- LONDON (AAP) - Australian
investigative journalist John Pilger says he has evidence the war against
Iraq was based on a lie that could cost George W. Bush and Tony Blair their
jobs and bring Prime Minister John Howard down with them.
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- A television report by Pilger aired on British screens
overnight said US Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security
Adviser Condoleeza Rice confirmed in early 2001 that Iraqi dictator Saddam
Hussein had been disarmed and was no threat.
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- But after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington
on September 11 that year, Pilger claimed Rice said the US "must move
to take advantage of these new opportunities" to attack Iraq and claim
control of its oil.
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- Pilger uncovered video footage of Powell in Cairo on
February 24, 2001 saying, "He (Saddam Hussein) has not developed any
significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. He
is unable to project conventional power against his neighbours."
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- Two months later, Rice reportedly said, "We are
able to keep his arms from him. His military forces have not been rebuilt."
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- Powell boasted this was because America's policy of containment
and its sanctions had effectively disarmed Saddam.
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- Pilger claims this confirms that the decision of US President
George W Bush - with the full support of British Prime Minister Blair and
Howard - to wage war on Saddam because he had weapons of mass destruction
was a huge deception.
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- Pilger interviewed several leading US government figures
in Washington but said he did not ask Powell or Rice to respond to his
claims.
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- "I think it's very serious for Howard. Howard has
followed the Americans and to a lesser degree Blair almost word for word,"
Pilger told AAP before his program was screened on ITV tonight.
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- "All Howard does is say `well it's not true' and
never explains himself.
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- "I just don't believe you can be seen to be party
to such a big lie, such a big deception and endure that politically.
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- "It simply can't be shrugged off and that's Howard's
response.
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- "Blair has shrugged it off but Blair is deeply damaged.
It's far from over here, there's a lot that is going to happen and much
of it could wash onto Howard.
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- "And it's unravelling in America and Bush could
lose the election next year.
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- "I've not seen political leaders survive when they've
been complicit in such an open deception for so long."
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- Howard last week dismissed an accusation from Opposition
Leader Simon Crean that he hid a warning from British intelligence that
war against Iraq would heighten the terrorist threat to Australia.
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- In his report, Pilger interviews Ray McGovern, a former
senior CIA officer and friend of Bush's father and ex-president, George
Bush senior.
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- McGovern told Pilger that going to war because of weapons
of mass destruction "was 95 per cent charade."
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- Pilger also claims that six hours after the September
11 attacks on the World Trade Centre, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
said he wanted to "hit" Iraq and allegedly said "Go Massive
... Sweep it all up. Things related and not."
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- He was allegedly talked down by Powell who said the American
people would not accept an attack on Iraq without any evidence, so they
opted to invade Afghanistan where Osama bin Laden had bases.
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- Pilger claimed war was set in train on September 17,
2001 when Bush signed a paper directing the Pentagon to explore the military
options for an attack on Iraq.
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