Financial Times - UK
By James Politi in Washington, James Blitz in Evian and Mark Turner at the United Nations
Published: June 2 2003 19:58 | Last Updated: June 2 2003 19:58
US and British leaders were on Monday scrambling to explain why they had so far failed to find evidence of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction as United Nations weapons inspectors reported that Baghdad was handing over fresh information just hours before the US-led air strikes that began the war.
At the G8 summit in Evian, Tony Blair, the UK prime minister, was forced to deflect suggestions by a former cabinet minister that he had decided last September to go to war with Iraq, whether or not United Nations support was forthcoming.
"The idea . . . that I made some secret agreement with George Bush last September that we would invade Iraq in any event at a particular time is completely and totally untrue," he said.
Colin Powell, US secretary of state, said "it wasn't a figment of anyone's imagination" that Iraq possessed WMD. "There was no doubt in my mind as I went through the intelligence that the evidence was overwhelming," Mr Powell said in Rome, before heading to the Middle East.
But both the US Congress and the UK parliament appear determined to hold their leaders to account on the issue.
The Senate Intelligence Committee is likely to hold a public hearing this month to examine the administration's use of intelligence. And leading members of Mr Blair's Labour party are calling on the prime minister to explain himself to parliament.
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"But both the US Congress and the UK parliament appear determined to hold their leaders to account on the issue."
One can only hope and pray this does indeed happen...
BadGImp
posted by BadGimp @ 5:40 PM
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