The amendment calls upon the president along with the defense secretary and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who shall have to put down their stamp of approval to certify that this new policy gains ground with the military standards of readiness, Unit cohesion, military recruitment and finally the retention. “Such an approach recognizes the critical need to allow our military and their families the full opportunity to inform and shape the implementation process through a thorough understanding of their concerns, insights and suggestions,” he wrote. Senate aides working on the matter said the amendment would be offered later this week on the National Defense Authorization Act, which is now in the Armed Forces Committee. They said they were optimistic that they would have sufficient support.

Gay rights activists are frustrated with the working pace of repeal effort and the lack of progress on all other items considered on the agenda. However they supported and were elated at the Monday’s development and considers this to be “a big step forward. “We are on the brink of historic action to both strengthen our military and respect the service of lesbian and gay troops,” said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign. If sponsors succeed in attaching the provision to the bill in committee, aides said, it would require 60 votes to remove it during the full Senate debate, which is unlikely. “We are committed to repealing `Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ a policy that has forced thousands of gay men and women from serving openly in our Armed Forces,” said a statement Monday from Mr. Lieberman and Mr. Murphy. “It is our firm belief that it is time to repeal this discriminatory policy.” The Opponents of the gay rights were stiff against the whole thing. The Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said that the agreement was “a back room deal that disregards the views of our troops and uses the military to advance the political agenda of a radical special interest group.”

, finally an inquiry is being conducted to point out the severe wrong moves that were taken by the then UK prime minister Mr. Tony Blair. The reports and documents that were leaked on the “Sunday Telegraph” now poises as a threat to Mr.Blair, as several documents points the then government’s unusual appetite to mislead the public on the Iraq issue. Adding more salt to the already inflicted nation drenched by hypocrisy, the inquiry is going to be a public one instead of a private one.

The severe mishandling of the Iraq conflict have added a slew of thorns to the already dwindling reputation of Mr.Blair. Blair who had earlier urged prime minister Gordon Brown to hold the inquiry privately is surely now going through his darkest hours. Moreover, sources revealed that the military commanders are ready to disclose the treachery of the Blair government who heinously tries to blindfold the public on the whole issue. The fresh evidences that have emerged (thanks to the leaked reports), showcases “appalling” failure of the Blair government during the Iraq conflict. The leaked evidences shows how Blair misled the MPs by proclaiming that the main motto of the invasion was “disarmament and not regime change”, Confidential documents shows that the government tried to hide its actual intentions and motives by informing only “a few number of officials”. The documents that has been revealed are actually post-war reports and the “lessons learned” by the military commanders who were deployed to Iraq during the highly controversial invasion. The reports seemingly holds up the angst of the military officials who have described the operation as a “rushed” one which caused “significant risk” to the troops. The post war period has been reported as a “critical failure” from the government’s side.

According to the leaked documents, one of the commanders have reportedly said that “the government missed a golden opportunity to win over the Iraqis”. Another bereaved commander described his views on the supply chain by saying, “I know for a fact that there was one container full of skis in the desert.” It has also been reported that some troops were deployed to other neighboring countries of Iraq via civilian flights along with their equipments. Pen Knives, nail cutters and other utensils were seized from them.

The “lessons learned” report said, “Never again must we send ill-equipped soldiers to battle.” THe severe outrage amongst the soldiers and military officials clearly opens up the star gate of all the controversies, thereby cutting open the Blair government in two halves in front of the public eye. Blair’s secret mission to topple Saddam is visibly clear via the leaked reports and documents.

The Iraq conflict will remain as a scar for Mr.Blair during his stint as the prime minister of UK. The mishandling of the serious issue that led to a mass outrage amongst the public has proved to be quite a disturbing one for the Blair government. What was more heinous was keeping the public in darkness. The Chilcot inquiry might bring out all the unanswered legacy in front of the public. But that won’t bring the dead troops back to life, neither it can erase the black spot of the UK politics.

• Tony Blair to give public evidence on Iraq war (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Report: Leaked UK documents detail Iraq war chaos (seattletimes.nwsource.com)