The Sunday Telegraph (UK) claims to have obtained hundreds of pages of secret Government reports on the lessons learnt from the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
On 22 November 2009, Andrew Gilligan, in The Sunday Telegraph, (Secret papers reveal blunders and concealment) reveals:
1. British military planning for Iraq regime change began in February 2002.
Throughout 2002 Tony Blair stated that Britain's aim was "disarmament, not regime change."
On July 16 2002, Blair was asked: "Are we then preparing for possible military action in Iraq?"
He replied: "No."
According to the leaked documents, "formation-level planning for a (British) deployment (to Iraq) took place from February 2002".
Maj Gen Graeme Lamb, the director of special forces during the Iraq war, is quoted as saying: "I had been working the war up since early 2002."
2. Blair concealed the invasion plan from Parliament and all but "very small numbers" of officials.
This "constrained" the planning of the invasion.
William Hogarth. Idol Worship or The Way to Preferment. 1740. © All rights reserved by arthistory390
3. The invasion operation was "rushed" and "lacking in coherence and resources."
This caused "significant risk" to troops and "critical failure" in the post-war period.
Some soldiers went into battle with only five bullets each.
Some had to get to the war on civilian airlines, taking their equipment as hand luggage.
Some soldiers had their weapons confiscated by airport security.
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Former BBC chief Greg Dyke accused the UK Government of "trying to kill" Andrew Gilligan, the journalist who, with the help of Dr David Kelly, revealed the truth about the dodgy dossier on Iraq. (Richard Sambrook.)
1 comment:
Lets not also forget as Teflon BLiar was preparing for WAR ..He had also arranged for a complete Blackout on Operation Ore. Would not been seen as 'Cricket' for our lads to die while the biggest cover up in Goverment was taking place.
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