http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/2675598/Archbishop-of-Canterburys-war-rant-mars-troops-tribute.html

A disgrace, Your Grace

By TOM NEWTON DUNN Defence Editor and MARTIN PHILLIPS Senior Feature Writer Published: 10 Oct 2009

THE Archbishop of Canterbury yesterday hijacked a service honouring the sacrifice of British troops in Iraq - to spout an anti-war rant.
The Queen, 11 other Royals, and former PM Tony Blair and wife Cherie sat in stony silence as Dr Rowan Williams began a ten-minute tirade in St Paul's Cathedral.


Hundreds of stunned troops - many injured in the conflict - looked on alongside families of colleagues who died, as the Archbishop questioned whether the invasion was "the right thing to do".


In an astonishing breach of convention, he then accused politicians of failing to think enough about the war's human cost.


Speaking from the pulpit of St Paul's, Dr Williams said: "It would be a very rash person who would feel able to say without hesitation, this was absolutely the right or the wrong thing to do, the right or the wrong place to be.


"The conflict in Iraq will, for a long time yet, exercise the historians, the moralists, the international experts.


"Reflecting on the years of the Iraq campaign, we cannot say that no mistakes were ever made."


In what appeared to be a direct attack on Mr Blair, he went on: "When such conflict appeared on the horizon, there were those among both policy makers and commentators who were able to talk about it without really measuring the price, the cost of justice.


"Perhaps we have learnt something, if only that there is a time to keep silence, a time to let go of the satisfyingly overblown language that is so tempting to human beings when war is in the air."


Mr Blair and Cherie were seen leaving the cathedral with faces like thunder. PM Gordon Brown and top brass appeared angry too. The service was held to mark the end of combat in Iraq last April with tributes to the 120,000 servicemen and women who fought to liberate and pacify the country in Operation Telic.


The six-year mission left 179 Brit heroes dead. The archbishop's attack was slammed last night as "utterly inappropriate" and a slur on the memory of the fallen. There were calls for him to resign.


One senior officer said: "It was wrong. None of us came here today to discuss politics. Some people will agree with his views, that's fine, but it was the wrong time to express them. The man has caused offence and should resign."


The President of Iraq, Jalal Talabani, who came to the UK for the service, dismissed Dr Williams' rant and heaped praise on British troops - saying: "My words cannot convey the great debt and gratitude of the Iraqi people to those men and women who joined in the liberating of Iraq."


Phil Cooper, 50, whose son Private Jamie Cooper was 18 when he suffered horrific injuries in a mortar attack, said: "No one went there to hear a political agenda - they went to honour the sacrifices of brave men and women. It was the wrong time and the wrong place."


Sue Smith, 48, of Staffordshire, lost her son Private Phillip Hewitt, 21, in a roadside bomb. She said: "The archbishop should have got off his soap box. That service was to commemorate Our Boys and say 'thank you' to their families."


War widow Karen Clarke, 42, of South Wales, who lost her husband Ken, 39, said: "People don't go to those services to hear political opinions. It's to honour those who died."


But Mr Blair faced even more criticism and embarrassment at a reception in London's Guildhall after the service. He approached Peter Brierley, whose son Lance Corporal Shaun Brierley, 28, died in Iraq.
The PM offered his hand. But Mr Brierley told him: "I'm not shaking your hand, you've got blood on it."


A shocked Mr Blair was ushered away. But for most, the service was solely about remembering loved ones. Widow Donna Barber, 23, whose husband Craig was shot dead in Basra, read out a prayer for all the fallen. She said afterwards: "I was thinking about Craig. I didn't give any thought to the politics."


The service was a time to honour the fallen and to start to rebuild the lives broken by the war. Mothers and fathers, wives, sons and daughters wore the medals of their dead loved ones with immense pride.


Veterans, some in wheelchairs, some with walking sticks, bore their wounds with honour. Privates stood with equal distinction near generals, seamen alongside captains and airmen beside wing commanders.


The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh took pride of place, with other royals including Prince Charles, the Princess Royal and Prince William.

Mr Brown was with wife Sarah, sitting near Tory leader David Cameron and his new adviser, former Army chief General Sir Richard Dannatt.


Centrepiece of the service was the marble stone from the Basra Memorial Wall, built by troops outside their HQ to honour the dead. The wall is now being rebuilt at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire - just as Iraq is being rebuilt, thanks to the efforts of British servicemen and women.


Broken lives may take longer to rebuild. But while the wisdom of the war may be argued over, the heroism of those who fought it, and those who died, cannot be doubted.



Yesterday was a time to remember and to honour them.