Iraq war build-up 'left us scrabbling for smoking gun' says ex-UK ambassador

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• Sir Christopher Meyer says plans to invade Iraq did not give time for weapons inspectors
• Meyer: 'not clear if Blair signed in blood' for invasion at George Bush's Texas ranch
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/nov/26/bush-administration-911-iraq-inquiry

The military timetable for an invasion of Iraq in 2003 did not give time for UN weapons inspectors in the country to do their job, the former British ambassador to Washington told the Iraq inquiry in London today.

Sir Christopher Meyer said the "unforgiving nature" of the build-up after American forces had been told to prepare for war meant that "we found ourselves scrabbling for the smoking gun".

He added: "It was another way of saying 'it's not that Saddam has to prove that he's innocent, we've now bloody well got to try and prove he's guilty.' And we – the Americans, the British – have never really recovered from that because of course there was no smoking gun."

The US had first prepared for invasion in January but the date was later moved to March. "All that said, when you looked at the timetable for the inspections, it was impossible to see how (Hans) Blix could bring the process to a conclusion, for better or for worse, by March."

Asked about Tony Blair's meeting with Bush at Crawford, Texas, in April 2002, where, some observers believe, the decision to go to war was made, Meyer said: "To this day I'm not entirely clear what degree of convergence was signed in blood at the Texas range."

[yourout]

1. Iraq war build-up 'left us scrabbling ...TO CREATE... a smoking gun' says ex-UK ambassador

Fixed.

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2. It's why they fell for the Niger forgeries

They knew they were crap but didn't have much choice at that point.

It's also why they waterbozrded Khalid Sheikh Mohammed 183 times in March 2003. They were hoping he'd cough up something -- besides water, of course.