ISIL artifact of Iraq invasion: David Miliband

ISIL artifact of Iraq invasion: David Miliband

Britain’s former foreign secretary David Miliband

Sun Aug 10, 2014 1:4PM GMT

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The 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States and the UK has led to the rise of Takfiri militant group ISIL in the country, Britain’s former foreign secretary David Miliband admits.

Expressing regret over the UK’s involvement in the war, Miliband told the Observer on Saturday that the outcome of the Iraq war after almost a decade “induces a high degree of humility.”

“It's clearly the case that the invasion of Iraq, or more importantly what happened afterwards, is a significant factor in understanding the current situation in the country,” he said.

Asked whether the conflict had led him to regret voting in support of the Iraq war, Miliband said he regrets it because he made the decision “on the basis of upholding the norms of respect to weapons of mass destruction, and there were none.”

The former minister urged British authorities to accept the responsibility for the Iraq war, saying that the consequences of the war have left the public in Britain and the US unwilling to support any military intervention in other parts of the world.

Miliband’s remarks, however, contrast with those offered by Britain’s former prime minister Tony Blair, who dismissed as "bizarre" the view that the war had led to the development of terrorist groups such as the ISIL in the country.

UK forces participated in the US-led invasion of Iraq in a blatant violation of international law in 2003 under the pretext that the regime of Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. No such weapons were ever discovered in Iraq.

The crisis in Iraq escalated after the ISIL Takfiri militants took control of Mosul, in a lightning advance on June 10, which was followed by the fall of Tikrit, located 140 kilometers (87 miles) northwest of the capital Baghdad.

The ISIL has vowed to continue its raid towards the capital. The United Nations said more than a million people have been displaced in Iraq so far this year.

MOS/AB/SL

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/08/10/374784/usuk-iraq-invasion-led-to-isil-rise/