MI6 and CIA were told before invasion that Iraq had no active WMD

[alp227]

Source: The guardian

Fresh evidence is revealed today about how MI6 and the CIA were told through secret channels by Saddam Hussein's foreign minister and his head of intelligence that Iraq had no active weapons of mass destruction.

Tony Blair told parliament before the war that intelligence showed Iraq's nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons programme was "active", "growing" and "up and running".

A special BBC Panorama programme tonight will reveal how British and US intelligence agencies were informed by top sources months before the invasion that Iraq had no active WMD programme, and that the information was not passed to subsequent inquiries.



Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/18/panorama-iraq-fresh-wmd-claims

---

"The Spies Who Fooled the World" is Monday night at 10:35 UK time on BBC One. 10:35 in London = 6:35pm in Baltimore = 3:35pm in San Francisco. Outside britain a steam is probably available here. (Seems only this one that's a 16: 9 forced in a 4:3 frame works for now.)

[Spitfire of ATJ]

1. Has anyone seen if Tony pocketed some money off the war?

We know Cheney did.

[Nihil]

14. Rhetorical question is rhetorical. (n/t)

[newfie11]

2. Kick for later. Nt

[Berlum]

3. The Republicans lied us into a needless war, costing lives and billions of our tax money

How many of our sons and daughters in uniform -- and how many innocent Iraqi women, children, and men -- died or were mutilated by these Republican lies?

How many billions of our US tax dollars went to enrich War Corporations (R), and feed this evil, phony-ass republican oil-profits war?

[on point]

7. Try TRILLIONS, once all the costs are added up, But Social Security is the real problem (sic)

Replace equip worn out
Life long care for soldiers (and this had better happen you cheap repukes)
Interest on the debt for the unpaid bill

I have seen estimates of about 3 Trillion once it is all added together

But the real problem in the budget is the average citizen stuck with th bill. Have to cut back on their social safety net to pay for the wars of the rich....

[Franker65]

4. Of course - everyone was lied to and led into a needless war

Why invade Iraq? Why not Iran or North Korea? Look at North Korea - they have tested nuclear weapons and are threatening a strike on the south. And Bush didn't care about that? Madness and unforgivable. He should be on trial for war crimes.

[jwirr]

6. OIL. We had an administration made up almost entirely of oil men.

[Selatius]

16. They chose Iraq because it was the easiest nation to crush/invade on the battlefield.

North Korea and Iran's military capabilities likely were superior to anything that Iraq could field back in 2003.

If one compared Iran to Iraq, the first thing one would notice is that it's three times the geographic size of Iraq. Occupying it would be a nightmare, and Iran's population numbers roughly 80 million compared to Iraq's 20-something million. On top of that, the Zagros Mountains run the length of Iran. Those mountains could be used to hide an entire guerrilla army opposing foreign occupation. Taking down Iran and breaking its resistance would require nothing less than an occupational army supported by a military draft.

North Korea's border with South Korea is heavily fortified, and North Korea is fairly mountainous as well and entirely honeycombed to hell and back with tunnels and underground bunkers. Following massive carpet bombing during the Korean War, the North's leadership essentially moved many of their operations underground in an attempt to shield their assets and personnel. We don't even know the exact count of underground bunkers and tunnels in North Korea, but it's likely in the hundreds and possibly into the low thousands range. Their standing army likely numbers somewhere north of a million with several million more in reserve, and the vast majority of that force is located near the DMZ.

We've seen on satellite photos that the mountains and hills to the north of the South Korean capital are filled with several hundred to several thousand artillery guns and rocket launchers. It's very possible that in the first day of military action, the North could pump several thousand shells per hour into Seoul, South Korea, and given the sheer numbers of artillery guns, it would be a hefty effort to silence all those guns before all of Seoul is reduced to rubble.

[jwirr]

5. And so once again no one is in jail. We are beginning to see our real economic problems - MIC and

big banks.

[lovuian]

8. it was all Lies and they knew it

it was place America in a war steal and take our rights away
remember Osama the boogey man
Amber Alerts on television

it was all a phoney show

[go west young man]

9. Couldn't help but notice Adam Schreck of The Associated Press

putting out this fluff piece today across the globe. An ironic fluff piece about the "spectre" of Saddam coming out at the same time as revelations about the deception among the war's architects. And who says the AP isn't in on the game? I've been saying for years the AP is complicit in creating propaganda that has sent us down the drain. Here is a another prime example. All conjecture on my part as it can't be proven, but what are the odds a piece suddenly comes out reminding us that Saddam was a bad guy?http://www.timesofisrael.com/saddams-specter-lives-on-in-iraqi-landmarks/

[hughee99]

10. Not to sound like I'm defending the * administration here at all, but

would you trust the word of Saddam Hussein's foreign minister and his head of intelligence?

[go west young man]

12. They knew full well that Iraq's chemical program was depleted

to less than 10% of previous capability back in 1991 after the first Gulf War. They knew he never reconstituted the program. UN inspectors reported time and time again he hadn't reconstituted the program.

They fabricated the evidence and invaded against the will of the UN and world opinion. They bugged the UN to find out who was against the invasion and who wasn't. They lied to manufacture consent for the war. They are the CIA and MI6. Do you seriously think they didn't know he didn't have the weapons? Chemical/Biological by the way. Nuclear was never on the table.

They are attempting to elude blame like the neocons and the Bush admin and Blair. They are complicit. In the worst case scenario they would have failed miserably as "intelligence" is what they are supposed to be about. But they knew. It wasn't an intelligence failure. It was complicity and it killed half a million innocent Iraqi people. If you doubt it in any way just research the weapons program through the UN going back to 91'. The bastards all deserve to be in jail.

[hughee99]

13. I agree 100%, this story changes nothing, though.

It doesn't matter what their foreign minister or their head of intelligence said because you a) can't trust them and b) already know what's going on with respect to WMD's in Iraq anyway. I think people might try to paint this as an "a-ha moment", but the word from people who worked for Hussein on WMD's has as much intelligence value as that of the next American Idol winner.

[Mnpaul]

11. Well duh

Britain sold Saddam those hydrogen generators(mobile weapons lab - not). And Britain set up those anti-terrorist training camps. How could they not know the whole thing was a sham.

[libodem]

15. The special hands of the 1%

It was all about the oil and whatever pretence they could stick to a wall. You know if you throw enough shit something might stick.

[yellowcanine]

17. "Out, out, Damned Dodgy Dossier!"

http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/europe/blair-to-face-questions-on-dodgy-dossier-and-legality-of-iraq-war

The Dodgy Dossier just won't go away, eh Tony?

[Celefin]

18. The Spies Who Fooled the World (BBC)

Except that those who did not want to be fooled had a very good idea about what was coming since about august 2002. But now its ten years ago and if you tell people often enough that 'nobody could have known it was all terribly transparent bullshit and that the goal was NOT initially to free Iraq from Saddam' then everybody can relax and 'look forward'. Works a treat every time.

[librechik]

19. yup, that's why soldiers sent in w/o chemical protection gear, even tho requested

those giving orders knew there was no danger of that.

[Catherina]

20. Say it ain't so! n/t

[Blue_Tires]

21. I don't get it...Does ANYONE still think this had anything to do with WMDs?

Of course the people at the top knew; they're the ones who had to craft the flimsy premise in the first place...

[Nihil]

22. if you get all of the information ...

... it makes life easy to choose which bits to put out to the populace ...

Panem et circenses

Live with it ... it's what you voted for ...