Secret papers warned Blair war on Iraq was 'illegal'

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http://www.capetimes.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=272 & fArticleId=2262116

 

Secret papers warned Blair war on Iraq was 'illegal'

October 15, 2004

 

London: Secret government documents show that Tony Blair was warned by

his own advisers a year before going to war that there was no growing

threat from Saddam Hussein and that invading Iraq would be illegal.

 

Confidential papers, including a secret memo from Jack Straw to the

prime minister, say that Iraq had not " stepped up " its weapons

programmes and that invading Iraq would be " legally very difficult " .

 

They advised that the threat from Iraq's weapons of mass destruction

programme should be emphasised to help make the legal case for war

even though intelligence showed " the pace of Saddam Hussein's WMD

programme " had not speeded up.

 

The secret papers, which the Independent Foreign Service has seen,

show the government was warned a year before the invasion of Iraq that

intelligence on WMD in Iraq was " poor " .

 

" The truth is that what has changed is not the pace of Saddam

Hussein's WMD programmes, but our tolerance of them post-11

September, " says a memo from the Foreign Office's then political

director, Peter Ricketts, entitled Iraq: Advice for the Prime Minister.

 

The secret documents give a glimpse of the serious doubts at the

highest level of government about the legality of the war.

 

They come as Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney-General, faced a call for

his resignation and as the foreign secretary was forced to formally

withdraw M16's evidence that Saddam could deploy weapons within 45

minutes.

 

" A legal justification for invasion would be needed. Subject to Law

Officers' advice, none currently exists, " says a paper marked Secret

UK Eyes Only, prepared by Cabinet Office experts on March 8. " This

makes moving quickly to invade legally very difficult. "

 

The documents will also fuel claims by MPs that Blair was secretly

pursuing a policy of regime change in Iraq but could not admit it

publicly because it would have been against international law.

 

The secret papers also show that law officers warned a year before

Britain went to war that it was up to the UN Security Council to

assess whether Saddam Hussein had breached UN resolutions and that

this was not a judgment that could be made by an individual state such

as Britain or the US.

 

But the prime minister was also warned repeatedly that regime change

would be illegal under international law and that, a year before the

Iraq war, there were no legal grounds for invading Iraq at all.

 

A startlingly frank memo to Blair from Jack Straw warned of legal

" elephant traps " the government may have to face.