US Was 'Hell Bent' on Iraq War, UK Envoy Says

[BATMAN]

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US Was 'Hell Bent' on Iraq War, UK Envoy Says
Bush administration didn't care about getting U.N. support, he tells inquiry
by David Stringer

LONDON - The United States was "hell bent" on a 2003 military invasion of Iraq and actively undermined efforts by Britain to win international authorization for the war, a former British diplomat told an inquiry Friday.


Jeremy Greenstock, British ambassador to the United Nations from 1998 to 2003, said that President George W. Bush had no real interest in attempts to agree on a U.N. resolution to provide explicit backing for the conflict.

The ex-diplomat, who served as Britain's envoy in Iraq after the invasion, said serious preparations for the war had begun in early 2002 and took on an unstoppable momentum.

As diplomats frantically attempted in early 2003 to agree upon a U.N. resolution approving a military offensive, Bush's key aides grew impatient - criticizing the process as an unnecessary distraction, he said.

Grumbling from Washington "included noises about 'this is a waste of time, what we need is regime change, why are we bothering with this, we must sweep this aside and do what's going to have to be done anyway - and deal with this with the use of force,'" Greenstock testified before the inquiry into the Iraq war.

Several nations had hoped to stall the invasion of Iraq to allow U.N. weapons inspectors more time to search for evidence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction - the key justification for the war. No such weapons were ever found.

Yet Bush's inner circle cared little about what international allies thought and refused to halt plans to invade in March 2003, Greenstock said. He said even Blair was unable to persuade Bush, winning only a brief hiatus of two weeks.

"The momentum for earlier action in the United States was much too strong for us to counter," Greenstock said in a written statement to the inquiry, provided alongside his live testimony.

Britain's inquiry is the most exhaustive study yet into the war and will seek evidence from former Prime Minister Tony Blair, military officials and spy agency chiefs. It won't apportion blame or establish criminal or civil liability. But it will offer recommendations by late 2010 on how to prevent mistakes from being repeated in the future.

Greenstock told the five-person inquiry panel that the failure to win U.N. approval for the war had seriously undermined the legitimacy of the conflict.

He said, in his opinion, the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was legal - a view rejected by critics who say it violated international law - but was of "questionable legitimacy."

"It did not have the democratically observable backing of the great majority of member states, or even perhaps of the majority of people inside the U.K.," he said.

In London, an anti-war rally in 2003 drew an estimated 2 million demonstrators - the largest street protest in a generation.

Greenstock told the panel he had his own doubts, and had threatened to resign if no international backing was agreed upon. His threat came before a Nov. 2002 resolution that offered Iraq a final opportunity to disarm and demanded access for weapons inspectors.

Efforts to agree on a sterner resolution authorizing military action foundered because the international community believed the U.S. was "hell bent on the use of force" regardless of world opinion, Greenstock said.

"The United States was not proactively supportive of the U.K.'s efforts and seemed to be preparing for conflict whatever the U.K. decided to do," Greenstock wrote in his statement.

Christopher Meyer, Britain's former ambassador to the U.S., told the inquiry Thursday that he believed Bush and Blair had used a meeting at Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, in April 2002, to "sign in blood" an agreement to take military action on Iraq. That was a year before Parliament approved Britain's involvement.
Greenstock said following the Crawford meeting, he realized Britain "was being drawn into quite a different discussion." But, like Meyer, he said the talks were secretive and the conversation between the two leaders was not disclosed to officials.

[arsenal_gooner]

where was afghanistan and capturing osama at the time

[BATMAN]

This report exactly defines attitudes and momentems before Iraq war, at the same time it also helps us to learn about the momentum of US and NATO for Afghan war.
We already know the infamous US declarations 'are u with us or against us' 'we will bomb you to stone age' and later dr.rice with 'do more' mantra.
I really would like to hear from P.Musharraf about US war momentum before Afghan war because he is the only fellow who have faced it first hand.
At least one thing is sure that this 'regime change' seems to be a key US foreign policy.

[Abu Zolfiqar]

i hate to bump such an old topic.....

i saw these video clips and felt that those who havent seen them should see them


this is Michael Moore (also directed Fahrenheit 9/11) in an interview with the hawkish Bill O Reilly

[Luftwaffe]

All it needs is a confident man to beat bill o looney.

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Micheal More is a enlightened man , he sees things - right thru the false propaganda

[khurasaan1]

Micheal More is a enlightened man , he sees things - right thru the false propaganda

very true bro! u realli hit the nail in the head........Michael Moore is a very resourceful guys...knows exactly whats going on.....Alhamdolillah......exposing everything about the Illuminati/secret society or Satanic pplz......

[Tshering22]

The Iraq war is one war that every Indian is also against. There was no reason to invade Iraq and what was thought to be a strategic clever trick for US, turned out to be a fiasco, sending US into recession and costing Iraq lakhs of lives and national stability. Saddam then was of no consequence to NATO at all just as Gaddafi is not, right now. These stupid war campaigns are going to cost their sagging economy worse if they continue to fight without any reason.

Back to topic, Iraq war simply was a waste of lives, money, time and resources.

[lem34]

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USA will even leave Afghanistan and only Pakistan will pay for this war

Dont think so. What with peanuts.