Bush Determined to Invade Iraq in 2003,
Regardless of No U.N. Resolution and No WMD

Comment by Larry Ross, March 29, 2006

The following secret memo of Bush/Blair meetings in January 2003, published in shows Bush determined to invade Iraq, even if they failed to get a second UN resolution and UN inspectors did not find any WMD.

Bush discussed with Blair "various ways to provoke a confrontation" with Iraq to justify invasion such as:
" flying U2 reconnaissance aircraft with fighter cover over Iraq, painted in U.N. colours...If Saddam fired on them, he would be in breach" and that would give the U.S. a pretext to attack.

Another Bush idea was "The U.S. might be able to bring out a defector who could give a public presentation about Saddam's WMD". thus supplying a justification for war.

A third Bush idea was "a proposal to assassinate Saddam Hussein."

"There was palpable tension over finding a legitimate legal trigger for going to war that would be acceptable to other nations" the memo said.

"The U.S. would put its full weight behind efforts to get another (UN) resolution and would twist arms and even threaten" Mr Bush was paraphrased in the memo as saying, "But he had to say that if we ultimately failed, military action would follow anyway."

British officials were concerned that "intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy" of invasion.
Bush and Blair invaded Iraq on March 19, 2003.

This memo helps inform people of what methods and considerations to expect as Bush (and probably Blair and Howard) prepare to attack Iran.

 

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Bush Was Set on Path to War, British Memo Says

By DON VAN NATTA Jr., March 27, 2006

LONDON — In the weeks before the United States-led invasion of Iraq, as the United States and Britain pressed for a second United Nations resolution condemning Iraq, President Bush's public ultimatum to Saddam Hussein was blunt: Disarm or face war.

But behind closed doors, the president was certain that war was inevitable. During a private two-hour meeting in the Oval Office on Jan. 31, 2003, he made clear to Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain that he was determined to invade Iraq without the second resolution, or even if international arms inspectors failed to find unconventional weapons, said a confidential memo about the meeting written by Mr. Blair's top foreign policy adviser and reviewed by The New York Times.

"Our diplomatic strategy had to be arranged around the military planning," David Manning, Mr. Blair's chief foreign policy adviser at the time, wrote in the memo that summarized the discussion between Mr. Bush, Mr. Blair and six of their top aides.

"The start date for the military campaign was now pencilled in for 10 March," Mr. Manning wrote, paraphrasing the president. "This was when the bombing would begin."

The timetable came at an important diplomatic moment. Five days after the Bush-Blair meeting, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell was scheduled to appear before the United Nations to present the American evidence that Iraq posed a threat to world security by hiding unconventional weapons.

Although the United States and Britain aggressively sought a second United Nations resolution against Iraq — which they failed to obtain — the president said repeatedly that he did not believe he needed it for an invasion.

Stamped "extremely sensitive," the five-page memorandum, which was circulated among a handful of Mr. Blair's most senior aides, had not been made public. Several highlights were first published in January in the book "Lawless World," which was written by a British lawyer and international law professor, Philippe Sands. In early February, Channel 4 in London first broadcast several excerpts from the memo.

Since then, The New York Times has reviewed the five-page memo in its entirety. While the president's sentiments about invading Iraq were known at the time, the previously unreported material offers an unfiltered view of two leaders on the brink of war, yet supremely confident.

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