Robin Cook's resignation speech over Iraq war

[MickB888888888888888]

Well said Robin, RIP. U were entirely right 2 resign. Sadam evil mass murderer that he was posed no threat 2 us & as such why did he need deposing where Iran who will soon have Nuclear Weapons r not judged 2 pose as serious a risk. it was not our place 2 depose him. Britian helped set up international laws against wars but ignored their purpose on this occasion. Im not a pacifist either as I believe the Afgan war is right & as corrupt as karzai is, we should leave Afgan better than we found it.

[wiseguysi]

Some of the fawning comments on here are slightly vomit inducing, almost making Cook out to be some kind of Martyr. He may have deserved a more favourable light if hadn't supported the sanctions placed on Iraq while Foreign Secretary or the interventions in Kosovo or Sierra Leone. Where his motives for resignation entirely pure? By this time he'd been demoted to the backbenches anyway, maybe if he'd made a stand while he actually had some power. I never heard an apology for his past actions.

[MegaLotusEater]

@wiseguysi Well said. Some of these obsequious comments have also made me regurgitate sputum. Cook cynically rode on the wave of populist fervour against war in Iraq. Given his belligerent track record, it is quite clear that ethics played no part in his decision making. By the way, he also shamelessly presided over the sale of arms to one of the worst mass murderers since Hitler: Suharto of Indonesia.

[13thLegio]

So few politicians put their conscience ahead of their career. Thank you Robin.

[wildangus999]

this guy was a first class idiot. chicken tika my ass. god save the queen long live sunday roast dinner

[panzramlad]

i think he was a NWO minion who had been sold the lie as virtuous and good, and then after many sins saw he had been conned by people with a sinister agenda. he spoke out and conveniently died. the enemy is ruthless people. false flag terrorism and war is their game. time is here to identify them b4 they strike again. 7/7 & 9/11 were perpetrated by these sinister elements who control your respective parliaments and congress. its the banking cartels people, they have an agenda. wakey wakey

[Dendiol]

The way in which Cook and David Kelly died so suspiciously due to their opposition to this illegal war is an utter disgrace. I want to see Bush and Blair standing trial in the Hague.

[MegaLotusEater]

This man was a fucking war criminal. Look at what he did in Kosovo. Disgusting.

[MickB888888888888888]

Wot bollocks, British forces took no life in Kosovo they were there to protect the innocent not invade or kill.

[MegaLotusEater]

@MickB888888888888888 Really? Nato's bombing escalated the humanitarian crisis and it was predicted that it would. They hit numerous civilian targets. Nato covered the place with cluster bombs which still lie unexploded and killed 100s of Kosovans after the war ended. And they've done nothing to prevent the oppression of the Kosovon Serbs by the Albanians after the war ended. This war was simply about bringing a recalcitrant country within the Western neoliberal orbit. It's called imperialism

[MegaLotusEater]

@MickB888888888888888 If New Labour really cared about protecting innocent people, why did it allow the selling arms to Soharto of Indonesia whilst he was butchering 1000s of Eastern Timorese? And why was it perpetuating the sanctions in Iraq which killed around 1,000,000, half of them children? Or supporting the Turks as they slaughtered 1000s of Kurds? Why did it bomb the Shifa pharmaceutical plant in Sudan leading to the death of 10,000s of innocent Sudanese from lack of medicine?

[MegaLotusEater]

@MickB888888888888888 As a matter of pure logic, you can conclude that Britain's foreign policies are not about helping people, and anyone who says otherwise is admitting that they're a hypocrite and a slave to power.

[WELLBRAN]

what a guy ...I did not like hm much till this speech and he went up in my opinion after that. RIP

[garrethdavis]

@stylianos75 It makes me sick

[garrethdavis]

And... They killed him

[blondieo80]

he was actually a good bloody politician,,, honesty got him murdered

[TheDirtyPaki]

He was forced to resign because he also was a whistleblower to the origins of Al Qaeda in which he said that "Al Qaeda" originally was a CIA database of all the Mujahideen fighters during the Soviet Afghan war, which is where the name "Al Qaeda" comes from meaning "the database".

Do a search for his article in guardian "The struggle against terrorism cannot be won by military means" Robin Cook 8 July 2005

[Kinkspace]

Very sad that a man that had worked his entire life to get into government felt so strongly over apparent anomalies of corruption regarding the Iraq invasion that he resigned. That would be enough to break any mans heart.

[yorkshire13579]

I wish the 'TV-watchers' whom the late Mr. Cook refers to could for one second stop getting high on what it is the mass media is drip-feeding them and open their eyes to the reality of the New World Order. They fail to comprehend or accept that our governments and leaders hate us and do not really have any of our interests at heart. It's so easy for them to label us as conspiracy 'nuts', but actually the 'nut' is the one who gets agitated when their mindset is challenged. Robin Cook, R.I.P.

[daveworley]

The comment regarding "who runs the country?" was a statement on the prevailing thought at the time that parliament's influence on government's decisions was waning. Cook was urging his fellow MPs to "restore" that power by defeating the government.

Fantastic speech, excellent politician; was sorely missed in the rest of the Labour administration.

[alphacodexx]

Bin Laden was, though, a product of a monumental miscalculation by western security agencies. Throughout the 80s he was armed by the CIA and funded by the Saudis to wage jihad against the Russian occupation of Afghanistan. Al-Qaida, literally "the database", was originally the computer file of the thousands of mujahideen who were recruited and trained with help from the CIA to defeat the Russians. " Robin Cook

[lac6480]

the central goverment which he means blair who listened to no else other that him self and his cronies...uk and us did sell weapons to iraq and the knew there wasnt any WMD in the country,,,cook knew that the death toll would be higher than the 1000s he just didnt have the heart to say it...he was right and he was just been honest he knew it was all lies...thats why doctor kelly took his own life,i dont think he was murdered he died of a heart attack and who would blame him

[corpbs1]

Where were the so-called dissdents when Cook took a stand . . the Austin Mitchell's, the beast of Bolsover, etc. . all out having lunch and preparing their memoirs? Cook exposed the difference between time-servers and action. Not enough supported him.

[GGTHSpur7]

I expected Robin Cook's Resignation speech to be the sole content of this video, as the title suggests, rather than said speech including a deluded commentary from a blind patriot...Nevertheless an excellent speech.

[tomsibub32]

he wasn't wrong, he said 'AT LEAST in the thousands' you tool

[pclose11]

Al Qaeda "is not really a terrorist group but a database of international mujaheddin and arms smugglers used by the CIA and Saudis to funnel guerrillas, arms, and money into Soviet-occupied Afghanistan." QUOTE BY ROBIN COOK

[mushroomagicman]

..and the rest is history.......shock and awe indeed...

[OzzyFan87]

Here is another subtitle for you. "Terrorists filmed themselves decapitating non combatants."

[AnthonydWalsh]

Crap subtitiles?? The brief information highlights one of the most important things he has to say......simples?? Obviously not for some :\ :(

[WeAreQPR]

Great speech, ruined by crap subtitles. Let Mr Cook speak for himself, we don't need your partisan commentary.

[redoler]

Silly yellow flash-on subtitles on this video.

Brilliant speech. Man of honour.

R.I.P. Robin Cook.

[GamerYetPolitical92]

Robin cook was a good honest politician more MPs need to be like him own up to problems and resign when necessary

conservative party member

[Smirdorf]

Did he died a natural death or was he murdered as they did with David Kelly?

Who is next to be killed? Sorry, I meant whi is next to just drop-off and die?

[tonester09]

First time ever that any MP has recieved a standing ovation, it simply isn't allowed. It's not America where everything is a drama, "WOOOOPING" and shouting "OH YEAAAA" and where they rise at the drop of an hat to add yet more drama. We will never see this again here.

[tonester09]

Great man!!

[aviomaster]

robin cook  is typical example of an alcocholic

[aviomaster]

tdp1909 --- IF you do not know what happened in Yugoslavia do not post anything ...

tdp1909 -- USA was humiliated in Gruzia August 2008 ... Ossetia and Abhazia independent states .... hahahahahahahaha Dumb ass .

Robin Cook you are scum bag , giving nice speaches , which are words for the people. mean nothing ...

[standinginnothing]

A man of principle. RIP

[freedomisnocrime]

he was a 100 % right

[alexmi6rider]

I miss Robin Cook, it's sad that he died at a time where events today echo his words

[aviomaster]

Is this Robin Cook the scum bag which was involved in bombing of Serbia 1999 .... Hey Anglo Saxon  scum why don't you attack Russian Federation ... They have huge stockpiles of Weapons of Mass Destruction ...

[tdp1909]

@aviomaster I think he was, but the man to blame for Serbia being bombed wasn't him - it was Milosevic & his brutal policies against his neighbours.

And regarding Russia, there's no need - they were humiliated enough by their own efforts in the Kosovo crisis...

[rushkagon]

The only terrorists on this planet are the Rothschilds Crime Cartel of International Banksters.

These crooks have led us into one war after another in defence of Israel and its New World Zionist Order.

They control the media, the govt, the banks, our schools and military junta.

All being conducted from the Vatican of course!

WHEN WILL THE SHEEPLE WAKE UP???????. NEVER.

[churkov]

It is in a democracy such as ours that such honourable men can speak against their own government without fear of torture and death. Granted, the government went against the will of the people, but the people can vote them out, unlike your Muslim despotic totalitarian regimes.

[rushkagon]

@churkov

Muslim despotic totalitarian regimes PUT IN PLACE BY THE ANGLO AMERICAN ROTHSCHILD BANKERS CRIME CARTEL!

Its is clear to most who dont buy BULLSHIT ZIONIST TV that Henry Kissinger and Zebigniew Brezinski modelled the entire 'Al Qaida' propaganda machine to further their TOTALITARIAN AGENDA for a NEW WORLD ORDER.

These are the war criminals we should be hanging for treason.

They did 911. INSIDE JOB.

They've propped up every dictator on this planet to serve US strategic interests.

[whitelance06]

Robin Cook sounds exactly like Alec Guiness, especially as Obi Wan Kenobi. How ironic that Kenobi once said "you can't win, but there are alternatives to fighting"

[tdp1909]

@whitelance06 Lol - definitely sounds like Obi Wan. Would that make Blair into Palpatine?

[batty28]

Excellent video, Cook knew what he was talking about when in came to this war. But the biased commentary by you on the bottom of the screen was sometimes plain wrong. Also by saying Parliament had no power anymore Cook was having a dig at Blair for running Britain more like a President that a Prime Minister.

[strive234]

good on him!

[partofthesoloution]

Integrity

[acousticnick91]

An excellent speech. We look back in hindsight and see Cook was right.

[PHONEYPOLITICS]

Robin Cook. David Kelly. Assassinated by the MI5 with Bliars nod. RIP.

[BlackBuckOne]

I totally agree with SuperCharleyFarley, Robin Cook was an honourable man and there few MP's you can say that about. It's such a great shame he is not around today to spill the beans to the Chilcot Inquiry on what a lying bastard Blair is.

Rest in peace, Robin, I will remember this speech until the day I die, you were my hero on that day.

[firbolg1963]

Robin Cook at the inquiry would have been somewhat difficult for the enobled placemen and woman of the comittee to justify their inevitable.RIP Robin&David

[Lab356]

Although many not agree with Robin Cook, he was an honourable man who believed in doing what was right, and he should be respected for his decision.

[millingtonjp]

robin is a hero to the state

[SuperCharleyFarley]

With all due respect, Claire Short didn't hesitate at all. She backed the war in Iraq. You may be referring to her subsequent change of heart.

[KavehAhangarIrani]

@SuperCharleyFarley; that is why Claire Short  is still alive today but Robin Cook is dead! Think about it!

[DLPBurke]

@KavehAhangarIrani the figure of 1 million is bogus and was deduded by flawed methods. I think we should pull out of Iraq but I am not going to accept nonsense figures.

[moggydave]

@KavehAhangarIrani Are you really suggesting what I think you are suggesting?

[dooper3]

@KavehAhangarIrani Haha. That is ridiculous. He died 4 years later of a heart attack from a heart disease he had. He was not killed by some government agent! You watch too much telly :)

[dangolo]

@dooper3 he died from hypertension, a very common effect of poison. The article he was likely killed over is named "The struggle against terrorism cannot be won by military means".

What scares me is how few people will learn just how right Robin Cook was about US's involvement in generating the war. Hillary Confessed it in part as well here...watch?v=ifZK6SVlQ1Y

[dlk1dlk1]

@SuperCharleyFarley She did hesitate; she could have resigned at any time.

[seppstein91]

an honest man who speaks what he thinks - that´s why they illuminati arranged an accident for him - very sad!!!

[SuperCharleyFarley]

Robin Cook was a fine man. It beggars belief that he was the only British minister to take such a determined stand against that illegal war. The rest of the Labour cabinet of the time, not to mention the backbenchers, should hang their heads in shame. History has already proved him right. It's a tragedy that he died since he would have continued to lead the anti-war campaign today.

[ADPPlays]

She may have hesitated, and been pilloried for it...but Claire Short resigned as a result of the Iraq War

[KavehAhangarIrani]

@SuperCharleyFarley ; do you think Tony Blair will be hanged for his crimes? Let's wait and see.

People will take the law in their own hands if law proves to be one-sided and biased and useless!

Law means nothing if it proves to be blind!

[Kinkspace]

@KavehAhangarIrani Justice needs to be seen to be believed.

[timewilltell7]

@KavehAhangarIrani

he turned catholic cos the pope can save him from the hague

[rushkagon]

@SuperCharleyFarley

It makes you wonder dont it??? Prof David Kelly, Mo Mowlan and Robin Cook all die of 'natural causes' or 'suicide'.

All three spoke out against the war on terror scam , all three dead soon after!

911 - inside CIA/Mossad/M16 job.

[rumble58]

@SuperCharleyFarley

alot of backbenchers did actually revolt 139 out 413 and

a quarter did i think and it only got passed because of conservative support.

[Kinkspace]

@SuperCharleyFarley He was one of the few not corruptible. A very rare animal in politics indeed most walks of life in todays world.

[firstinflightuk]

ashrafilm, Robin Cook was a lifelong Atheist, and still more principled than Tony Blair will ever be.

[avzett]

RIP Robin Cook.

[ashrafilm]

he stood by his beliefs, for me if robin cook is a christian then he is great! he was a great christian, compared to tony blair, i judge him by his actions which were awesome.

[michaellebor23]

Robin's a great man, this is a shocking reminder that the British government was complicit and fully aware of the lies that led to war.

Tony Blair will go down in history as the British neoconservative puppet to a despotic American regime.

Is it a horrible coincidence that Robin Cook died in 2005? It seems very difficult to pin the blame on MI6 or the CIA. He was the most senior critic of the war and had access to secret documents. He died walking in the Highlands with his wife and...

[mickyh234]

Some neo-conservative who was put up for the labour party by a communist agent and trade unionist leader Jack Jones! Tony Blair was an actor and more sycophantic to the left and socialism than ever he was the far more liberal and democratic conservatism.

[michaellebor23]

Not really sure what you're saying. you miss out key words that would make your sentences understandable.

Are you saying a) TB is very socialist and therefore not a puppet to the American neocons b) that conservatism is liberal and democratic?

Please re-write. TB may have started with a left agenda, but he and Al Campbell invented New Labour - a centre ground hybrid where the serious socialists of the party were marginalised. I said TB was a puppet to the neocon agenda, not a neocon himself.

[kookyChimes]

Proud to say I always liked him. Long before this. His book, given the media/political era we are now in, is so dead on its spooky. He is full of himself and his abilities its fair to say but...why not? He knew what he was on about thats for sure. And he was open to other views and was chummy with certain conservatives although he was Labour 'old school'. He must be turning in his grave now.

[aaronfromhastings]

His death shortly afterwards was very convenient.

The applause that followed this speech broke a 100s year-old rule in Parliament that there should be no actual clapping.

As Cook left, a new era was ushered in of total monolithic control over not only Iraq but also Britains own population through draconian police-state anti-terror laws, which we still have.

[bellcore1]

I'd like to point out that the 5 star rating is for the most dignified speech I personally have ever seen, not for the juvenile smart arse captions some idiot who thinks their clever has added on. I was never a great fan of Cook and I'm still undecided about the war but the manner in which this speech was made makes you proud to be British - it harks back to Churchill's era.

[miradanomade]

Human values and dignity... thank you Robin Cook for your great example of life.

[PhillyDickinson]

I'm undecided about the Iraq War, but what an amazing speech by a man of great integrity. RIP.

[princefy]

well go and do your research-robin cook was killed same like princess diana

[JILANI786786]

A deep man of understanding and very intellect, in todays time this country could do with a leader with one thing and one thing only Honesty!!

[princefy]

well go and do your research-robin cook was killed same like princess diana

[bittenof]

of course he was,it was bob the builder that did it.now come along,take your pills and then its to bed early as the doctor wants to see you tomorrow and check on your progress!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[michaellebor23]

While attacking people for being sure this was an assassination you are in danger of sounding naive.

Robin Cook apparently had a pre existing heart condition and as far as we know, collapsed in front of his wife - hard to believe he was murdered but it's possible. The MI6 and CIA have all the resources in the world. They have been involved in thousands of assassinations, coups, car bombs, terrorism against Cuba etc so why not one more? What about Dr. David Kelly? Look him up.

[ampersandtay]

The truth is, there is no Islamic army or terrorist group called Al Qaida. And any intelligence officer knows this. But there is a propaganda campaign to make the public believe in the presence of an identified entity representing the devil only in order to drive the TV watcher to accept a unified international leadership for a war against terrorism. The country behind this propaganda is the US and the lobbyists for the US war on terrorism are only interested in making money. -Robin Cook

[ampersandtay]

I had to remove one word to get this into one piece. Line 2 should have the word "informed" inserted before "intelligence" officer"

[sruhayel]

Excellent speech. Well written, even better delivered. May he RIP

[GrEaTeSt786]

awesome !

[vjd55]

I am an American, living in New York.

I remember this speech.... it was my senior year in high school.

Some of us tried to stop the war, but it fell on deaf ears. This speech made my heart sink.

The United States wishes it had leaders like Mr Cook...

[homerbear46]

@vjd55 The UK should have "leaders" like Robin Cook...instead of DEAD heroes like HIM.

RIP

[givebirthathome]

@vjd55 We do have leaders, although we sure could use more.. Senator Paul Wellstone (deceased) opposed the war, and many spoke against it in Congress. The Iraq war debate/vote was when I first became aware of Republican Representative Ron Paul's pro-peace perspectives. Scott Ritter's speech at Taprock Peace was moving too. We had the leaders...we just had the wrong President, and a media whose support of the war was so overwhelming its exceedingly difficult to believe it was an accident.

[150tries]

There's something missing here....The first standing ovation given to a politician in the history of The House Of Commons,that's how powerful a speech it was...

[largejack1000]

There's something missing here....The first standing ovation given to a politician in the history of The House Of Commons,that's how powerful a speech it was...

Aye, and then phony Tony spoke and they all forgot what he said and agreed on war... wankers!

[wwelliott79]

Robin Cook may have a view you disagree with. But watch his response to the Scott report and the Matrix Churchill affair - also on You tube - a 5 volume report he had only 2 hours to digest. He may have had opinions that differ from yours. But he was a serious politician with a famously sharp mind and our country is unfortunate not to have his voice - even if only as one of dissent.

[kookyChimes]

Do ur research. Idiot.

[adam89minn]

Cook had no politics view on Iraq war, which make Dictator Hussein more happy!!!!