Blair ordered MoD Iraq plan nine months before war
Tony Blair ordered military chiefs secretly to prepare plans for an invasion of Iraq nine months before the start of the war, an inquiry into the conflict was told today.
Sir David Manning, the Prime Minister’s foreign policy adviser, said that Mr Blair asked the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to draw up options in June 2002 when he discovered that the United States was planning for war. The following month Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, offered three alternatives. The first “in-place package” involved using forces already in the region; the second “enhanced package” would provide additional maritime, aircraft and special forces; the third “discrete [separate] package” was to send 20,000 troops.
Mr Blair initially offered the “second package” when the MoD was asked to attend a planning conference with the US Central Command in September 2002.
However, after discussions between Mr Blair and Mr Hoon they decided to offer “package three” — the plan to send an army division to support the invasion — a month before the United Nations agreed resolution 1441 ordering Saddam Hussein to give up his weapons of mass destruction.
Read entire article at Times (UK)
Sir David Manning, the Prime Minister’s foreign policy adviser, said that Mr Blair asked the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to draw up options in June 2002 when he discovered that the United States was planning for war. The following month Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, offered three alternatives. The first “in-place package” involved using forces already in the region; the second “enhanced package” would provide additional maritime, aircraft and special forces; the third “discrete [separate] package” was to send 20,000 troops.
Mr Blair initially offered the “second package” when the MoD was asked to attend a planning conference with the US Central Command in September 2002.
However, after discussions between Mr Blair and Mr Hoon they decided to offer “package three” — the plan to send an army division to support the invasion — a month before the United Nations agreed resolution 1441 ordering Saddam Hussein to give up his weapons of mass destruction.