WaPo's Pincus:Blair Was Told of WH Resolve to Use Military Against Hussein

[flpoljunkie]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/12/AR2005051201857.html

British Intelligence Warned Blair of War
Prime Minister Was Told of White House's Resolve to Use Military Against Hussein

By Walter Pincus
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 13, 2005; A18

Seven months before the invasion of Iraq, the head of British foreign intelligence reported to Prime Minister Tony Blair that President Bush wanted to topple Saddam Hussein by military action and warned that in Washington intelligence was "being fixed around the policy," according to notes of a July 23, 2002, meeting with Blair at No. 10 Downing Street.

"Military action was now seen as inevitable," said the notes, summarizing a report by Richard Dearlove, then head of MI6, British intelligence, who had just returned from consultations in Washington along with other senior British officials. Dearlove went on, "Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD . But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."

"The case was thin," summarized the notes taken by a British national security aide at the meeting. "Saddam was not threatening his neighbours and his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea or Iran."

The notes were first disclosed last week by the Sunday Times of London, triggering criticism of Blair on the eve of the May 5 British parliamentary elections that he had decided to support an invasion of Iraq well before informing the public of his views.

much more...worth reading in its entirety, including a revelation about Condi's "impatience with the U.N. route."

[Davis_X_Machina]

1. Massive parsing of...

....'fixed' going on.

Defenders of Chimpy McCokespoon claim that all it means is 'solidified', not 'ginned up out of thin air'.

[flpoljunkie]

2. Did you read the article, Davis_X_Machina. I suggest you do so. The man

is a long-time and great investigative reporter for the Washington Post.

[rodeodance]

3. there is a thread in LBN about the wash post article

[indepat]

4. Nothing new here: invasion of Iraq & winning the 2004 election were moral

certainties anyone could have gleaned by carefully listening to what W said said in the months leading up to these events.