WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, former UK civil servant Sir John Chilcot released a report on the United Kingdom’s role in the Iraq war. The report concluded that London’s decision to join the war was based on flawed intelligence data and assessments.
"The Chilcot report is all about the rush to war when you don’t have a comprehensive plan," Batiste stated on Wednesday. "We bought the Iraq war hook, line and sinker."
In April 2006, Batiste was one of six retired US generals who publicly criticized then US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's handling of the Iraq war, and called for his resignation.
"We were on the Bus to Abilene, so to speak."
The "Bus to Abilene" refers to "groupthink" and is a common frame of reference in the US Army, indicating caution.
Chilcot headed the committee that examined the case for war presented by then-UK Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government. Blair claimed the 2003 conflict was necessary to prevent the development of weapons of mass destruction by then-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
The Chilcot report is 12 volumes long and took seven years to complete.
