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Politics & ReligionWell Since every damn forum has one. Might as well leave it out there. This place is loosely moderated and should not be entered if you're weak of heart.
George Bush and Tony Blair planned to lure Saddam into war, according to a leaked memo which reveals their talks on military action in Iraq.
The details from the meeting at the White House on 31 January 2003 are contained in a new version of the book Lawless World by international lawyer Philipe Sands QC.
In the White House Meeting memo revealed to Channel 4 news, the President and the Prime Minister allegedly discussed plans to begin military action on March 10th 2003, even if the UN refused to pass a new resolution allowing the use of force.
"The US would put its full weight behind efforts to get another resolution and would 'twist arms' and 'even threaten'," said the President in the memo.
Mr Blair reportedly responded that he was "solidly with the President and ready to do whatever it took to disarm Saddam".
But he added: "a second Security Council resolution would provide an insurance policy against the unexpected, and international cover, including with the Arabs."
The book claims the meeting focused on finding evidence of Saddam breaching his obligations under the existing UN Resolution 1441 to justify going to war against the country.
Mr Bush said: "The US was thinking of flying U2 reconnaissance aircraft with fighter cover over Iraq, painted in UN colours. If Saddam fired on them, he would be in breach."
He continued: "It was also possible that a defector could be brought out who would give a public presentation about Saddam's WMD, and there was also a small possibility that Saddam would be assassinated."
The President's National Security Adviser, Condoleeza Rice and her deputy Dan Fried, and the President's Chief of Staff, Andrew Card were also present at the meeting.
The Prime Minister was accompanied with his previous security adviser Sir David Manning, his Foreign Policy aide Matthew Rycroft, and and his chief of staff, Jonathan Powell.
The book says the other attendees also discussed what could happen in Iraq after it was liberated.
Mr Bush said that he: "thought it unlikely that there would be internecine warfare between the different religious and ethnic groups."
Acting leader of the Liberal Democrats Sir Menzies Campbell said the allegations made a full inquiry into the political decision making on Iraq "imperative".
He said: "If these allegations are accurate, the Prime Minister and President Bush were determined to go to war with or without a second UN resolution, and Britain was signed up to do so by the end of January 2003.
"By then it was clear that there was no credible evidence of weapons of mass destruction - the stated justification for the moves against Saddam Hussein.
"The fact that consideration was apparently given to using American military aircraft in UN colours to provoke Saddam graphically illustrates the rush to war.
"It would appear that the diplomatic efforts in New York after the meeting of January 31 were simply going through the motions, with the decision for military action already taken.
"The Prime Minister's offer of February 25 to Saddam Hussein appears to be undermined by claims. The Prime Minister has a lot of explaining to do."
Downing Street was not immediately available for comment on the claims.
Is this supposed to be some kind of "smoking gun" or something?
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"Political Correctness is a doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by a mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."
"Leaked memo"? Show some proof...Oh, wait, that was tried by Mary Mapes et al. Unfortunately in that case, they forgot MS Word didn't exist when that "memo" was typed. Neither did the printer.
If there were a true "smoking gun", we would see the memo in an image, not raw text.
More Indications of Bush Deception
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