Posted on 02/02/2006 1:05:52 PM PST by presidio9
Tony Blair told President George Bush that he was "solidly" behind US plans to invade Iraq before he sought advice about the invasion's legality and despite the absence of a second UN resolution, according to a new account of the build-up to the war published today. A memo of a two-hour meeting between the two leaders at the White House on January 31 2003 - nearly two months before the invasion - reveals that Mr Bush made it clear the US intended to invade whether or not there was a second resolution and even if UN inspectors found no evidence of a banned Iraqi weapons programme.
-snip-
The disclosures come in a new edition of Lawless World, by Phillipe Sands, a QC and professor of international law at University College, London. Professor Sands last year exposed the doubts shared by Foreign Office lawyers about the legality of the invasion in disclosures which eventually forced the prime minister to publish the full legal advice given to him by the attorney general, Lord Goldsmith.
The memo seen by Prof Sands reveals:
· Mr Bush told the Mr Blair that the US was so worried about the failure to find hard evidence against Saddam that it thought of "flying U2 reconnaissance aircraft planes with fighter cover over Iraq, painted in UN colours". Mr Bush added: "If Saddam fired on them, he would be in breach [of UN resolutions]".
· Bush even expressed the hope that a defector would be extracted from Iraq and give a "public presentation about Saddam's WMD". He is also said to have referred Mr Blair to a "small possibility" that Saddam would be "assassinated".
· Mr Blair told the US president that a second UN resolution would be an "insurance policy", providing "international cover, including with the Arabs"
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
(((SIGH)))) I guess according to the Guardian nothing else is happening in the UK or the rest of the world. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!
uh-huh. Can we *see* the memo?
Um, the originals were destroyed. But if you give me a crayon I can reproduce them.
I MUST see DU's response to this.
I can tell you right now......Merry Fitzmas, this is the day everything changed forever, impeach *, yada, yada, yada....
DUer's repsonse tomorrow: Oxygen more Oxygen!!!
I have 97 typewriters. Want to borrow one. I am sure we can find a type font that fits.
"The memo seen by Prof Sands reveals: "
Fake but accurate.
I thought he was already in breach of 17 resolutions.
This is news to me. I didn't realize the UN still existed.
TigerinSC....
Clemson?
Why do reasonable people continue to read the Guardian? Hasn't it shown itself, over and over again, to be what it is?
This is such a juvenile load of nonsense.
Bush was going to disguise our U2 planes to look those U2 aircraft the UN flies. This was to fool the Iraqis on the ground 70,000 feet below.
Think Saddam would have been stupid enough to think the UN had somehow gotten an Air Force to go along with their UNArmy and UNNavy?
Whoever wrote this crap is obviously stupid enough.
U2 with fighter escorts? Probably with White Rabbit pilots.
Wasn't Saddam already firing SAMs at our fighters?
Iraq shot down a predator on September 11, 2001.
>>>Mr Bush told the Mr Blair that the US was so worried about the failure to find hard evidence against Saddam that it thought of "flying U2 reconnaissance aircraft planes with fighter cover over Iraq, painted in UN colours".<<<
Riiiiiiiight... And this was because Saddam hadn't already violated enough of the sanctions?
Obviously the novelists at the Guardian think we're as dumb as they look.
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