for Australia but there is no need to conduct a similar inquiry here, experts say.

Key points: Former Army chief says there is a need for discussion about Australia's relationship with its senior allies

Report should trigger thought about how Australia makes decisions to go to war, academic says

Chief of operations says he has no regrets, war should not be blamed for current Iraq woes

The Australian Army chief at the time of the Iraq War, Peter Leahy, said Australia does not need to replicate the Chilcot inquiry, which was handed down yesterday after seven years of investigations.

A review in 2004 concluded Australia relied on flawed advice when it decided to join the Iraq War, which Mr Leahy said is the same view reached by the Chilcot inquiry.

But he said a broader discussion was needed in Australia about how the decision to go to war is made and about its relationship with its senior allies.

Sorry, this video has expired Video: Sir John Chilcot delivers his report (ABC News)

"We also need to be careful of blindly going along with our senior strategic partners and I think as we look at other issues that are afoot at the moment, there are some thoughts to be given there — what decisions are we making?

"Let's have a discussion, not an inquiry, around our relationship with the United States, how we decide to go to war and very importantly how we decide every day when we are at war to stay at war."

Australian Major General Jim Molan, who was chief of operations for the multi-national force in 2004 and 2005, said he had no regrets about the decision to go to war and it could not be blamed for current problems in the region.

"We went through a period of time of Al Qaeda, et cetera, but we also went through the Arab Spring, through the Syrian civil war, through the US withdrawal of all their troops in 2011 and Prime Minister Maliki," he said.

"I think there is enough blame to go around to a lot of people."

But Australian National University academic Professor Don Rothwell said Australia could learn from the Chilcot report, saying a critical issue for both Britain and Australia was the quality of intelligence used in the decision to go to war.

"No matter what processes are put in place, unless the intelligence that is being relied upon to commit troops in these decisions can be fully and adequately and comprehensively probed and inquired into and tested, there's always going to be some doubt about the decision-making processes," Professor Rothwell said.

"I would at least hope that this finding of the Chilcot inquiry in terms of the defects in the processes that the UK government encountered, which as I said are broadly similar to some of the critiques that have been made about the processes in Australia, might bring about some introspection in Australia also."

British PM apologises, Bishop says up to Howard to respond

The British inquiry into the Iraq War strongly criticised former prime minister Tony Blair and his government, saying they led the country into war based on flawed intelligence that should have been challenged.

The long-awaited inquiry report also said Britain had joined the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 without exhausting peaceful options, that the legal basis for military action was not satisfactory, and that the planning was wholly inadequate.

Mr Blair addressed the media in the hours after the report was released yesterday, expressing sorrow for the lives lost in the war but defending his government's decision.

Sorry, this video has expired Video: Tony Blair accepts responsibility for Iraq decision (ABC News)

Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said it was up to former prime minister John Howard to decide whether to apologise for Australia's involvement in the war.

"That's a matter for former prime minister, John Howard. But the Australian Government, both Labor and Liberal, the Australian Government — the Australian Parliament would take responsibility," she told Channel Seven.

"[The decision] was based on information, the best information that we had at the time. I was in the party room. I recall very well the information that was presented to us.

"It was the best information that was available. And we took a decision at the time. Of course the Government takes responsibility for the decisions the Government makes."

Published seven years after the inquiry was set up, the Chilcot report runs to 2.6 million words and includes details of exchanges Mr Blair had with then US president George W Bush over the invasion.

"It is now clear that policy on Iraq was made on the basis of flawed intelligence and assessments. They were not challenged and they should have been," the head of the inquiry, Sir John Chilcot, said in presenting its findings.

Iraq remains in chaos to this day.

Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, australia, iraq, united-kingdom, united-states

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