 |
|
“If
the political context were right, people would support regime
change,” Blair said eight months before war.
|
CAIRO,
May 1, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – British Prime Minister Tony Blair
had already committed himself to a regime change in Iraq by force
eight months before the invasion-turned-occupation of the oil-rich
Arab country, a leaked government memo has shown.
“If
the political context were right, people would support regime
change,” Blair told his government’s inner circle on Tuesday, July
23, 2002, according to the meeting’s minutes published Sunday, May
1, by The Sunday Times.
“The
two key issues were whether the military plan worked and whether we
had the political strategy to give the military plan the space to
work,” Blair made clear.
Foreign
Secretary Jack Straw admitted, during the meeting, that the case for
war was “thin” as “Saddam was not threatening his neighbours and
his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea or
Iran”.
He
suggested they should “work up” an ultimatum about weapons
inspectors in order to “help with the legal justification”.
A
separate secret briefing for the meeting said Britain and America had
to “create” conditions to justify a war, The Sunday Times said.
Washington
and London invaded Iraq in 2003 without a mandate from the UN Security
Council.
In
a 13-page legal advice to Blair March 7, 2003, Attorney General Lord
Goldsmith said military action against Iraq was likely to be
challenged under international law based on a number of counts.
UK
Eyes Only
The
Downing Street minutes, headed “Secret and strictly personal — UK
eyes only”, detail one of the most important meetings ahead of the
invasion, The Sunday Times said.
“This
record is extremely sensitive. No further copies should be made. It
should be shown only to those with a genuine need to know its
contents,” it reads.
Copies
were sent to Straw, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon, Goldsmith, and
military and intelligence chiefs who attended the meeting.
Also
listed on the minutes are Alastair Campbell, then Blair’s director
of strategy, Jonathan Powell, his chief of staff, and Sally Morgan,
director of government relations.
The
British daily attributed the secrecy to the fact that the memo records
discussion of US plans for invasion and that at the time Blair had
given no indication that plans were so advanced.
“True,
tensions were running high, and fears of terrorism were widespread.
But Blair’s constant refrain was that “no decisions” had been
taken about what to do with Iraq,” noted the paper.
Downing
Street, however, claimed the document contained “nothing new”.
But
Sir Menzies Campbell, Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, said
the leaked memo showed Blair had “agreed to an illegal regime change
with the Bush administration. It set out to create the justification
for going to war. It was to be war by any means.”
Cabinet
at War
 |
|
“He
(Blair) could try to fight to stay, but I doubt he will,” Brown
said.
|
Adding
to the pressure on Blair, the Mail on Sunday said that the
government was plunged into bitter in-fighting to choose a Blair
successor.
The
heated discussion comes amid fresh signs that Blair is ready, or
forced, to hand over power to Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown
early in Labour's third term, according to the paper.
Quoting
sources close to the Chancellor, it said Brown had won a commitment
from Blair to stand down “much sooner”, in return for his support
after Blair lost public trust over his handling of the Iraq war.
Some
insiders said Blair could go as soon as 18 months after the election,
the paper added.
The
fury erupted after Brown openly challenging the way Blair had handled
the Iraq war, the Mail said.
In
an astonishing put-down, he said there would be no similar rush to
war, asserting that in future the decision to send British forces into
action would be taken by MPs, not the prime minister.
“It
is unlikely that, except in the most exceptional circumstances, a
government would choose not to have a vote in Parliament,” he said.
“Labour
MPs know in their hearts that although Mr Blair has achieved
incredible things, it is time to move on. He could try to fight to
stay, but I doubt he will.”
