The lies that led to Iraq.

In a report that garnered little if any attention in the United States, in mid-December the Independent, a London newspaper, reported that the British government's (and hence, the U.S. government's) case for war in Iraq was based on lies. According to the report, the case for war was "torn apart by the publication of previously suppressed evidence that Tony Blair lied over Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction." The evidence comes from British diplomat Came Ross, a negotiator for the British government at the UN who participated in crafting UN sanctions against the regime of Saddam Hussein.

While his UN service is in no way a mark of distinction, Ross may have been well placed to examine the evidence that was used to justify the Bush administration's invasion of Iraq. In testimony that was kept secret until now by the British Official Secrets Act, Ross said, "at no time did HMG [Her Majesty's Government] assess that Iraq's WMD (or any other capability) posed a threat to the UK or its interests." Moreover, he said it was a widely held view among British officials that the Iraqi regime had been "effectively contained."

According to British Members of Parliament (MPs), it appears that the British Foreign Office sought to keep Ross' testimony secret because of its explosive contents. According to the Independent, the testimony was revealed only after several MPs from the ]House of] Commons Select Committee on Foreign Affairs pressured the Foreign Office on the issue of suppression of the information under the Official Secrets Act. According to one MP from the Foreign Affairs Committee, "There was blood on the carpet over this. I think it's pretty clear the Foreign Office used the Official Secrets Act to suppress this evidence, by hanging it like a Sword of Damacles [sic] over Mr. Ross, but we have called their bluff."

Ross' hitherto secret testimony was delivered to a panel investigating British intelligence blunders prior to the start of the Iraq invasion. That investigation was led by Lord Butler of Brockwell (aka Robin Butler), a former private secretary to Margaret Thatcher. According to the Independent, Ross told the Butler inquiry "there was no intelligence evidence of significant holdings of CW [chemical warfare], BW [biological warfare] or nuclear material" held by Iraq. "There was, moreover, no intelligence or assessment during my time in the job that Iraq had any intention to launch an attack against its neighbours or the UK or the US," Ross added.