Leaked memo offers insight into Blair’s thinking before Iraq

A leaked memo from the White House stated that Tony Blair supported the effort during the initial stages of the Iraq War.

Both memos were written ahead of the Crawford summit at Bush’s Texas ranch from April 5 to 7, 2002, when Bush and Blair met privately.

A leaked classified White House memo Sunday revealed a shocking truth about Tony Blair’s stance on the Iraq War. The document added, “He is convinced on two points: the threat is real; and success against Saddam will yield more regional success”.

“In the memo it states”, Blair continues to stand by you and the U.S.as we move forward on the war on terrorism and on Iraq”.

Mr Powell praised the presentational skills of Tony Blair, who as Prime Minister secured three election victories – two by a landslide. “There was a general discussion of the possibility of going down the military route, but obviously we were arguing very much for that to be if the United Nations route failed”, Blair said in 2010.

“This story is nothing new”. Christopher Meyer, Britain’s ambassador to the USA from 1997 to 2003, told the Chilcot inquiry that the plan for military action could have been signed “in blood” during those meetings.

Lindsey German from Stop the War Coalition told Press TV on Sunday that the revelation testifies the hypothesis that Blair took an illegal decision to take Britain to war in Iraq.

Growing public and political disquiet over the inordinate delay in publishing the findings of the inquiry has been focused on the possibility that it is being held up by Blair, unhappy with the criticisms that have been made of his conduct and actions in the run-up to the war in Chilcot’s report, which Blair along with the other witnesses who have come in for criticism have seen in advance in order to allow them to respond.

Alex Salmond, the SNP’s foreign affairs spokesman, said “the net was now closing” around Mr Blair and added to his concern over the thoroughness of the inquiry.

“The illegal invasion of Iraq has been unequivocally proven as a fraud and a massive deception by Tony Blair and the then UK Labour government”, he said.

The memos are likely to lead to demands for Sir John Chilcot to reopen his inquiry into the Iraq war.

Powell also discusses trade issues in the first memo, specifically the controversial decision by the Bush administration to impose a tariff on European Union steel imports in March 2002: “We do not expect Blair to dwell on the steel decision, although it was a bitter blow for him, as he indicated in his recent letter to you”.

He said last month he would write to Prime Minister David Cameron to set out a timetable for publication “as soon as I am able”.