My post re Iraq War on Chris Ames's thread Guardian Comment is Free 13/1/09

No, Councillor, I disagree.

Goldsmith, as a senior lawyer, should have resigned rather than be leaned on to change his legal advice, not just once but twice and thereby legitimise (albeit tenuously) Blair's war and by proxy America's war. Goldsmith must have known that his legal advice, in the absence of a new United Nations resolution, would be used by Blair and others to convince Sir Michael Boyce, the Cabinet, Parliament and the British people that the proposed war was legal. The point is that Blair knew all along that there were no were no weapons of mass destruction and that there was no imminent threat to the United Kingdom - so, he knew that the self-defence argument was false, and that that argument was required in the absence of a new United Nations resolution. So, whether or not the Intelligence was "sexed-up"/concocted was crucially a distraction from the most important issue of whether or not Goldsmith's legal advice was "sexed-up"/concocted. You see, agressive war on a sovereign state is "the supreme international war crime" according to the Geneva Conventions, and additionally a war not authorised by a Security Council resolution is illegal according to the United Nations Charter. So, Blair needed all the legal cover he could obtain. The allegation is that Goldsmith tailored his legal advice to allow Blair and America to go to illegal war. There is little doubt that Goldsmith, unsuccessfully in my view, legitimised Blair's war, and of course there is no doubt that Blair was used by Bush et al. to legitimise America's war in the eyes of a sceptical American public.

Goldsmith should have resigned - that would have been the end of America's plans to invade Iraq. Arguably, Goldsmith was the most culpable of all through his weakness, and that is being generous, but Blair and others conspired with others to wage illegal war on Iraq with America (and Australia, Denmark and Poland).

There are surely serious criminal charges to be answered in this shameful tale? And, it was all done in your name and my name and in the name of every British and American (and Australian, Danish and Polish) citizen.