UK and US 'should have realised Iraq evidence was suspect'

[go west young man]

Source: The Independent UK/ Hans Blix

Britain and the United States should have realised that their intelligence about Iraq's supposed weapons of mass destruction was suspect, the former head of the United Nations weapons inspectors said today.


Giving evidence to the Iraq Inquiry, Dr Hans Blix said it should have set alarm bells ringing in London and Washington when the inspectors repeatedly failed to turn up any evidence that Saddam Hussein still had active WMD programmes.

However he said that he did not believe that Britain and the US had been entitled to invade Iraq without a further UN Security Council resolution specifically authorising military action.


He accused the administration of US president George Bush of being "high on military" in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York in 2001.


"They felt that they could get away with it and therefore it was desirable," he said.


He also condemned claims by Britain and the US that Iraq had tried acquire raw uranium for its supposed nuclear programme from Niger, based on a forged document.


"That was perhaps the first occasion I became suspicious about the evidence," he said. "I think that was the most scandalous part."


Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/uk-and-us-should-have-realised-iraq-evidence-was-suspect-2036647.html

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The Chilcot Enquiry continues to deal with what America is afraid of.

Link to the Chilcot Enquiry website to see all evidence presented so far. http://www.iraqinquiry.org.uk/

Link to similar article in the Guardian UK: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jul/27/hans-blix-iraq-war-inquiry

[Oregone]

1. Uh, they did

Doesn't mean they won't use everything they can to lie a nation into war.

[mike_c]

2. +1-- they knew since the mid 1990s that Iraq was disarmed...

...but they lied outright to influence the public and congress in favor of aggressive warfare, a crime against humanity.

[lib2DaBone]

3. We have been beathing them over the head and ranting about this since 2001....

Niger Yellow Cake-Hans Blixe-Cooked CIA Reports- Valerie Plame-Mission Accomplished- You're either with us or against us- Abu Garib- Surge baby Surge....

WTF? How much more does the world media need to know?

Even The Decider-In-Chief said in his SOTU address... remember? "Iraq HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH 911" "There ARE NO WMD's". (other than the ones we gave them)

Why in the hell are we still there and why are we supplying money to both sides of the war in Afghanistan?

Iraq Had Nothing to do with 911 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_A77N5WKWM

[driver8]

4. The US and the UK didn't give a flying fuck about the evidence.

They were going to invade Iraq no matter what.

Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Powell, Rice, and the rest of the mob should be in prison.

[UTUSN]

5. One of those Eternal Questions: Why did most of us HERE know it was a fraud?!1

Us being withOUT any special resources in the Intelligence community, no gadgets, no high level contacts, NOTHING?!1


"Eternal Questions" being things like, How can ANY minority (Hispanic, Black, Gay, woman) EVER be a Rethug?!1

[cadaverdog]

7. I'll tell you how I knew it was a fraud

While watching tv news during the run-up to the war on Iraq, one story caught my attention about Iraq military preparations for the expected invasion. One visual clip featured two of Saddam's finest military fighters leading a donkey pulling a wooden cart, which was carrying a surface to air missile! Neither of these individuals filled the role of "warrior" very well; both were disheveled in their appearance and one was so fat he probably couldn't even button his jacket, while the other sad sack was tall and skinny. While looking at this unintentionally ridiculous picture it suddenly became completely clear to me: "My god, we are going to war against Laurel and Hardy!"

Nothing that occurred in the months that followed caused me to change my opinion.

[defendandprotect]

6. Of course they knew . . . they also knew they needed a new "Pearl Harbor" ....

[go west young man]

8. Funny how this news would have been top of the charts back in 2003/2004.

Instead it drifts into the memory hole and some other story that will be forgotten in 5 years takes it's place. Makes me wonder what we all are really here at DU for. We finally are getting evidence but nothing is being done with it in the US. Instead America just rolls over and keeps on trucking minus the truth. Sad days for this country when England and Wikileaks have to do it's dirty work.

[No Elephants]

9. Safire suggested a war as part of Bush Senior's re-election effort.

Iraq was one of a few (was it 3?) countries POS Safire suggested.

tMolly Ivins wrote about it in 1992.

while running for his first term, Dumya said his father had wasted his capital and repeated safire's strategy, tho' I don't think he expressly credited Safire with the idea.

[Warren Stupidity]

10. ya think?

I suppose it is possible that when Cheney's secret energy commission decided to go forward with creating the 'evidence' for the invasion of Iraq, and they set up the stove pipe for generating the 'intelligence' through the VP's office, that they also forgot they did that, I just find that a dubious proposition.

maybe one day wikileaks will clear this up for us.