US was warned of Iraq chaos, says ex-diplomat (plan for war as early as 4/2002)

[sabra]

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article1962686.ece

US was warned of Iraq chaos, says ex-diplomat

A former diplomat has revealed that the British mission to the United Nations opposed the policy of regime change in Iraq but was ordered by London to change its position in the lead-up to war.

The disclosure was made to MPs yesterday by Carne Ross, a member of the mission who resigned in protest at the Iraq war. He told the Foreign Affairs Committee that the US government was repeatedly warned by British diplomats that Iraq would fall apart if Saddam Hussein was toppled. But from mid-2002 instructions were received to change that view to fall in with the Bush administration.

Speaking in public for the first time since he left the diplomatic service two years ago, Mr Ross also confirmed suspicions that the Prime Minister made up his mind months before the Iraq invasion in March 2003 that the war was going to happen and British troops would take part. Mr Ross said when he was serving in the embassy in Afghanistan, as early as April 2002, British officials there knew troops were being held back in readiness for the Iraq invasion.

He claimed that when official documents from the Foreign Office are made public, they will prove that the view of British officials, repeatedly conveyed to the Americans, was that overthrowing Saddam Hussein would cause chaos.

He told MPs: "I took part in the bilateral discussion between the State Department and the Foreign Office for four years. One of the items repeatedly on the agenda was regime change. Whenever that item came up, the leader of our delegation would say, with emphasis: 'We do not believe regime change is a good idea in Iraq. The reason we do not believe that is because we believe Iraq will break up and there will be chaos if you do that'. That view will have been recorded in the telegrams that have remained secret, and will do for years. That was emphatically the unified view of the Foreign Office.

[grytpype]

1. Everyone knew this would be a disaster.

Except the neocons and their useful idiot, George W. Bush.

[mallard]

2. They were warned, as we see above...

and chose to ignore that warning, apparently willing to accept a very divided Iraq - one they still seem to want to divide into three.

[Synnical]

3. Downing Street Memo, anyone?

Bout time these people speak out!

[Miss Chybil]

4. K & R. nt

[LynnTheDem]

5. Gee Tony bLiar; regime change is ILLEGAL. As you know.

As your lawyer warned you.

And unlike America, the UK does hold its leaders accountable. :)