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Blair urged to defend war Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=535&ncid=535&e=5&u=/ap/20030823/ap_on_re_eu/britain_weapons_adviser_1 http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=535&ncid=535&e=5&u=/ap/20030823/ap_on_re_eu/britain_weapons_adviser_1 Memo: Blair Urged to Defend War in Iraq 2 hours, 28 minutes ago Add World - AP to My Yahoo! By BETH GARDINER, Associated Press Writer LONDON - Tony Blair (news - web sites)'s communications director urged the British prime minister to calmly rebut claims his government inflated evidence about Iraqi weapons, but still vehemently defend the war, according to a memo made public Saturday. The note from powerful Blair aide Alastair Campbell was released by the senior judge investigating the suicide of a Ministry of Defense weapons expert. It comprised just a few of the thousands of pages of documents posted on the inquiry's Web site. The memo was written days after the start of an angry row between Blair's office and the British Broadcasting Corp. A BBC report quoted an anonymous official as claiming the government exaggerated evidence about Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s weapons of mass destruction to justify war. Government scientist David Kelly, who committed suicide last month, was later identified as the source. The battle, intensified by the scientist's death, has hit Blair's popularity hard. He urged skeptical Britons to back war because Saddam posed a serious danger and he vehemently denied exaggerating that threat. In a new poll, 67 percent of those questioned said the government had deceived Britons about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. Of those who voted for Blair's Labor Party in the 2001 elections, 62 percent believed they were deceived, according to the survey by polling firm ICM for The Sunday Telegraph newspaper. Fifty-eight percent of those questioned said they trust Blair less since Kelly's death. Sixty-one percent said they believed the BBC report that the government exaggerated evidence on Iraq (news - web sites), compared with 23 percent who said that was untrue. ICM polled 658 people between Thursday and Saturday. The survey had a margin of error of 4 percent. Campbell's June 3 memo, written to help prepare the prime minister for an appearance in the House of Commons, urged him to try to "calm the frenzy" stirred up by the BBC's May 29 report. "But when you go on to the broader issues, in particular reporting back on Iraq, I think you should display a more combative approach," the aide wrote. "What is clearly happening here is that the relatively more sober coverage of the war is giving way to the more usual frenzied media, and the aim of our opponents is to contaminate the success you had as a war leader in Iraq." The BBC's allegations — and the high-profile inquiry into Kelly's death — pose the worst crisis for Blair in his six years in power. Lord Hutton's inquiry made about 9,000 pages of documents public on its Web site, releasing the material far more quickly than most official investigations have done. The information, a mix of previously unreleased papers and information that already was part of the public record, included material submitted by the Ministry of Defense, the BBC, the government Cabinet Office and the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee. It also includes e-mails between high-level government officials and minutes of meetings in which they argued over how to handle Kelly's acknowledgment that he spoke to BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan. Some documents were listed but withheld, including submissions from the Thames Valley Police and some papers described as personal witness statements and legal documents. The Department for Constitutional Affairs said that while the documents submitted to the inquiry were already technically in the public domain — many have been displayed on video monitors in the hearing room — the investigators decided to post them on the Internet to give people a chance to see them firsthand and form their own opinions. ___ On the Net: Hutton Inquiry: http://www.the-hutton-inquiry.org.uk

Bcc slammed intelligence claim Blair accused of exaggerating { May 30 2003 } Blair accused of purposely overstating iraq threat { December 15 2006 } Blair aide debated iraq threat { August 18 2003 } Blair ignored cia warnings { July 13 2003 } Blair linked god to iraq war decision { March 5 2006 } Blair planned iraq invasion nine months before invasion { May 1 2005 } Blair testify government sexed up dossier { August 24 2003 } Blair urged to defend war Blair will unearth evidence { May 31 2003 } Britain had to make illegal war legal { June 12 2005 } Britain spied on kofi annan British experts protested iraq dossier { September 4 2003 } British government attacks bbc { June 26 2003 } Brits security not a concern before iraq invasion { December 15 2006 } Bush blair tried to provoke saddam into war { March 27 2006 } Bush discusses operation iraqi liberation with blair Cheney fought against blair multilateral strategy { January 25 2004 } Cia fooled by british intelligence { July 14 2003 } Conern iraq nuclear Days after 911 bush blair talked iraq { April 4 2004 } Intelligence chief dossier exaggerated case for war Panel clears blair Third bbc official out bawks at lord hutton report Files Listed: 24

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