Blair’s spin doctor defends Iraq dossier

LONDON – Former Downing Street spin doctor Alastair Campbell yesterday strongly defended his role in preparing a highly controversial 2002 dossier used to justify the US-led invasion of Iraq.

Under questioning from the Iraq Inquiry, Campbell vehemently denied that he ‘sexed up’ the infamous document to strengthen former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s case for joining the Americans in an invasion designed to topple Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.He called the dossier ‘a serious, solid piece of work’ – even though much of the information it contained turned out to be wrong with regard to Saddam’s military capacity – and lashed out at the British press for publishing ‘conspiracy theories’ about the war planning.’I defend every single word of the dossier, and I defend every single part of the process,’ Campbell said. ‘It was a genuine attempt by the prime minister and the government to engage the public properly.’He denied pressuring Britain’s intelligence chieftains to alter their conclusion to strengthen Blair’s case for war and said he did not distort the intelligence in any way.’At no point did anyone from the PM (prime minister) on down say to the intelligence services, look, you have to tailor this case,’ he told the panel, asserting that intelligence chief John Scarlett and his management team were satisfied with the report and its forward.It was a spirited defence from the man who served as Blair’s top communications strategist from 1997 until his resignation in August 2003. He has consistently denied wrongdoing, telling three other inquiries that the dossier’s preparation was handled properly.The dossier has been ridiculed because of its unfounded claim that Saddam could have nuclear weapons within a year and also the assertion that Saddam had chemical weapons that could be fired within 45 minutes.Both turned out to be bogus – no weapons of mass destruction were found inside Iraq after US-led forces removed the dictator.Campbell blamed the inaccuracies on intelligence shortcomings, not any mistakes by himself or Blair.He contradicted earlier testimony from a former British ambassador to Washington who said Blair dropped his resistance to using the military option against Saddam after a 2002 meeting with President George W. Bush at the leader’s Texas ranch.The committee, chaired by John Chilcot, is expected to hear from key members of Blair’s Cabinet next week. – Nampa-AP