Thatcher: There Were No Facts Supporting
War
The Independent
By Andrew Grice
Published: 14 October 2005
Baroness Thatcher has criticised Tony Blair for taking Britain to war in
Iraq on the basis of flawed evidence about Saddam Hussein's weapons. The former
prime minister's embarrassing criticism emerged as Mr Blair was among the 670
guests who attended a party to mark her 80th birthday.
Although Lady Thatcher remains a strong supporter of the decision to topple
Saddam by invading Iraq, it is the first time she has questioned the basis for
the war. Yesterday's Washington Post reported that when asked whether she would
have invaded Iraq given the intelligence at the time, Lady Thatcher replied: "I
was a scientist before I was a politician. And as a scientist I know you need
facts, evidence and proof - and then you check, recheck and check again."
She added: "The fact was that there were no facts, there was no evidence,
and there was no proof. As a politician the most serious decision you can take
is to commit your armed services to war from which they may not return."
The article was written by the journalist Tina Brown, who said she had been
told Lady Thatcher's view by Lord Palumbo, the former chairman of the Arts
Council, who asked the former prime minister about Iraq when he had lunch with
her six months ago. Lord Palumbo was also among the guests at last night's
party at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel near Hyde Park, London. The guest list,
which was headed by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, included many former
members of Lady Thatcher's cabinets as well as prominent figures from industry,
arts, showbusiness and the media.
The Tory leader Michael Howard and the two right-wing candidates for the
leadership, David Davis and Liam Fox, were present but the two moderates - Ken
Clarke and David Cameron - had not been invited.
Lady Thatcher's office did not dispute her reported remarks but said she had
been - and remained - in full support of the decision to oust Saddam by
military means, which she always believed would be the only way to remove him.
Aides said she wished that had been achieved by the first Gulf War, prompted by
Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, which took place shortly after she was forced to
resign as Prime Minister after losing the confidence of her cabinet.
Her criticism of Mr Blair's methods comes as a surprise given her staunch
backing for the conflict. In 2002, on a visit to America, she said she was
"proud that Britain stands where we all must stand - as America's surest and
staunchest ally". She told the Heritage Foundation in Washington: "Prime
Minister Blair and I are, as is well known, political opponents but, in this
vital matter, I salute his strong, bold leadership."
Although Mr Blair condemned Saddam's record in the build-up to the war, he
did not advocate "regime change" because that would have been illegal. Instead,
he sought to build a case on the ground that Saddam's arsenal put him in breach
of United Nations resolutions. After no weapons of mass destruction were found
after the conflict, Mr Blair sought to justify it by arguing that the world is
a better place without Saddam in power.
The continuing problems in Iraq were highlighted when Jack Straw, the
Foreign Secretary, admitted that it could take up to 10 years to turn the
country into a stable democracy. He told BBC2's Newsnight programme: "I am
optimistic about Iraq. I think in five to 10 years we will see it becoming
stable."
An ICM survey for the programme found that 31 per cent of people wanted
British troops pulled out immediately, while 23 per cent believed a firm date
should be set for withdrawal later. Some 40 per cent indicated they should stay
until the Iraqi security forces were ready to take over.
Mr Straw told the Cabinet yesterday that, with a referendum on the Iraqi
constitution taking place tomorrow, the political strategy for the country was
"on track". He cited higher levels of voter registration than for the elections
earlier this year.
The Foreign Secretary said that transforming a failed state into a
successful democracy would always take time. It took four years to elect a
national government in post-war Germany, but just two in Iraq.
Sir Menzies Campbell, foreign affairs spokesman for the Liberal Democrats,
said Mr Straw's remarks about a 10-year period showed that the Government did
not have a credible exit strategy. "None of this was ever put before parliament
or the British people in March 2003 when military action commenced," he
said.
|