“[O]n July 23, [2002] Blair held a secret (and urgent) meeting at 10 Downing Street, the headquarters of the UK government, with close colleagues and intelligence chiefs. A record of this meeting was made, and it shows that Blair wanted a fuller picture of U.S. planning [to attack Iraq] before making a firm decision. But […]
7/23/2002
“On July 23 [2002], [British Foreign Secretary Jack] Straw was one of several advisers who told [U.K. Prime Minister Tony] Blair that ‘military action was now seen as inevitable’ by Washington and there was ‘no patience with the U.N. route…[and] little discussion…on the aftermath.’ ” – Karen DeYoung, Soldier: The Life of Colin Powell, Page […]
7/23/2002
According to the Downing Street Memo, which was released on July 23, 2002: ” ‘It seemed clear that [President] Bush had made up his mind to take military action [against Iraq], even if the timing was not yet decided. But the case was thin. Saddam was not threatening his neighbors, and his WMD capability was […]
7/23/2002
According to the Downing Street Memo, which was released on July 23, 2002: ” ‘C [the head of MI6, Britain’s foreign intelligence service] reported on his recent talks in Washington. There was a perceptible shift in attitude. Military action was now seen as inevitable. [President] Bush wanted to remove Saddam through military action, justified by […]
7/23/2002
The ‘Downing Street Memo‘ appeared in the Sunday Times (London) on July 23, 2002. “It says that ‘the intelligence and the facts [about Iraq] were being fixed around the policy.’ This has led large numbers of Members of Congress to complain that they were misled before they voted to authorise the war. The memo was […]
7/23/2002
“[I]n May 2005, the ‘Downing Street Memo‘ was reported in The Sunday Times [London]. The leaked memo from July [23] 2002 detailed a briefing to [British Prime Minister Tony] Blair by a British intelligence official, just back from America, simply known as ‘C.’ …The 2002 memo read: ‘C reported on his recent talks in Washington. […]
7/23/2002
The Downing Street Memo, a record of minutes from a July 23, 2002, meeting between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his senior ministers, was published in the Sunday Times (London) on May 1, 2005. It “revealed that, following 9/11, members of the Bush administration ‘wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the […]
7/23/2002
“On July 23, 2002, [U.K. Prime Minister] Tony Blair held a meeting with senior members of his government to discuss Iraq. Richard Dearlove, the head of British intelligence, briefed the group on his recent talks in Washington, where he had met with CIA Director George Tenet. The minutes of the meeting recorded his report: ‘Military […]
7/23/2002
British Foreign Policy Aide Matthew Rycroft sent a memo to British Chief Foreign Policy Aide David Manning on July 23, 2002, which was one of the Downing Street Memos leaked in May 2005. Rycroft said: ” ‘It seemed clear that Bush had made up his mind to take military action [in Iraq], even if the […]
7/22/2002
“On July 22 [2002], Prince Ahmed [bin Salman] dies of an apparent heart attack in Riyadh [Saudi Arabia] at the age of forty-three. He is the first of three prominent Saudis named by [Al Qaeda operations chief Abu] Zubaydah as links between the royal family and Al Qaeda to die that week.” – Craig Unger, […]