Bush Was Set on Path to War, Memo by British Adviser Says
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/27/international/europe/27memo.html
LONDON — In the weeks before the United States-led invasion of Iraq,
as the United States and Britain pressed for a second United Nations
resolution condemning Iraq, President Bush's public ultimatum to
Saddam Hussein was blunt: Disarm or face war.
But behind closed doors, the president was certain that war was inevitable.
During a private two-hour meeting in the Oval Office on Jan. 31, 2003,
he made clear to Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain that
he was determined to invade Iraq without the second resolution,
or even if international arms inspectors failed to find unconventional weapons,
said a confidential memo about the meeting written by Mr. Blair's top
foreign policy adviser and reviewed by The New York Times.
"Our diplomatic strategy had to be arranged around the military planning,"
David Manning, Mr. Blair's chief foreign policy adviser at the time,
wrote in the memo that summarized the discussion between Mr. Bush,
Mr. Blair and six of their top aides.
"The start date for the military campaign was now penciled in
for 10 March," Mr. Manning wrote, paraphrasing the president.
"This was when the bombing would begin."
The memo indicates the two leaders envisioned a quick victory
and a transition to a new Iraqi government that would be complicated,
but manageable. Mr. Bush predicted that it was "unlikely there
would be internecine warfare between the different religious
and ethnic groups." Mr. Blair agreed with that assessment.
The memo also shows that the president and the prime minister
acknowledged that no unconventional weapons had been found
inside Iraq.
Faced with the possibility of not finding any before the planned invasion,
Mr. Bush talked about several ways to provoke a confrontation,
including a proposal to paint a United States surveillance plane
in the colors of the United Nations in hopes of drawing fire,
or assassinating Mr. Hussein.
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