Lessons must be learnt from Iraq war: Cameron

Cameron was addressing the House of Commons after the release of an official inquiry by John Chilcot earlier on Wednesday into the bloody and controversial conflict to remove Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

“There are some lessons that we do need to learn and frankly keep on learning. Taking the country to war should always be a last resort, and should only be done if all credible alternatives have been exhausted,” Cameron told MPs as he announced a two-day parliamentary debate next week on the report’s findings. 

 In reference to Tony Blair, who was prime minister during the war and who has been severely rebuked in the report, Cameron admitted the Labour leader had given commitments to then US President George W Bush that were not discussed openly in Cabinet.

“However, at no stage does he (Chilcot) explicitly say that there was a deliberate attempt to mislead people,” Cameron notes. He also warned, “It is wrong to conclude that we should not stand with US allies when our common interest is threatened. Britain has no greater friend or ally in the world than US”.