On Tuesday British Prime Minister Tony Blair narrowly survived a
vote in the House of Commons tabled by nationalist parties
demanding an immediate investigation into the Iraq war.
Lawmakers rejected by 298 votes to 273 - a majority of 25 - a
motion put forward by the minority Scottish and Welsh nationalist
parties demanding a probe into the handling of the Iraq war and its
aftermath by a committee of senior MPs.
Blair has resisted calls for an inquiry saying it would be a
betrayal of the troops in action in Iraq.
In a heated debate ahead of the vote British Foreign Secretary
Margaret Beckett warned that it was "not the time" for an inquiry
into Iraq as such a move would send the wrong signals to insurgents
and undermine the morale of UK troops.
She urged MPs to remember that "our words ... will be heard a
very long way away. They can be heard by our troops who are already
in great danger in Iraq".
Beckett declined calls for a commitment to hold an inquiry once
British troops had left Iraq.
"It's perfectly sensible and legitimate to say that there will
come a time when these issues will be explored in the round and in
full so that we can learn whatever lessons we can from them,"
Beckett said.
Britain has 7,200 troops in southern Iraq most of them in the
Basra area and about 800 in Maysan province. The death toll of
British troops in Iraq has risen to 120 since March 2003.
(Xinhua News Agency November 1, 2006)