Forging evidence
The issue of weapons of mass destruction has emerged from the shadowy world of intelligence agencies to take centre stage in the political arena, mainly in the United Kingdom, though also in the US.
It has become a political football, growing everyday more serious as criticism of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and his closest ally US President George W Bush, grows.
Following the end of the war on Iraq with its wanton destruction of lives and property, the invading forces -- which have now become forces of occupation -- have failed to find any trace of the illegal weapons that the British and American public were assured could be activated within 45 minutes and which were used as the pretext for war and the disregard of UN resolutions.
It is not unexpected that it should be the British people's conscience that awoke first, and that a series of damning accusations and questions have been raised about the actions of the current British government.
The government, after all, embarked on an intensive and, it increasingly seems, a dishonest campaign to convince British public opinion, and the House of Commons, of the need to go to war, cynically promoting the US campaign against Iraq.
From the beginning Blair was faced with strong opposition, and the British public was less easily duped by the propaganda tools and psychological warfare that had hoodwinked the American people into supporting the war.
Clare Short, at the time of the invasion the minister for overseas development, went as far as threatening to resign, a threat she retracted after pressure was brought to bear and Blair presented evidence to defend himself.
But no sooner did the war end than the truth became apparent. Iraq's WMDs were nothing more than a red herring, dreamed up by the two countries' intelligence services in collaboration with the gang of four at the Pentagon, and intended to dupe British ministers. Those who had threatened to resign acted on those threats, following in the footsteps of Robin Cook, former foreign minister and a leading figure in the British Labour Party.
The House of Commons is now calling for an independent enquiry into the faked evidence with which it was presented.
Short has already stated that Blair took most of the important decisions about the war without consulting the cabinet. But this was not the end of the story: soon there were leaks that Blair himself asked intelligence bodies to doctor evidence to support the claim that Iraq possessed dangerous weapons which could be activated in 45 minutes. And this was precisely the argument US Secretary of State Colin Powell used at the landmark session of the UN Security Council.
The many questions raised regarding the legitimacy of the war on Iraq require a reassessment of the future of international relations.
Hardly surprising, then, that French President Jacques Chirac at the closing of the G-8 summit, despite attempts to clear the air between Bush and himself, reiterated his country's objection to the war on Iraq.
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 12 - 18 June 2003 (Issue No. 642)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/642/op4.htm