6.1 | Development of the military options for an invasion of Iraq

The dossier, Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction. The Assessment of the British

Government, was published on 24 September 2002.282

Both Houses of Parliament were recalled from recess on 24 September 2002 to debate

the case for effective action in respect of the threat posed by Iraq.

Mr Blair’s statement to Parliament on the publication of the dossier on 24 September and

the subsequent questions and answers lasted for 90 minutes.283

During his statement, which focused on the history of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction

programme, its breach of United Nations resolutions and its attempts to rebuild that illegal

programme, Mr Blair stated that “there must be genuine preparedness and planning to

take [military] action” if diplomacy failed.284

Mr Blair’s statement was followed in the House of Commons by a nine‑hour debate.

There was also a debate in the House of Lords.

Mr Blair’s statement and the debates in both Houses of Parliament are described in

Section 3.5.

The content of the dossier and Mr Blair’s statement are addressed in Section 4.2.

717. When the Chiefs of Staff discussed Iraq planning on 25 September, Adm Boyce

emphasised that:

“… expectation management with respect to UK caveats had to be taut. Package 2

… was a formidable contribution in its own right and Package 3, given its importance

to the US, was not just a ‘nice to have’.”285

718. The Chiefs of Staff also discussed the post‑conflict phase, “Phase IV”. It was

recognised that this Phase “would not have a clear‑cut start” and that we should

“guard against any accusation that the “US does the war‑fighting while the UK does

the peacekeeping”. Not being involved in Package 3 at all “would be difficult to

manage”. The Chiefs commissioned the SPG to “scope the issues within Phase 4”

(see Section 6.4).

719. Mr Ehrman reported that Adm Boyce had:

• directed that the Chiefs of Staff should meet every Wednesday to discuss

Iraq; and

• said that it should be made clear to the US that they must deliver Turkey.286

282 Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction. The Assessment of the British Government, 24 September 2002.