As stated in “The Report of the Iraq Inquiry – Executive Summary”: “237. In an interview on 10 March, President Chirac stated that it was for the inspectors to advise whether they could complete their task. If they reported that they were not in a position to guarantee Iraq’s disarment, it would be:
‘… for the Security Council alone to decide the right thing to do. But in that case… regrettably, that war would become inevitable. It isn’t today.’
238. President Chirac stated that he did not consider that the draft resolution tabled by the US, UK, and Spain would attract support from nine members of the Security Council. In that case, there would be no majority for action, “‘So there won’t be a veto problem.’
239. But if there were a majority ‘in favor of the new resolution’, France would ‘vote *no*’.
240. In response to a question asking, ‘And, this is your position in principle?’, President Chirac responded:
239. But if there were a majority ‘in favor of the new resolution’, France would ‘vote *no*’.
240. In response to a question asking, ‘And, this is your position in principle?’, President Chirac responded:
‘My position is that, regardless of the circumstances, France will vote *no* because she considers this evening that there are no grounds for waging war in order to achieve the goal we have set ourselves, that is to disarm Iraq.’ “
– Commissioned by the Prime Minister The Right Honourable Gordon Brown MP, “The Report of the Iraq Inquiry: Executive Summary,” IraqInquiry.org.uk, March 10, 2003