The Sunday Times: US and UK manipulated intelligence in order to attack Iraq, causes inquiry

The UK's The Sunday Times revealed internal British documents that the United States and Britain had decided to attack Iraq knowing full well that the case against Iraq's weapons of mass destruction was weak, and that Iraq did not pose danger to its neighbors, allegations that the US and the UK officials repeated to their citizens in order to create a climate that would be permissive to attacking Iraq.

The Sunday Times revealed on May 1st a top secret memo among the top level British government officials which is dated July 23, 2002. The memo documents the results of their talks with US officials. The document quoted the officials saying that "Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD," adding that "intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."

The memo added "The Foreign Secretary said he would discuss this with Colin Powell this week. It seemed clear that Bush had made up his mind to take military action, even if the timing was not yet decided. But the case was thin. Saddam was not threatening his neighbours, and his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea or Iran. We should work up a plan for an ultimatum to Saddam to allow back in the UN weapons inspectors. This would also help with the legal justification for the use of force."

The Sunday Times reported on May 1, 2005 that when asked about the memo, which the government did not deny, the office of the British prime minister said it contained "nothing new."

89 Members of the US Congress, according to Representative John Conyers, Jr.'s website, had submitted a letter to president George W. Bush requesting clarifications.