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Nearly nine years after it was first commissioned, the into Britain's role in the 2003 Iraq war confirmed what most people already knew - Blair lied. Released on 6th July 2016, the report was a blistering shake down of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's decision to take the UK to war, terming the decision "not a last resort to war".

However, Blair's war against the Iraqi population dates back to years before he misled the international community over the invasion of Iraq. After Saddam's , brutal sanctions were imposed in Iraq that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of children - an embargo Blair supported from the day took power.

Post-First Gulf War sanctions

Four days after Iraq's infamous invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, an almost complete embargo was placed on the country's financial activities; the chief architects being the US and UK governments. The sanctions which continued until Saddam's toppling in May 2003, had by all accounts, a devastating impact on the Iraqi population.

In the immediate aftermath of the Gulf War, infant mortality rates skyrocketed. For children under five, the following the end of the war rose a staggering 15 percent. "Even in cases of extreme economic decline, such as the Great Depression in the United States, there was no increase in the rate of mortality," said Richard Garfield, Professor Emeritus at Columbia University, in his widely discussed study on the health impacts following sanctions on Iraq.

He adds that such an increase was not witnessed even during the Great World Wars (when mortality decreased) unless a child was caught directly in the line of fire. While Garfield expected that after five or six years the mortality rate in Iraq would decrease, there was a "sustainable increase" which he termed as "remarkable".

Since the war had left the country's civilian infrastructure in tatters, public services such as health care facilities suffered the greatest impact. Diseases such as Typhoid and Cholera, that were almost under control before the war, "reappeared at epidemic levels", it .

If even to only advance the case for war, Blair too argued that one of its benefits would be the lifting of sanctions

Income levels also dropped drastically - in 1985 professional was $200, whereas in 1995, it was merely $3; and according to scholars Karen Dabrowska and Geoff Hann, this was only enough to buy "two chickens, one tube of lipstick, four mars bars or ten postcards".

The suffering of the Iraqi people would be exacerbated as the US and UK the nation in the aftermath of the conflict without an official declaration of war; citing noncooperation with UN weapons inspectors and stockpiling alleged Weapons of Mass Destruction, which we now know did not exist.

In 1998, The United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, Dennis Halliday, his disgust at the initiative stating that "We are in the process of destroying an entire society. It is as simple and terrifying as that." In an John Pilger, Halliday unwaveringly said his job was "to implement a policy that satisfies the definition of genocide".

To this catastrophe, Blair had fully committed himself. He described aircrafts bombing Iraqi civilians in the late 90s and early 2000s as "performing vital humanitarian tasks". For Blair, the sanctions were justified due to Saddam's non-compliance throughout the 90s, stemming from demands placed on him since his 1991 decision to occupy Kuwait.

While Blair made claims the sanctions were not responsible for the death of thousands of Iraqi children and others, UN humanitarian coordinator in Iraq from 1998 to 2000 Hans von Sponeck Blair was "scared of the facts".

Sponeck, in an , revealed that the US and UK government wrote to the Security Council pressuring them to reject any testimony by him and Halliday (Sponeck's predecessor) that might describe the sheer misery the sanctions had wrought upon the civilian population in Iraq.

'We are in the process of destroying an entire society. It is as simple and terrifying as that.' - Dennis Halliday, United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Iraq

If even to only advance the case for war, Blair too  that one of its benefits would be the lifting of sanctions.

Arguably, the parallels between Saddam's aggression and Blair's invasion are hard to overlook - the war on Iraq was a choice (the Chilcot report settles at least that much). Yet it is tough to imagine that any western nation such as the UK would be subjected to the sanctions imposed on Iraq, or be made to pay reparations for its actions, as the Iraqi government did for years.

In light of the report, former Prime Minister David Cameron to even state whether it was "wrong" or "simply" a mistake. The government as it stands today, forcing its policies on its own people, is unlikely to recompense others.

Justice denied

After being subjected to the most comprehensive sanctions in modern times, the invasion sealed Iraq's incessant political, economic and social devastation for the next 13 years, with no end in sight.

While Blair may argue that sanctions were in place before he became PM, he cannot escape the blame for the invasion; directly responsible for the nihilistic violence the country has been plunged into today.

Blair too, to an extent, has admitted as much. It is therefore perfectly understandable that many feel the Chilcot inquiry falls short, giving no recommendation that Blair should stand trial for war crimes.

Adding insult to injury, Blair has steadily become (as reported this month) over the time since he took on the role of PM nearly 20 years ago. Blair is adamant that the world is better off without Saddam, yet part of his wealth and allure stems from his lucrative contracts and relationships with some of the most despotic regimes in the world.

Meanwhile, for over 25 years now, Iraqis have been forced into a cycle of , , prostitution and debilitating terrorist attacks, that leave them searching for the remains of their loved ones - all the while Blair agonises over which war to push at next, at great cost to anyone but himself.



Usaid Siddiqui is a Canadian freelance writer. He has written for PolicyMic, Aslan Media, Al Jazeera America and Mondoweiss on current affairs. Follow him on Twitter: 

Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of °®Âþµº, its editorial board or staff.