posted October 27, 2004 03:01 AM              

By Colin Brown, Deputy Political Editor
27 October 2004

Secret plans for the war in Iraq were passed to British Army chiefs by US defence planners five months before the invasion was launched, a court martial heard yesterday.

The revelation strengthened suspicions that Tony Blair gave his agreement to President George Bush to go to war while the diplomatic efforts to force Saddam Hussein to comply with UN resolutions were continuing.

Alan Simpson, the leader of Labour Against the War, said the documents were "dynamite", if genuine, and showed that Clare Short was right to assert in her book, serialised in The Independent, that Mr Blair had "knowingly misled" Parliament.

The plans were revealed during the court martial of L/Cpl Ian Blaymire, 23, from Leeds, who is charged with the manslaughter of a comrade while serving in Iraq. Sgt John Nightingale, 32, a reservist from Guiseley, West Yorkshire, died after being shot in the chest on 23 September last year.

The court, at Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, heard that contingency plans were drawn up by Lt Col Christopher Warren, staff officer at Land Command, Salisbury, Wiltshire, who was responsible for operational training.

Lt Col Warren said US planners had passed on dates for which the invasion was planned. The hearing was told Army chiefs wanted the training for the Army to start at the beginning of December 2002. However, due to "sensitivities" the training was delayed.

The court heard the training for the TA began two months late and for the regular Army one month late. Lt Col Warren was asked what the sensitivities were. He replied: "Because in December there was a world interest. If the UK had mobilised while all this was going on that would have shown an intent before the political process had been allowed to run its course."

The hearing was adjourned.

posted October 27, 2004 06:21 AM              

*shrug*

posted October 27, 2004 10:32 AM              

It was set longer read the post "War Secrets"

Woodward reports that just five days after Sept. 11, President Bush indicated to National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice that while he had to do Afghanistan first, he was also determined to do something about Saddam Hussein.

”There's some pressure to go after Saddam Hussein. Don Rumsfeld has said, ‘This is an opportunity to take out Saddam Hussein, perhaps. We should consider it.’ And the president says to Condi Rice meeting head to head, ‘We won't do Iraq now.’ But it is a question we're gonna have to return to,’” says Woodward.

“And there's this low boil on Iraq until the day before Thanksgiving, Nov. 21, 2001. This is 72 days after 9/11. This is part of this secret history. President Bush, after a National Security Council meeting, takes Don Rumsfeld aside, collars him physically, and takes him into a little cubbyhole room and closes the door and says, ‘What have you got in terms of plans for Iraq? What is the status of the war plan? I want you to get on it. I want you to keep it secret.’"

Woodward says immediately after that, Rumsfeld told Gen. Tommy Franks to develop a war plan to invade Iraq and remove Saddam - and that Rumsfeld gave Franks a blank check.

”Rumsfeld and Franks work out a deal essentially where Franks can spend any money he needs. And so he starts building runways and pipelines and doing all the preparations in Kuwait, specifically to make war possible,” says Woodward.

“Gets to a point where in July, the end of July 2002, they need $700 million, a large amount of money for all these tasks. And the president approves it. But Congress doesn't know and it is done. They get the money from a supplemental appropriation for the Afghan War, which Congress has approved. …Some people are gonna look at a document called the Constitution which says that no money will be drawn from the Treasury unless appropriated by Congress. Congress was totally in the dark on this."

Woodward says there was a lot happening that only key Bush people knew about.

”A year before the war started, three things are going on. Franks is secretly developing this war plan that he's briefing the president in detail on,” says Woodward. “Franks simultaneously is publicly denying that he's ever been asked to do any plan.”

posted October 27, 2004 10:59 AM            

Now Mirandee, you're going to have to use all your fingers and toes in a quest to count the number of months and days between the time Congress authorized the President to use force in Iraq and the day of the invasion of Iraq by coalition forces.

Here's the dates....good luck. One clue, it's more than 5 months.

Congress authorizes the President to use force in Iraq.

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 2, 2002

Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021002-2.html

Military action begins in Iraq.
Thursday March 20, 2003

posted October 27, 2004 10:59 PM              

I'M TELLING YOU that if the foreign wife of an enlisted NCO knows that Iraq is going to be attacked a good 6 months before the first strike is launched, then it is not a big flippin' secret. OK? That's all.

posted October 27, 2004 11:47 PM              

Jwhop if you don't agree with what I say in these posts fine. I don't agree with your hate spew either. When all a person does is spew out hate and call anyone who does not agree with him names nothing he says he cridible to me. I don't know about these other people here I can't speak for them but it is not credible to me if all it contains is an us against them mentality and hate. If all you can bring yourself to read is articles from Newsmax and other conservative right sites and label any other information "liberal" or "radical leftist" that just shows how very narrow and closed your mind is. It shows how limited you are in getting information. Anyone with a close mind cannot learn one new thing. Therefore to question what anyone knows or how right they are is ludicrous coming from you.