US "discussing Iraq regime change" two years before war (From The Northern Echo)

US "discussing Iraq regime change" two years before war

11:40am Tuesday 24th November 2009 in

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ELEMENTS of the new US administration of President George Bush were already discussing regime change in Iraq two years before the invasion of 2003, the official inquiry into the war was told today.

Sir Peter Ricketts, who was chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee in 2001, said there was concern in both London and Washington that the strategy of containment of Saddam Hussain was failing.

Giving evidence at the first public hearings of the inquiry, he said a review of the Iraq policy was already under way in Whitehall in anticipation of the arrival of the new Bush administration.

He said that, in discussions with Secretary of State Colin Powell, it appeared the Americans were thinking very much on the same lines.

He added, however, that others in Washington were already thinking further ahead.

"We were conscious that there were other voices in Washington, some of whom were talking about regime change," he said.

He cited an article written by National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice warning that nothing will change in Iraq until Saddam was gone.

Opening the hearing, the chairman of the inquiry, Sir John Chilcot, called for a moment of silence for all those from the UK and its allies and those in Iraq who had lost their lives during the past six years.

In a short opening statement he said the inquiry was determined to be "thorough, impartial, objective and fair".

Sir Peter, who is now the Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Office, said there were three elements to the containment strategy - sanctions, an incentive to lift sanctions if Saddam allowed the United Weapons inspectors to return, and the no fly zones over the north and south of the country.

By 2001, however, he said it was already clear that all three strands were in trouble.

"By 2001 that containment policy was failing and the rate of failure was accelerating," he said.

Sir William Patey, head of the Middle East department at the Foreign Office in 2001, said Whitehall was aware of talk about regime change in Iraq from some parts of the new Bush administration.

British officials talked about the possibility but decided not to get involved in it.

Sir William told the inquiry: "In February 2001 we were aware of these drum beats from Washington and internally we discussed it. Our policy was to stay away from that."

He explained Foreign Office policy at the time: "We didnt think Saddam was a good thing, and it would be great if he went, but we didn't have an explicit policy for trying to get rid of him."