THE
INVASION of Iraq was based on false intelligence – on deception and lies.
Most people have known this for ages. Now it’s official.
In the United States a Senate committee has reported "a global
intelligence failure".
Cartoon by Alan Hardman
Saddam Hussein had no nukes, no biological or chemical weapons.
Not even stockpiled, let alone usable in 45 minutes.
He no longer had weapons programmes. There was no connection between
Saddam and al-Qa’ida. Saddam was not linked to the 9/11 attacks on the
Twin Towers and the Pentagon.
Here, the Butler report comes to similar conclusions. Weapons of mass
destruction, Blair’s main justification for war, did not exist in the
period before the March 2003 invasion.
So far, the war based on lies has killed over 10,000 non-combatant
civilians. Men, women and children, not involved in armed conflict, simply
struggling to survive invasion and occupation.
Over 20,000 have been seriously wounded. Hospitals, schools,
electricity and water supplies have been shattered. All this destruction,
Bush and Blair claimed, to save the world from Saddam’s weapons of mass
destruction.
The war has resulted in the death of 887 US military personnel, 60
British and 60 from other contingents. Many more have been seriously
injured, and will suffer for the rest of their lives.
The war has cost the US over $120 billion. Blair admits it will cost
British taxpayers £3 billion. Some analysts say £6 to £7 billion. What
would these sums do to combat AIDs, a real, global threat of mass
destruction?
Who is responsible for cooking up the lies? The Senate committee blames
the CIA, the Central Intelligence Agency. Butler blames British
intelligence, MI6. Bush and Blair claim they were ‘misled’ by false
intelligence.
The truth is obvious, though it won’t be spelt out in any official
report. Long before 9/11 2001 Bush and the Pentagon hawks were planning to
smash Saddam’s regime. They wanted control of Iraq’s oil and a military
power-base in the Middle East. Long ago, Blair signed up to Bush’s
military adventure, regardless of the cost.
They needed a pretext to sway public opinion: WMDs – Weapons of Mass
Destruction. The loyal intelligence services came up with the goods.
Phoney intelligence, false reports, incredible interpretations – lies,
lies, lies.
The spymasters have a lot to answer for. But it is Bush and Blair and
their governments who are responsible. They took the decision to invade
Iraq. The blood is on their hands.
Blair should resign now. He personally signed the infamous ‘September
dossier’, an alarmist summary of MI6’s incredible scare stories.
Above all, US, British and other forces should be withdrawn from Iraq
immediately. Foreign occupation is the main cause of conflict and chaos.
The future of Iraq must be decided by the Iraqi people themselves.
