Chilcot report on Iraq War is released, stops short of saying Blair lied

LONDON — The long-awaited report on Britain's role in the Iraq War released Wednesday stopped short of accusing then-Prime Minister Tony Blair of lying, reserving its strongest criticism for U.K. intelligence agencies.

The Iraq Inquiry — also known as the Chilcot report — was launched in 2009 to look at what lessons Britain could learn from its involvement in the Iraq War. After seven years, it was released on Wednesday.

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It criticized the British government for misrepresenting the "severity of the threat posed" by Saddam Hussein, but put blame for its Iraq policy on "flawed intelligence" that "should have been" challenged.

U.K. intelligence agencies did not make clear to Blair that they hadn't established "beyond doubt" that Saddam had chemical weapons, the report found.

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Blair's "certainty" about Saddam's alleged weapons of mass destruction did not match the realities of Iraqi capabilities, according to the report.

The report noted it was "not questioning Mr. Blair's belief" that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction but rather that "the firmness of those beliefs" went against the "underlying uncertainties."

On the matter of Britain's role in post-invasion Iraq, the report was far more damning.

"Blair told the inquiry that the difficulties encountered in Iraq after the invasion could not have been known in advance. We do not agree," it said.

In a press conference, Chilcot said "the consequences of the invasion were underestimated" and the planning and preparations for Iraq had been "wholly inadequate."

"The U.K. chose to join the invasion of Iraq before the peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted," Chilcot noted. "Military action at that time was not a last resort."

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Ultimately the Iraq war ended "a very long way from success" and in humiliating fashion for Britain — "an intervention which went badly wrong, with consequences to this day," according to the report.

The Iraq war has been a sore point for lawmakers and the British public after it was revealed that some of the intelligence the government used to justify its involvement was wrong.

Blair said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction that could be launched in 45 minutes — claims that were unfounded according to United Nations weapons inspectors.

While the report did not judge whether military action against Iraq was legal, it did set out recommendations for any future engagements.

It said that going forward "all aspects... need to be calculated, debated and challenged with the utmost rigor" before Britain goes to war.

How hard the "Chilcot" Report — an homage to the inquiry's chair Sir John Chilcot — came down on Blair was of intense interest in a country grappling with anti-establishment anger and political uncertainty.

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Its findings are unlikely to satisfy critics of Blair, who allege he lied about what he knew to lead Britain into war — allegations he has denied — and have gone so far as to suggest he be convicted of war crimes.

Nor is its criticism of flaws in Britain's military preparation and equipment expected to fully satisfy the families of the 179 British servicemen and women who died in the conflict.

Controversy around the inquiry grew as the lengthy process dragged on. It initially was meant to take one year but instead took seven, and ended up costing the taxpayer around £10,375,000 ($13.56 million).

Its repeated delays drew criticism from all sides. One of the inquiry's committee members died during the lengthy process.

The final publication was 12 volumes long and ran for around 2.6 million words — around 33 times longer than the first "Harry Potter" novel.