3/8/2002

According to former British politician Clare Short: “A paper was commissioned which reviewed UK policy towards Iraq. It was dated 8 March 2002 and was kept secret from most of us in Cabinet. It recorded that ‘the US administration has lost faith in containment [and] is now considering regime change.’ The paper went on to make it clear that this would require military action and probably a full-scale ground campaign. It spelled out that ‘a legal justification for invasion would be needed’ and that ‘none currently exists.’ It concluded that a ground campaign ‘is the only option that we can be confident will remove Saddam,’ and to launch such a campaign would require a staged approach ‘winding up the pressure… A refusal to admit UN inspectors, or their admission and subsequent likely frustration which resulted in an appropriate finding by the Security Council could provide the justification for military action.’ ”

 – Clare Short, An Honourable Deception?, Pages 281-282