Oborne on Iraq: 'domestically divisive'
Updated on 19 March 2008
Was it worth it? Peter Oborne gives his verdict on the legacy of the Iraq war, as part of our series of viewpoints from social and political voices.
Watch Oborne give his verdict
Read a transcript of Oborne's verdict
"The Iraq war was one of the biggest strategic miscalculations in all of British history. It's also been a humanitarian calamity. It's caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people. It's done enormous damage to the interests of the democratic West.
"It's fabulously good news for Iran - empowered what George W Bush regards as the great enemy of America. I don't suppose it occurred to him when he went in that that's what it was going to do but that's been a massive effect.
"And domestically it's been so divisive: it's destroyed trust in the British government. The British government lied their way into the war and now they're lying their way out of it by pretending that Basra has been success.
"Rather than exporting liberal democracy to the Middle East as we pretended we were doing, we have actually ended up importing terrorism to the streets of London. There is nothing good to be said about the Iraq war."
More voices
To see all the voices - including General Sir Mike Jackson, George Galloway, Tony Benn and Inayat Bunglawala - give their verdict on the legacy of the Iraq war, click on the image below. Click on the image below
