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LONDON, UK — The Iraq issue continues to play a prominent and sometimes poisonous role in British politics fourteen years after the invasion of the country and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.
Karwan Jamal Tahir, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) High Representative to the UK joined senior members of the Royal Family, UK ministers, diplomats, and families of those who lost their loved ones in Iraq and Afghanistan at the unveiling in London this week of a Memorial by Her Majesty the Queen. Tahir met senior officials, former Prime Ministers Sir John Major and Tony Blair, Prince Charles, Prince Harry, and many men and women who served in Iraq.
“The formal ceremony to mark the contribution of British service personnel and others in Iraq and Afghanistan was an opportunity for me as the representative in this country of the Kurds in Iraq to add the profound thanks of the people of Kurdistan Region of Iraq," said Tahir.
“It was a privilege to salute the contribution of the British in Kurdistan and Iraq and to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the cause of freedom. I was also deeply heartened to be told by so many senior figures that they appreciate the bravery of our Peshmerga in resisting Daesh. One said we will work together with the Peshmerga to get rid of Daesh,” he added, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS.
The KRG High Representative also discussed matters with former Prime Ministers Sir John Major and Tony Blair, and reiterated the people of Kurdistan Region and its Government’s absolute appreciation to them as they are considered heroes in the Kurdistan Region. "The no fly zone in 1991 and the liberation of Iraq in 2003 definitely saved the Kurds from further genocide at the hands of Saddam's fascist regime."
However, many politicians continue to criticise the invasion. Last week, for instance, London MP Chuka Umunna, a senior figure in the Labour Party and a potential successor to Jeremy Corbyn, argued that "the unrealised domestic ambitions of Labour in office combined with the misguided and utterly disastrous war in Iraq has left a profound rage in parts of the Labour family."
That the KRG High Representative and the Iraq Ambassador to the UK were given prominence in the ceremony to mark the British contribution in Iraq and Kurdistan should weigh in the balance for those parts of British public opinion that condemn the invasion of Iraq.
Separately, Labour's Momentum faction, which supports the current Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn, recently ran a slate for the local party committee in the seaside town of Hove. A successful candidate was Iraqi-British citizen, Riad el Taher who was convicted and jailed for breaching UN sanctions after admitting payments of half a million dollars in 2001.
Taher told party members that he has been "an active campaigner on issues to do with the Middle East and strongly believes that human rights should be central to an ethical foreign policy."
The Judge who convicted him in 2011 told Taher, "It seems to me that your primary motive was financial." Taher has since been expelled from the Labour Party.
Ivor Caplin, the former Labour MP for Hove and a Defence Minister following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, said "at no time did Mr. Riad tell either officials or local members of his serious conviction. There is no place for his lack of integrity by not informing people. I am pleased that this matter has been dealt with swiftly by the Labour Party and that he has been properly expelled from membership."
Karwan Jamal Tahir, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) High Representative to the UK joined senior members of the Royal Family, UK ministers, diplomats, and families of those who lost their loved ones in Iraq and Afghanistan at the unveiling in London this week of a Memorial by Her Majesty the Queen. Tahir met senior officials, former Prime Ministers Sir John Major and Tony Blair, Prince Charles, Prince Harry, and many men and women who served in Iraq.
“The formal ceremony to mark the contribution of British service personnel and others in Iraq and Afghanistan was an opportunity for me as the representative in this country of the Kurds in Iraq to add the profound thanks of the people of Kurdistan Region of Iraq," said Tahir.
“It was a privilege to salute the contribution of the British in Kurdistan and Iraq and to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the cause of freedom. I was also deeply heartened to be told by so many senior figures that they appreciate the bravery of our Peshmerga in resisting Daesh. One said we will work together with the Peshmerga to get rid of Daesh,” he added, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS.
The KRG High Representative also discussed matters with former Prime Ministers Sir John Major and Tony Blair, and reiterated the people of Kurdistan Region and its Government’s absolute appreciation to them as they are considered heroes in the Kurdistan Region. "The no fly zone in 1991 and the liberation of Iraq in 2003 definitely saved the Kurds from further genocide at the hands of Saddam's fascist regime."
However, many politicians continue to criticise the invasion. Last week, for instance, London MP Chuka Umunna, a senior figure in the Labour Party and a potential successor to Jeremy Corbyn, argued that "the unrealised domestic ambitions of Labour in office combined with the misguided and utterly disastrous war in Iraq has left a profound rage in parts of the Labour family."
That the KRG High Representative and the Iraq Ambassador to the UK were given prominence in the ceremony to mark the British contribution in Iraq and Kurdistan should weigh in the balance for those parts of British public opinion that condemn the invasion of Iraq.
Separately, Labour's Momentum faction, which supports the current Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn, recently ran a slate for the local party committee in the seaside town of Hove. A successful candidate was Iraqi-British citizen, Riad el Taher who was convicted and jailed for breaching UN sanctions after admitting payments of half a million dollars in 2001.
Taher told party members that he has been "an active campaigner on issues to do with the Middle East and strongly believes that human rights should be central to an ethical foreign policy."
The Judge who convicted him in 2011 told Taher, "It seems to me that your primary motive was financial." Taher has since been expelled from the Labour Party.
Ivor Caplin, the former Labour MP for Hove and a Defence Minister following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, said "at no time did Mr. Riad tell either officials or local members of his serious conviction. There is no place for his lack of integrity by not informing people. I am pleased that this matter has been dealt with swiftly by the Labour Party and that he has been properly expelled from membership."
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