Government Officials tell UK inquiry that Iraq and Al-Qaeda were "not allies"

[Babur]

This inquiry has been long overdue but its findings hardly surprise me ,now since this was known 6 years ago then why did the UK go into Iraq then?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Al-Qaeda link to Iraq 'rejected'


The UK investigated claims of links between Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda but decided they were not "natural allies", the Iraq inquiry has been told.


Despite "sporadic" contacts between Al-Qaeda members and Iraq in the 1990s, there was no "serious collaboration", Foreign Office officials said.
The 9/11 attacks actually drove Iraq and Al-Qaeda further apart, they added.
In its second day of public hearings, the inquiry is looking into Iraq's weapons capability and UK policy.



'Clear account'


Inquiry chairman Sir John Chilcot said he was seeking a "clear account" of the government's assessment of the Iraqi threat in the run-up to the 2003 US-lead invasion and how that corresponded to what was discovered after the war.
The reasons for going to war in Iraq - including the now discredited claim that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction which could be used within 45 minutes of an order being given - are a long-standing source of controversy.
Asked about Iraq's involvement with terrorists, Tim Dowse - the Foreign Office's Director of Counter-Proliferation between 2001 and 2003 - said it had supported groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas in the past.
Following the 9/11 attacks and suggestions in the US of a link between Iraq and Al-Qaeda, he said the Foreign Office had looked at the matter "very carefully".




WITNESSES ON WEDNESDAY

<li class="bull"> William Ehrman: Foreign Office's director of international security (2000/02) and director general of defence and intelligence (2002-2004) <li class="bull"> Tim Dowse: Foreign Office's head of counter-proliferation (2001-2003)

Despite reports that senior members of Al-Qaeda had visited Iraq in the late 1990s, it concluded there was "nothing that looked like a relationship between the Iraqs and Al-Qaeda".
"After 9/11 we concluded that Iraq had stepped further back and they did not want to be associated with Al-Qaeda," he said. "They were not natural allies."
Sir William Ehrman, the Foreign Office's Director General for Defence and Intelligence between 2002 and 2004, said it had discussed the issue with Washington which had put "more weight" on the claims.
But he said: "Our view was that there was no evidence to suggest serious collaboration of any sort between Iraq and Al-Qaeda."
Addressing the overall threat posed by Iraq in 2001, the Foreign Office said it was "not top of its list" of countries causing concern because of their stated desire to develop weapons of mass destruction, ranking below Iran, North Korea and Libya.
With sanctions in place against Iraq, the Foreign Office believed Saddam Hussein could not build a nuclear weapon and, even if sanctions were removed, it was estimated it would take him five years to do so.



'Unanswered questions'


As for biological and chemical weapons, Mr Dowse said most evidence suggested Iraq's programme had largely been "destroyed" in 1991.
However, he said recent intelligence suggested Iraq was seeking to rebuild its capacity and there were "unanswered questions" about its actual capability since weapons inspectors had been expelled in 1998.
He also said the threat posed by Iraq was viewed as "unique" from other "deliberate proliferators" as it had shown itself willing to use weapons of mass destruction on its own people and its neighbours and was flouting a range of UN disarmament resolutions.
The inquiry, looking at the whole period from 2001 to 2009, was set up by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who also chose the panel.
Mr Brown and predecessor Tony Blair are expected to be among future witnesses, with the inquiry not expected to report its full findings until the end of 2010 or early 2011.
The stated aim of the early hearings is to look at a "wide range" of factors leading up to war, including intelligence and diplomacy.
On Tuesday, the inquiry heard that the UK government had "distanced itself" from talk of removing Saddam Hussein in early 2001 despite concerns about his threat.
Previously, the Butler inquiry looked at intelligence failures before the war, while the Hutton inquiry examined the circumstances leading to the death of former government adviser David Kelly.

[Exarch]

al quaeda and iraq werent allies?
but heck, anyone savvy about the whole thing coulda told the Bush II admin. that

it musta been obvious i mean, saddam's regime was pretty secular

[Babur]

al quaeda and iraq werent allies?
but heck, anyone savvy about the whole thing coulda told the Bush II admin. that

it musta been obvious i mean, saddam's regime was pretty secular

they must have known this 6 years ago but they still went ahead

[Exarch]

they must have known this 6 years ago but they still went ahead

it was pretty clear from the get go, i mean, according to scott ritter, Bush II and his PFANAC cronies had plans for invading iraq even before 9/11

[Mikelus Trento]

it was pretty clear from the get go, i mean, according to scott ritter, Bush II and his PFANAC cronies had plans for invading iraq even before 9/11

I agree with this, except it should read "Dick Cheney and his cronies".

[Exarch]

I agree with this, except it should read "Dick Cheney and his cronies".

ur right, Bush II seemed like too much of a stunned mullet to do anything
cheney should at least be dragged in chains before the Hague

[Dr Zoidberg]

[Babur]

too true+rep

[shadyrome]

I thought it was mass destrution? Thats why usa and uk went in.

[Poach]

I thought we'd already largely established without public enquiries that Tony went to Iraq because he'd turned the UK into a US vassal and the US went in because they want oil? Aren't we long past the realisation that Iraq had no WMDs?

Come to think about it, wasn't there also something floating around about Iraq changing reserve currency to Euros?

[Barry Ferguson]

Shock news! Inquiry discovers that bears defecate in woods. Government "was aware" that Pope is Catholic

[Admiral Piett]

Pope is catholic?

[removeduser_487563287433]

This inquiry has been long overdue but its findings hardly surprise me ,now since this was known 6 years ago then why did the UK go into Iraq then?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Well, I find it far more interesting that it came out on the day the inquiry began (no coincidence, keep in mind) that the UK and the USA held discussions regarding the invasion of Iraq in 2001 - two years prior to the invasion.

UK representatives rejected invasion at this time "on legal grounds".

Pretty damning.

But most the Iraq War defenders are gone now, having quietly changed their tune - even on this forum. Maybe Oldgamer will say something, I dunno.

[Admiral Piett]

Well, I find it far more interesting that it came out on the day the inquiry began (no coincidence, keep in mind) that the UK and the USA held discussions regarding the invasion of Iraq in 2001 - two years prior to the invasion

Wrong. We've been trying to invade Iraq since 1996. Hehe

[motiv-8]

But most the Iraq War defenders are gone now, having quietly changed their tune - even on this forum. Maybe Oldgamer will say something, I dunno.

Hm? We didn't go anywhere. We're too busy observing success and/or gearing up for A-stan.

[removeduser_487563287433]

The ultimate "success" (now that the goalposts have been moved) of the Iraq War is irrelevent to the facts that the reasons for it have been debunked.

[motiv-8]

Establishing a safe and friendly democracy in Iraq has been debunked?

[Shaun]

Establishing a safe and friendly democracy in Iraq has been debunked?

You believe Iraq is safe?

[mongrel]

Establishing a safe and friendly democracy in Iraq has been debunked?

A bit like saying that Hitler's invasion of Poland was OK because it eventually led to a Democratic West Germany.

[Heathen Hammer]

Establishing a safe and friendly democracy in Iraq has been debunked?

US is there to establish a loyal puppet regime in a strategically important region. All this jazz about "democracy" and "safety" is just an ideological base used to justify the invasion and occupation of Iraq.