War Decided before Reasons

"C reported on his recent talks in Washington. There was a perceptible shift in attitude. Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."

On Sunday, The Times of Britain published leaked minutes from a July 2002 meeting of senior ministers and advisors in the Blair government. The secret document reveals that "Bush had made up his mind to take military action, even if the timing was not yet decided." Moreover, it concluded that the Blair government "should work on the assumption that the UK would take part in any military action."

The thrust of the meeting focused on how best to legally justify the already determined war. It noted, "We should work up a plan for an ultimatum to Saddam to allow back in the UN weapons inspectors. This would also help with the legal justification for the use of force."

• "Blair hit by new leak of secret war plan," by Michael Smith (The Sunday Times, 1 May 2005)
• "Blair planned Iraq war from start," by Michael Smith (The Sunday Times, 1 May 2005)
• "Papers reveal commitment to war," by Richard Norton-Taylor and Patrick Wintour (The Guardian, 2 May 2005)
• "Proof Bush Fixed the Facts," by Ray McGovern (TomPaine.com, 4 May 2005)
• "British Memo Indicates Bush Made Intelligence Fit Iraq Policy," by Warren P. Strobel and John Walcott (Knight Ridder, 6 May 2005)