West: Iraq War Planned Before Blair Told Public

Ex-Navy chief Admiral Lord West says he was told to prepare for an Iraq invasion before a decision was officially announced.

The decision to invade Iraq was taken before Tony Blair publicly announced it "but they were looking for a reason" to do it, the naval chief at the time has said.

Admiral Lord West, first sea lord when war began in March 2003, said he was told by "some b******" to ready his forces in preparation for the conflict.

He made his comments to Parliament's The House magazine in the run-up to Wednesday's publication of the Chilcot report into the Iraq war.  

Lord West said: "I think there had been a decision that we were going to invade Iraq, that that was going to happen, but they were looking for a reason to actually do it.

Of course Blair and everyone else will say, 'No, we didn't make the decision until right up to it'. You can always say that, can't you?

"But I would not have told the fleets, the Royal Navy and the Marines, to be ready for war in the northern Gulf by the end of the year.

"I would not have sailed the Mine Counter-measures Force for the Middle East so they were in place for operations.

"You don't wake up in the morning and think that. Some b****** told me to do it. That's why I did it.

"All the people involved say, 'We hadn't made our decision right up until the UN resolution', and all these other things.

"Well, you can argue that you never make the final decision till you make your decision.

"But, actually, they'd bloody decided. That's the reality."

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http://news.sky.com/story/1721586/west-iraq-war-planned-before-blair-told-public