Butler Report Clears Tony Blair of Misrepresenting Case for Invading Iraq

Strategic Insights -

The official inquiry into the British Government's handling of pre-war intelligence regarding the invasion of Iraq, led by Lord Butler, exposed serious flaws in the intelligence reports used to justify the war. The Butler report stated that the conclusions of the Government's pre-war dossier were "open to doubt" and went to the "outer limit" of available information. The report found that many of the claims made by the Government and the British spy agencies about the threat posed by Iraq were not supported by the available intelligence. Lord Butler emphasized that the inquiry had found "no evidence that the Government did not itself believe the judgement it was placing before the public" and that the Prime Minister's good faith was not questioned.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Butler report found that the Government's pre-war dossier contained claims that were "open to doubt" and went to the "outer limit" of available information.
  • Lord Butler stated that the inquiry had found "no evidence that the Government did not itself believe the judgement it was placing before the public".
  • The report specifically criticized the inclusion of claims that Saddam Hussein could deploy weapons of mass destruction in 45 minutes, which was deemed a "poor piece of assessment".
  • The then-head of the Joint Intelligence Committee, John Scarlett, was singled out for criticism, but dismissed calls for him to stand aside from his new job as head of MI6.
  • The report exposed the strain placed on intelligence services to produce the intelligence to support the US-led invasion.
  • Tony Blair admitted that it was increasingly unlikely any banned weapons would be found in Iraq and accepted that Saddam Hussein did not have stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction at the time of the invasion.
  • Blair stated that the world was a better place without Saddam Hussein and that the allies had not invaded Iraq, he would still be in power with "every malign intent in place".

Statistics:

  • The Butler report was 196 pages long.
  • The report found that many of the claims made by the Government and the British spy agencies about the threat posed by Iraq were not supported by the available intelligence.
  • The report stated that the conclusions of the Government's pre-war dossier were "open to doubt" and went to the "outer limit" of available information.
  • 45 minutes is the time frame mentioned in the report as the time it took for Saddam Hussein to deploy weapons of mass destruction, which was deemed a "poor piece of assessment".

Sources:

  • Butler report
  • BBC News
  • The Times