John Chilcot report on Invasion of Iraq war in 2003 by United Kingdom

The findings of the 2.6 million-word Iraq Inquiry — seven years in the making — were recently released by probe chairman John Chilcot in London. 

Details:

• The official inquiry delivered a devastating indictment of Britain’s decision to invade Iraq, finding that the war was based on flawed intelligence and had been launched before diplomatic options were exhausted. 
• The probe chairman has said that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein posed “no imminent threat” when the U.S-led invasion was launched in March 2003, and that while military action against him “might have been necessary at some point,” the “strategy of containment” could have continued for some time. 

Key findings in the long-delayed report included:

• The case for war was presented with "a certainty which was not justified";
•  It was based on "flawed" intelligence about the country's supposed weapons of mass destruction (WMD) which was not challenged as it should have been;
• The use of force to remove dictator Saddam Hussein was undertaken at a time when he posed "no imminent threat" and in a way which undermined the authority of the United Nations Security Council;
• Planning for post-conflict Iraq was "wholly inadequate", with shortfalls in armoured vehicles to protect UK troops which "should not have been tolerated"