Senior Army officer urged Blair to delay war two days before Iraq invasion
December 8th, 2009 - 12:53 pm ICT by ANILondon, Dec. 8 (ANI): Two days before the start of the Iraq war, a senior Army officer asked former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to delay the invasion as a “coherent post-war plan” was not “anywhere near ready,” an Iraq war inquiry panel has been told.Major General Tim Cross, who was attached to the Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) set up by the US to manage post-war reconstruction, said he told Blair on March 18, 2003 that post war plans were “woefully thin”.
“We talked for about 30 minutes or so. I was as honest about the positions as I could be, essentially briefing that I did not believe post-war planning was anywhere near ready,” The Telegraph quoted Cross, as saying.
“I told him that there was no clarity on what was going to be needed after the military phase of the operation, nor who would provide it. I offered my view that we should not begin that campaign until we had a much more coherent post-war plan,” he added.
He also criticised the then International Development Secretary Clare Short, who subsequently resigned over the war.
“We did have DFID (Department for International Development) representation, but it was nowhere near sufficient to meet our needs. Considering the expected scale of the humanitarian suffering, the projected numbers of (refugees), civilian casualties, etcetera this was, once again, more than a little disappointing,” he said. (ANI)
- How Blair's lie led to 'failed' British mission in Iraq - Nov 22, 2009
- Last US troops out of Iraq (Lead) - Dec 18, 2011
- Blair Govt. had no sense of being at war in Iraq: Ex-defence chief - Jan 28, 2011
- British PM to face 'politically risky' Iraq inquiry - Jan 22, 2010
- Dick Cheney wanted to remake Middle East after 9/11, invade Iraq: Tony Blair - Sep 06, 2010
- Tony Blair's personal data hacked - Jun 26, 2011
- UN's Ban: Libya situation is grave, requires global effort - Apr 14, 2011
- 'Blair did no trust cabinet on 'Iraq war discussions, feared leaks - Jan 29, 2011
- US seeks release of its journalists detained in Libya - Apr 21, 2011
- Man jailed in Britain for hate rant over Iraq war - Jul 30, 2011
- Malaysian mock tribunal finds Bush, Blair guilty of 'crimes against peace' - Nov 24, 2011
- U.S. officially ends nearly nine-year-long war in Iraq - Dec 15, 2011
- Blair asked defence chiefs to prepare war strategy a year before Iraq invasion - Dec 01, 2009
- 'Tony Blair misled Brit MPs over going ahead with Iraq invasion without UN backing' - Jan 18, 2011
- Iraq invasion was 'right decision': British PM - Mar 05, 2010
Tags: army officer, british prime minister, british prime minister tony blair, civilian casualties, former british prime minister tony blair, inquiry panel, international development secretary clare short, iraq invasion, iraq war, military phase, minister tony blair, office for reconstruction and humanitarian assistance, post war, prime minister tony blair, refugees, tim cross, tony blair, war plan, war plans, war reconstruction
