From The New York Times, 8/28/03:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/28/international/europe/28CND-BLAI.html?hp
Blair Says He Would Have Quit if BBC Claims Were True
By WARREN HOGE
LONDON --
Prime Minister Tony Blair said today that he would have had to resign
had there been truth to a BBC report that his government had "sexed
up" an intelligence dossier on Iraq with dubious information.
Giving evidence to the judicial inquiry into the death of the weapons
expert identified as the BBC's source, Mr. Blair said he had viewed
the report as "an absolutely fundamental charge" that went beyond the
area of permissible dissent to attack his integrity.
"It is one thing to say we disagree with the government, we should not
have gone to war; people can have a disagreement about that," Mr.
Blair said.
"But if the allegation had been true, it would have merited my
resignation."
The report said Mr. Blair's aides had inserted into the dossier on
Iraqi arms the claim that Saddam Hussein had chemical and biological
weapons that could be deployed within 45 minutes of an order being
given.
The BBC report further said that the aides knew the claim to be false
and forced it into the document over the objections of intelligence
chiefs.
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Bye, bye, Tony. Your owner, Georgie'll be following you shortly.
Harry
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