I'm not sure I've ever read a more ridiculous front page story than yesterday's Observer splash:
Confidential memo reveals US plan to provoke an invasion of Iraq
A confidential record of a meeting between President Bush and Tony Blair before the invasion of Iraq, outlining their intention to go to war without a second United Nations resolution, will be an explosive issue for the official inquiry into the UK's role in toppling Saddam Hussein.
The memo, written on 31 January 2003, almost two months before the invasion and seen by the Observer, confirms that as the two men became increasingly aware UN inspectors would fail to find weapons of mass destruction (WMD) they had to contemplate alternative scenarios that might trigger a second resolution legitimising military action.
Bush told Blair the US had drawn up a provocative plan "to fly U2
reconnaissance aircraft painted in UN colours over Iraq with fighter
cover". Bush said that if Saddam fired at the planes this would put the
Iraqi leader in breach of UN resolutions.The president expressed
hopes that an Iraqi defector would be "brought out" to give a public
presentation on Saddam's WMD or that someone might assassinate the
Iraqi leader. However, Bush confirmed even without a second resolution,
the US was prepared for military action. The memo said Blair told Bush
he was "solidly with the president".
Eh? Ignore the interpretation and spin, and look at what the record of the "confidential record of a meeting between President Bush and Tony Blair before the invasion of Iraq" actually says. That the two men worked on plans for the invasion. They made, in other words...plans.
What else are leaders expected to do? Does the Observer think that they should have only explored one option - a UN resolution - and that, if Saddam didn't comply, or if a resolution was not passed, they should have gone back to the drawing board, scratched their heads, and wondered what on earth they should then do?
So this devastating new memo reveals the shocking fact that Bish and Blair thought about a variety of options in Iraq. How incredible.
Not.
