David Kelly (14 May 1944 – 17 July 2003) was a Welsh authority on biological warfare. Appointed to the United Nations Special Commission in 1991 as a chief weapons inspector in Iraq, he led ten of the organisation's missions. After the publication of a dossier in 2002, which stated that Iraq could deploy chemical and biological weapons within 45 minutes, Kelly had an off-the-record interview with Andrew Gilligan of the BBC about the claim. Gilligan's reporting stated that Alastair Campbell, the Downing Street director of communications, insisted on the 45-minute claim, something which Kelly denied saying. Kelly appeared before a parliamentary committee on 15 July 2003, and before another the next day; he was found dead near his home the day after. Tony Blair, the prime minister, set up an inquiry under Lord Hutton that concluded that Kelly had killed himself. A review led by Dominic Grieve between 2010 and 2011 backed the finding. Kelly's death has been the subject of documentaries and been fictionalised in media works.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Kelly_%28weapons_expert%29
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1863:
The New Zealand Wars resumed as British forces led by General Duncan Cameron began the invasion of the Waikato. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_the_Waikato
1918:
Russian Revolution: Tsar Nicholas II and his family were murdered by Bolsheviks at Yekaterinburg. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_the_Romanov_family
1968:
Led by Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party overthrew Iraqi president Abdul Rahman Arif in a bloodless coup. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17_July_Revolution
2007:
TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overran the runway at Congonhas Airport in São Paulo, Brazil, killing 199 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TAM_Airlines_Flight_3054
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
war crime: (criminal law, international law) A punishable offence under international law for violations of the laws of war by any person or persons, military or civilian. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/war_crime
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
As an atheist, I believe that all life is unspeakably precious, because it’s only here for a brief moment, a flare against the dark, and then it’s gone forever. No afterlives, no second chances, no backsies. So there can be nothing crueler than the abuse, destruction or wanton taking of a life. --J. Michael Straczynski https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/J._Michael_Straczynski