John Chilcot Quotes

We have found that the Ministry of Defence was slow in responding to the threat of improvised explosive devices and that delays in providing adequate medium-weight protected patrol vehicles should not have been tolerated.

- John Chilcot

We have concluded that the U.K. chose to join the invasion of Iraq before the peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted. Military action at that time was not a last resort.

- John Chilcot

The judgements about the severity of the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of a mass destruction - WMD - were presented with a certainty that was not justified.

- John Chilcot

The U.K.'s relationship with the U.S. has proved strong enough over time to bear the weight of honest disagreement. It does not require unconditional support where our interests or judgements differ.

- John Chilcot

The people of Iraq have suffered greatly.

- John Chilcot

Blair overestimated his ability to influence U.S. decisions on Iraq.

- John Chilcot

We are not a court - not a judge or jury at work - but we've tried to apply the highest possible standards of rigorous analysis to the evidence where we make a criticism.

- John Chilcot

We do not agree that hindsight is required. The risks of internal strife in Iraq, active Iranian pursuit of its interests, regional instability, and al-Qaeda activity in Iraq, were each explicitly identified before the invasion.

- John Chilcot

Saddam Hussein was undoubtedly a brutal dictator who had attacked Iraq's neighbours, repressed and killed many of his own people, and was in violation of obligations imposed by the U.N. Security Council.

- John Chilcot

Planning and preparations for Iraq after Saddam Hussein were wholly inadequate.

- John Chilcot

Despite explicit warnings, the consequences of the invasion were underestimated.

- John Chilcot

The U.K. military role in Iraq ended a very long way from success.

- John Chilcot

In practice, the U.K.'s most consistent strategic objective in relation to Iraq was to reduce the level of its deployed forces.

- John Chilcot

The scale of the U.K. effort in post-conflict Iraq never matched the scale of the challenge.

- John Chilcot