Tony Blair's allegation of Saddam possesing WMDs and an "ability to activate them within 45 minutes" was proved to be not correct by a secret
testimony, initially presented at an inquiry to the Butler committee. Carne Ross, who gave the testimony back in 2004, is a former first secretary to
the British UN mission and responsible for Iraq policy. Yesterday he told a House of Commons committee that he and other analysts believed that Iraq
had only had a "very limited" ability to mount any attack, including one using weapons of mass destruction. Carne Ross resigned from a promising
diplomatic career in 2004, racked by a bad conscience and threatened to be charged with breaching the Official Secrets Act if he eased it.
news.independent.co.uk
In the testimony revealed today Mr Ross, 40, who helped negotiate several UN security resolutions on Iraq, makes it clear that Mr Blair must have
known Saddam Hussein possessed no weapons of mass destruction. He said that during his posting to the UN, "at no time did HMG [Her Majesty's
Government] assess that Iraq's WMD (or any other capability) posed a threat to the UK or its interests."
Mr Ross revealed it was a commonly held view among British officials dealing with Iraq that any threat by Saddam Hussein had been "effectively
contained".
He also reveals that British officials warned US diplomats that bringing down the Iraqi dictator would lead to the chaos the world has since
witnessed. "I remember on several occasions the UK team stating this view in terms during our discussions with the US (who agreed)," he said.
"At the same time, we would frequently argue when the US raised the subject, that 'regime change' was inadvisable, primarily on the grounds that
Iraq would collapse into chaos."
Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
This is the extention of "the secret Downing Street memo" and the reality behind it now documented by Ross' testimony. And Tony Blair proven to be
a liar decieving the public in his eager to follow George Bush. Blair must resign immediately, he can't wait until May 2007.
The evidence now made public, was initially attempted to be stopped by the Foreign Office. The Commons Select Committee on Foreign Affairs published
it nevertheless after MPs sought assurances from the Foreign Office that it would not breach the Official Secrets Act.
"There was no intelligence evidence of significant holdings of CW [chemical warfare], BW [biological warfare] or nuclear material" held by the Iraqi
dictator before the invasion. "There was, moreover, no intelligence or assessment during my time in the job that Iraq had any intention to launch an
attack against its neighbours or the UK or the US," Ross had told Lord Butler.
Blairs argument to justify the war is hereby disproved.
The Bush administration was not the only government which changed the intelligence and the facts to fit their policy before the Iraq invasion. The
timeline of the state of Britain's Iraq policy as the politicians seized it by the scruff of the neck in 2002 can be reviewed in this link of the 4
part report published yesterday by the Independent.
Saddam seen as no threat -
then politicians got to work.
The part about Carne Ross' struggle with his conscience as a civil servant and how he ended up doing his civil duty is in the part called
Whistleblower that ministers tried to muzzle.
And finally
The full transcript of evidence given to the Butler inquiry.
Related News Links:
www.aljazeera.com
www.telegraph.co.uk
www.usatoday.com
www.dailyindia.com
[edit on 16-12-2006 by khunmoon]
[edit on 2006-12-16 by wecomeinpeace]