Blair: Dossier was part of strategy decided with Bush

[Nambe]

Guardian Newspapers Limited

Tony Blair decided to publish an intelligence-based dossier on Iraq's weapons programme in a strategy decided during a telephone conversation with President George Bush, the Hutton inquiry was told yesterday. ---

He added: "President Bush and I had a telephone call towards the end of that break and we decided: look, we really had to confront this issue, devise our strategy and get on with it".

There was "an enormous clamour ... Why did we say it was a big problem? Because of the intelligence. And people were naturally saying: produce that intelligence then".

The aim of the dossier, said Mr Blair, was to "disclose the reasons for our concern and the reason why we believed this issue had to be confronted". ---

Banish bush From Texas Too

[MoonAndSun]

1. This is very incriminating for bush*, but will the "liberal"

media pick up on this? Not when they have Kobe and Laci and Arnie to talk about. And I do not mean to diminish the death of Laci Peterson and her son, but to have this be part of the national discussion while so many other issues that truly affect the American people are being left in the dust is sickening.

[The Zanti Regent]

22. The Press is in Bush's Pocket.

Especially in Los Angeles, where it's All Arnold, all the time and hate radio is calling Bustamante "the Frito Bandito"...

[bvar22]

2. I've been waiting for this.

Most of us at DU (and the World) have known that PNAC was running Blair. This is validation.

[remfan]

8. Me too

When Cheney made his March 2002 tour of the ME to 'get support' for war the UK had NOT signed on, but before Cheney went to the ME he stopped in to see Tony Blair, and Blair got on board before Cheney left.

[gratuitous]

3. Didn't Tony just say the other day . . .

Didn't he just say the other day that the dossier wasn't that important to the calculations and planning leading up to the invasion? Now, it's an integral part of his strategizing with Lil George for the seizure of all that precious, precious Iraqi crude.

I note also that the dossier has undergone another little transformation, as it now relates to a weapons "programme" rather than any actual weapons. Hmmmm.

[ElementaryPenguin]

16. Don't you mean "strategerizing" with Georgie? (as in strategery")

:)

[Spazito]

4. Geez, Blair is SO full of it!

"The dossier, Mr Blair said, was "not making the case for war". It was "making the case for the issue to be dealt with". The government's "preferred alternative" was to "deal with it through the United Nations route"."

That was precisely the reason for the dossier, with the inclusion of the 45 minute crap, it was to make the case for war. Interestingly, when he says the "preferred alternative" was to "deal with it through the United Nations route" he is telling the truth, so far as it goes. He wanted the UN to sanction a war.

This man is a master of circular rhetoric!

[Cocoa]

12. exactly right

the issue WAS being dealt with, throught the UN inspections process and sanctions. The dossier was part of the Bush plan to scrap that approach in favor of war.

[Spentastic]

5. Bastard

Blair quite simply is the master. The hidden spin in all his comments is astounding.

was "an enormous clamour ... Why did we say it was a big problem? Because of the intelligence. And people were naturally saying: produce that intelligence then".


Actually that's not what happened Tony. You said that Iraq was an imminent threat. We said "prove it" You then dug up some intelligence that supported your case. We shouted "Lies", then you got all uppity and have decided that it wasn't you that were wrong but the intelligence. You have now been proven wrong yet you still will not admit that YOU wished us to war.

"disclose the reasons for our concern and the reason why we believed this issue had to be confronted"

Er and the way you decided to deal with it was by having a war. So how is this dossier not making the case for war then Tony?

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

6. Tony, what about the "45 minute attack" capabilities that Iraq

had?

[HereSince1628]

7. Nice of him to involve the Dictator of Planet America

Amazingly useful that habit of politicians never wanting to be alone,
especially when things aren't going well. I wonder if Tony will get invited to the pig farm in Crawford soon?

[DoYouEverWonder]

11. Good point

Will Tony pull his buddy W down into the mud with him? It all depends on what the Queen decides, I suppose. She's been way to quiet lately.

Anyway Alistar Campbell just resigned. The first big one bites the dust. Maybe we can make this a daily occurance for awhile?

[Maple]

15. The queen

doesn't decide this. She is a figurehead only.

Opens bridges, tours museums, visits schools...that sort of thing.

[DoYouEverWonder]

18. Blair is totally loyal to the Queen

I doubt if he does anything major, like going to war, without her approval.

[Spazito]

9. Kick

What is happening in Britian is the key to Iraq, imo. If Blair can be forced to resign then the LIE issue can become an issue in the US again, it seems to have taken a backseat lately.

[rjbcar27]

10. Not a chance.

Blair will not resign. And there is currently no pressure for him to do so.

[Spazito]

14. His poll #'s are diving.....

I think it is only a matter of time. Nixon tried to stay the course too and he failed. Once an investigative reporter, and thank goodness Britian has some, starts going through the hundreds of documents that were released, I suspect there will be some major backlash.

[maggrwaggr]

23. "investigative reporter"? What's that? Do we have those here?

I'm an amerikkun, I never herd of such a thang

[Cocoa]

13. so Bush pushes the Brits to report alarming evidence

and then when he gets caught lying, he points to the Brits and says "well, we're just telling you what the Brits said."

Pretty clever, until it all comes out.

[damnraddem]

17. I'm sure that he'd been warned about keeping bad company.

This just goes to show what can happen when you're not careful about what thugs you hang out with.

[T_i_B]

19. Let me guess

Bush told him to produce the dossier and Blair followed the orders without question. :eyes:

One of the great cliches of the war on terror is "Blair speaks well because Bush speaks badly". I think that the PNAC are all too aware of this. It would not suprise me if Alistair Campbell's next job was with the GOP one bit at this rate.

[TacticalPeek]

25. He can join the Blankley tony at the Washington Slimes.

Alastair has done caught the WHANGDEPOOTENAWAH!

WHANGDEPOOTENAWAH, n. In the Ojibwa tongue, disaster; an unexpected affliction that strikes hard.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=253443#253541

[radfringe]

20. the whistleass's vacation is over

any bets that a miracle will occur and WMD's will be found in the next couple of weeks?

there was/is a lock-down on WMD news releases this summer... and we all know that spring/summer time is good for planting...

if my :tinfoilhat: is correct - news of WMD's being found will knock this off the front page and it will be "biddness" as usual, the lapdogs will go not further than faithfully taking dictation from the whistleass's press office

[0007]

21. btt

^

[UTUSN]

24. This Is Big. n/t