http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/12/iraq-dossier-case-for-war
Iraq dossier drawn up to make case for war – intelligence officer
Newly released evidence to Chilcot inquiry directly contradicts Blair
government's claims about dossier
Alastair Campbell
Alastair Campbell's claim that the Iraq dossier was not about putting the case
for war was strongly denied by a top intelligence officer. Photograph: Barry
Batchelor/PA
A top military intelligence official has said the discredited dossier on Iraq's
weapons programme was drawn up "to make the case for war", flatly contradicting
persistent claims to the contrary by the Blair government, and in particular by
Alastair Campbell, the former prime minister's chief spin doctor.
In hitherto secret evidence to the Chilcot inquiry, Major General Michael
Laurie said: "We knew at the time that the purpose of the dossier was precisely
to make a case for war, rather than setting out the available intelligence, and
that to make the best out of sparse and inconclusive intelligence the wording
was developed with care."
His evidence is devastating, as it is the first time such a senior intelligence
officer has directly contradicted the then government's claims about the
dossier – and, perhaps more significantly, what Tony Blair and Campbell said
when it was released seven months before the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Laurie, who was director general in the Defence Intelligence Staff, responsible
for commanding and delivering raw and analysed intelligence, said: "I am
writing to comment on the position taken by Alastair Campbell during his
evidence to you … when he stated that the purpose of the dossier was not to
make a case for war; I and those involved in its production saw it exactly as
that, and that was the direction we were given."
He continued: "Alastair Campbell said to the inquiry that the purpose of the
dossier was not 'to make a case for war'. I had no doubt at that time this was
exactly its purpose and these very words were used."
Laurie said he recalled that the chief of defence intelligence, Air Marshal Sir
Joe French, was "frequently inquiring whether we were missing something" and
was under pressure. "We could find no evidence of planes, missiles or equipment
that related to WMD [weapons of mass destruction], generally concluding that
they must have been dismantled, buried or taken abroad. There has probably
never been a greater detailed scrutiny of every piece of ground in any country."
The document is one of a number released by the Chilcot inquiry. They include
top secret MI6 reports warning of the damage to British interests and the
likelihood of terrorist attacks in the UK if it joined the US-led invasion of
Iraq.
However, a newly declassified document reveals that Sir Kevin Tebbit, then a
top official at the Ministry of Defence, warned the defence secretary, Geoff
Hoon, in January 2003 that the US would "feel betrayed by their partner of
choice" if Britain did not go along with the invasion.
Despite its concerns, MI6 told ministers before the invasion that toppling
Saddam Hussein "remains a prize because it could give new security to oil
supplies".
Laurie's memo raises questions about the role of Sir John Scarlett, chairman of
the Joint Intelligence Committee, who later became head of MI6.
_______________________________________________
Marxist-Leninist-List mailing list
Marxist-Leninist-List@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu
To change your options or unsubscribe go to:
http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxist-leninist-list
