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Jack Straw begged Blair not to go to war: Book
London, Sept 15: In a new bombshell on the Iraq crisis, a book claimed that British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw had begged Tony Blair not to send British troops into action, but the Prime Minister rejected the suggestion point-blank.
London, Sept 15: In a new bombshell on the Iraq crisis, a book claimed that British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw had begged Tony Blair not to send British troops into action, but the Prime Minister rejected the suggestion point-blank.
In a confidential `personal minute` he wrote to Blair just before the fighting started, the Foreign Secretary suggested that the UK should offer the Americans `political and moral support` but not combat support, `Blair`s Wars`, by the political writer John Kampfner, said.
The book is being serialised in a British newspaper on Sunday. Straw argued that the United Nations refusal to back the invasion would make it damaging for Britain to take part.
Straw called on Blair to tell President George W. Bush that British soldiers would help clear up the mess and keep the peace once the war was over, but "we would not fight the Iraqis".
A shocked Prime Minister "rejected the suggestion point-blank" saying there was no going back - and forced him to promise to keep quiet, `Blair`s Wars` said. Blair secretly decided in April 2002 to go to war, a full year before hostilities - but kept it secret from his cabinet, the book claimed.
According to it, the 45-minute claim about Saddam`s missiles was "a red herring designed to scare and Blair knew it". It said Downing Street was kept in the dark when Bush ordered US forces into action.
The disclosure is a massive blow to the Prime Minister. The Hutton inquiry into the suicide of Dr David Kelly, the defence scientist, has already forced Blair`s chief of communications, Alastair Campbell, to resign.
Until now Straw has always been regarded as one of Blair`s most loyal allies. No one has been more robust in defending the war and Britain`s role in it. Straw will now be under intense political pressure to account for his attempt to stop British troops getting involved.
Kampfner, one of Britain`s most respected political writers, reveals how straw confronted Blair when the Prime Minister returned from an eve-of-war summit in the Azores with Bush.
"Straw decided to write a `personal minute` urging him to think about alternative strategies. He suggested that, without a second UN resolution, Britain might consider offering full political and moral support to the US.
"It would offer to deploy troops at the end of the war for peace enforcement. But this should stop short of full military engagement," Kampfer wrote. Bureau Report
The book is being serialised in a British newspaper on Sunday. Straw argued that the United Nations refusal to back the invasion would make it damaging for Britain to take part.
Straw called on Blair to tell President George W. Bush that British soldiers would help clear up the mess and keep the peace once the war was over, but "we would not fight the Iraqis".
A shocked Prime Minister "rejected the suggestion point-blank" saying there was no going back - and forced him to promise to keep quiet, `Blair`s Wars` said. Blair secretly decided in April 2002 to go to war, a full year before hostilities - but kept it secret from his cabinet, the book claimed.
According to it, the 45-minute claim about Saddam`s missiles was "a red herring designed to scare and Blair knew it". It said Downing Street was kept in the dark when Bush ordered US forces into action.
The disclosure is a massive blow to the Prime Minister. The Hutton inquiry into the suicide of Dr David Kelly, the defence scientist, has already forced Blair`s chief of communications, Alastair Campbell, to resign.
Until now Straw has always been regarded as one of Blair`s most loyal allies. No one has been more robust in defending the war and Britain`s role in it. Straw will now be under intense political pressure to account for his attempt to stop British troops getting involved.
Kampfner, one of Britain`s most respected political writers, reveals how straw confronted Blair when the Prime Minister returned from an eve-of-war summit in the Azores with Bush.
"Straw decided to write a `personal minute` urging him to think about alternative strategies. He suggested that, without a second UN resolution, Britain might consider offering full political and moral support to the US.
"It would offer to deploy troops at the end of the war for peace enforcement. But this should stop short of full military engagement," Kampfer wrote. Bureau Report