Britain's Iraq War Inquiry Uncovers Bush-Blair Lies and Deception

Interview with Dave Lindorff, author and columnist, conducted by Scott Harris

Last week, a British commission established by Prime Minister Gordon Brown launched an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding former Prime Minister Tony Blair's decision to support President Bush's 2003 invasion of Iraq. The inquiry, headed by former civil servant Sir John Chilcot, has gathered information that indicate Blair was told by his government's most senior legal adviser that an invasion of Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein would be a serious breach of international law and the UN charter.

News leaked from the commission to the British press has revealed that Blair's government lied to Parliament and the public about the country's involvement in war planning that had begun early in 2002. Sir William Ehrman, former director general of defense and intelligence at Britain's Foreign Office testified that on the eve of the Iraq War, intelligence chiefs told Blair that the Iraqi dictator had no warheads capable of delivering chemical weapons, yet the former prime minister gave the go-ahead for the invasion despite strong evidence that Iraq was no threat to Britain.

This inquiry is a natural follow up to the Downing Street Memos, leaked to the British press in 2005. The memos revealed notes made by the head of Britain's MI6 spy agency, recounting a visit to Washington where he was told that President Bush was planning to remove Saddam Hussein from power, but that the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with author and columnist Dave Lindorff, who discusses the work of the British commission’s current investigation into the origins of the Iraq War.

Read Dave Lindorff's article about the British inquiry at the website: www.thiscantbehappening.net

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"Between The Lines" is a half-hour syndicated radio news magazine that each week features a summary of under-reported news stories and interviews with activists and journalists who offer progressive perspectives on international, national and regional political, economic and social issues. Because "Between The Lines" is independent of all publications, media networks or political parties, we are able to bring a diversity of voices to the airwaves generally ignored or marginalized by the major media. For more information on this week's topics and to check out our text archive listing topics and guests presented in previous programs visit: www.btlonline.org
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