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For those who still think that the iraqi war was about finding WoMD:
Cook: 'Blair admitted to me that Saddam had no usable WMD'
By Colin Brown, Political Editor
(Filed: 05/10/2003)
Tony Blair privately admitted that Saddam Hussein could not attack British or United States troops with chemical or biological weapons two weeks before Britain went to war against Iraq, Robin Cook alleges today.
The claim by the former foreign secretary that the Prime Minister misled Parliament and committed Britain to an illegal war is made in his memoirs, which he sold to The Sunday Times for a reputed £400,000.
Mr Cook recalls how he was given an intelligence briefing on Iraq by John Scarlett, the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, who has since given evidence to the Hutton Inquiry.
Mr Cook said: "The presentation was impressive in its integrity and shorn of the political slant with which No 10 encumbers any intelligence assessment.
"My conclusion at the end of an hour is that Saddam probably does not have weapons of mass destruction in the sense of weapons that could be used against large-scale civilian targets."
Two weeks later, on March 5, Mr Cook discussed the Scarlett briefing with Mr Blair. Mr Cook told Mr Blair he doubted Saddam had weapons of mass destruction that could strike strategic cities, but he might have battlefield weapons which could be used against British and US troops. "[Blair replied]: 'Yes, but all the effort he has had to put into concealment makes it difficult for him to assemble them quickly for use.' "
Those remarks appeared to contradict directly the assertion in the September Iraq dossier that Saddam could make his WMD ready for use in 45 minutes - the claim at the centre of the allegations by the BBC that led ultimately to the death of Dr David Kelly, the Government's weapons expert who killed himself shortly after appearing before the Commons foreign affairs select committee.
Mr Cook continues: "There were two distinct elements to this exchange that sent me away deeply troubled. The first was that the timetable to war was plainly not driven by the progress of the UN weapons inspections. Tony made no attempt to pretend that what Hans Blix [the chief UN weapons inspector] might report would make any difference to the countdown to invasion.
"The second troubling element to our conversation was that Tony did not try to argue me out of the view that Saddam did not have real weapons of mass destruction that were designed for strategic use against city populations and capable of being delivered with reliability over long distances."
Mr Cook also discloses that Mr Blair told him the US President George W Bush wanted to go to war in September last year, but was restrained by Mr Blair from doing so.
Mr Cook also discloses details of Cabinet discussions at which ministers raised serious concerns about the looming conflict. However, more surprisingly, Mr Cook claims that Gordon Brown, previously thought to be a sceptic about the war, delivered a "long and passionate statement of support" of the Prime Minister's strategy at a Cabinet meeting on March 13.
As Mr Blair flew home last night from an EU summit in Rome, a Downing Street spokesman said: "The idea that the Prime Minister ever said that Saddam Hussein did not have WMD is absurd."
By Colin Brown, Political Editor
(Filed: 05/10/2003)
Tony Blair privately admitted that Saddam Hussein could not attack British or United States troops with chemical or biological weapons two weeks before Britain went to war against Iraq, Robin Cook alleges today.
The claim by the former foreign secretary that the Prime Minister misled Parliament and committed Britain to an illegal war is made in his memoirs, which he sold to The Sunday Times for a reputed £400,000.
Mr Cook recalls how he was given an intelligence briefing on Iraq by John Scarlett, the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, who has since given evidence to the Hutton Inquiry.
Mr Cook said: "The presentation was impressive in its integrity and shorn of the political slant with which No 10 encumbers any intelligence assessment.
"My conclusion at the end of an hour is that Saddam probably does not have weapons of mass destruction in the sense of weapons that could be used against large-scale civilian targets."
Two weeks later, on March 5, Mr Cook discussed the Scarlett briefing with Mr Blair. Mr Cook told Mr Blair he doubted Saddam had weapons of mass destruction that could strike strategic cities, but he might have battlefield weapons which could be used against British and US troops. "[Blair replied]: 'Yes, but all the effort he has had to put into concealment makes it difficult for him to assemble them quickly for use.' "
Those remarks appeared to contradict directly the assertion in the September Iraq dossier that Saddam could make his WMD ready for use in 45 minutes - the claim at the centre of the allegations by the BBC that led ultimately to the death of Dr David Kelly, the Government's weapons expert who killed himself shortly after appearing before the Commons foreign affairs select committee.
Mr Cook continues: "There were two distinct elements to this exchange that sent me away deeply troubled. The first was that the timetable to war was plainly not driven by the progress of the UN weapons inspections. Tony made no attempt to pretend that what Hans Blix [the chief UN weapons inspector] might report would make any difference to the countdown to invasion.
"The second troubling element to our conversation was that Tony did not try to argue me out of the view that Saddam did not have real weapons of mass destruction that were designed for strategic use against city populations and capable of being delivered with reliability over long distances."
Mr Cook also discloses that Mr Blair told him the US President George W Bush wanted to go to war in September last year, but was restrained by Mr Blair from doing so.
Mr Cook also discloses details of Cabinet discussions at which ministers raised serious concerns about the looming conflict. However, more surprisingly, Mr Cook claims that Gordon Brown, previously thought to be a sceptic about the war, delivered a "long and passionate statement of support" of the Prime Minister's strategy at a Cabinet meeting on March 13.
As Mr Blair flew home last night from an EU summit in Rome, a Downing Street spokesman said: "The idea that the Prime Minister ever said that Saddam Hussein did not have WMD is absurd."
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