The memo was a briefing note ahead of a 2002 summit between Bush and Blair at the president’s ranch in Crawford, Texas and was contained in a batch of emails on Hilary Clinton’s private server which U.S. courts told her to reveal.
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According to the Mail on Sunday, Mr Powell wrote: “Blair continues to stand by you and the USA as we move forward on the war on terrorism and on Iraq…”
ALEX SALMOND has claimed “the net was now closing” around Tony’s Blair following the emergence of a leaked White House memo that appears to prove the Labour Prime Minister backed military action a year before seeking a vote in parliament.
Powell adds that Blair was convinced that “the threat is real”, that he “may suggest ideas on how to make a credible public case on current Iraqi threats to worldwide peace”, and that he would “present to you the strategic, tactical and public affairs lines that he believes will strengthen global support for our common cause”.
In reference to the so-called war on terror, Mr Powell goes on to praise what he sees as Blair’s impressive public relations skills.
The memo, dated April 2002, includes an assessment of the effect on Mr Blair’s domestic position if he backs United States military action.
The reasons for going to war in Iraq – including the now discredited claim that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction which could be used within 45 minutes of an order being given – remain a source of controversy.
Also, Chris Bambery, a UK-based journalist, writer and broadcaster, told Press TV that the revelation by the British media regarding Blair’s decision over the Iraq war is not a big surprise but is nonetheless a fresh proof that the former prime minister “was a liar”.
A spokeswoman for Mr Blair said: “This story is nothing new”.
During his appearance before the Chilcot inquiry in January 2010, he denied he had struck a secret deal with Mr Bush at Crawford to overthrow Saddam Hussein.
Blair’s office said the memo was consistent with Blair’s testimony to Chilcot’s panel.
The Chilcot inquiry clearly did not have access to official American documents; but it does suggest that its long overdue conclusions risk leaving many questions unanswered because it might not have been able to get a clear picture of the pre-invasion communications between the White House and Downing Street.
“The illegal invasion of Iraq has been unequivocally proven as a fraud and a massive deception by Tony Blair and the then UK Labour government”, he said. “We’re not proposing military action at this point in time”, he said at the time.
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Prime Minister David Cameron has joined other politicians in arguing that the panel has had enough time and that it should wrap up its work.
