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Hot Story! Memo shows Bush lied about WMB
May 7, 2005
By Greg Szymanski
An explosive memo sent to England’s Prime Minister and
others by a former foreign policy aide clearly shows
President Bush “doctored” intelligence reports prior to the
Iraqi invasion in order to justify war based on weapons of
mass destruction.
The potentially damaging memo was leaked to the London
press this week, revealing an internal memo sent on July
23, 2002, by Matthew Rycroft, a former defense policy aide.
Rycroft addressed his concerns about America’s deceptive
“rush to war” to England’s heads of state, including the
Prime Minister, Defense secretary, Foreign Secretary and
Attorney General.
Since the U.S. invaded Iraq based on an imminent threat of
WMD, the Bush administration has stood firm on its decision
to topple Sadaam Hussein, claiming it should not be now
blamed for faulty intelligence reports. To date no weapons
of mass destruction have ever been uncovered in Iraq and
serious questions have been raised about America’s “rush to
judgment” in attacking Iraq.
The memo, which has been verified as “Secret and Personal –
For UK Eyes Only,” clearly shows the Bush administration
lied to the American people about its basis for going to
war in Iraq. To date over 1,700 American troops have been
killed in the fighting and estimates of over 100,000
innocent Iraqi civilians have also perished.
The London press claims to have verified the authenticity
of the memo before publication, also blaming its own
government for following America to war even though it had
solid evidence no weapons of mass destruction existed in
Iraq.
Just prior to U.S. invasion, Rycroft, who was privy to
highly classified U.S. intelligence reports, clearly
reveals a deceptive strategy on the part of the Bush
administration to topple Hussein when he wrote:
“As reported in recent talks in Washington, there was a
perceptible shift in attitude. Military action was now seen
as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Sadaam, through
military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism
and WMD.
“But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the
policy. The NSC had no patience with the UN route, and no
enthusiasm for publishing material on the Iraqi regime's
record. There was little discussion in Washington of the
aftermath after military action.”
Regarding the memo, the Bush administration refused comment
saying it was unaware of the specific allegations. Critics
claim this memo clearly rebukes the justification of war,
resulting in a clear violation of international law.
The memo goes on to warn all recipients that it should
remain “secret” to all others in light of the highly
sensitive.
“This record is extremely sensitive. No further copies
should be made. It should be shown only to those with a
genuine need to know its contents,” writes Rycroft to the
Prime Minister.
He further added that “ The Defense Secretary said that the
US had already begun "spikes of activity" to put pressure
on the regime. No decisions had been taken, but he thought
the most likely timing in US minds for military action to
begin was January, with the timeline beginning 30 days
before the US Congressional elections.”
The memo went on to delineate two possible l U.S. war
strategies, Iraq’s most likely response and Bush’s personal
awareness of the whole plan.
“U.S. military planners are to brief CENTCOM on 1-2 August,
Rumsfeld on 3 August and Bush on 4 August (2002. The two
broad US (war) options were:
“ (a) Generated Start. A slow build-up of 250,000 US
troops, a short (72 hour) air campaign, then a move up to
Baghdad from the south. Lead time of 90 days (30 days
preparation plus 60 days deployment to Kuwait).
“ (b) Running Start. Use forces already in theatre (3 x
6,000), continuous air campaign . Total lead time of 60
days with the air campaign beginning even earlier. A
hazardous option.”
Critics of the Bush administration war strategy, claim this
shows clearly Bush “lied to the American people and should
be held accountable,” giving a full explanation about the
contents of the Rycroft memo.
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