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- 4~.'-~ For Blair a war without end Ii:- Fj~~ hCisrtime 'last ye.ar, ~with -c, ai1(FscortJ. Which minist~rs and . I thatSactdam was a threat.-They I Andrew R~rw~sley... .. lished. - . i I I less than a month to go Labour MPs have duly dis- have been "dragged through Abandoning the prosecution Tbefore the invasion, gorged over her head. If she Trying to explain the contra- into a martyr. , . the mud over the past few of Ms, Gun has not got the British Prime Minister Tony regarded the bugging of Kofi dictions of her behaviour, she In answer to her claims,!the months" - to borrow another government out of this thicket. 13lalrwas devoting every wak- Annan as such an outrage. why says she has been travelling a prime minister fell back on the of his phrases - because of the now that defence lawyers for ing minute to persuading his did she not protest about it to "journey of conscience". The blocking formula of refusing to publication of the dossiers in some peace activists are seek- l:ountry to follow him into Iraq. Jack Str,ilw. the minister conscience of Clare Short must confirm or deny claims about the run-up to the conflict. It ing the disclosure of the attor- This time this year. with less responsible for GCHQ and be highly tricky terrain to navi- intelligence opei.ations becajlse was the unprecedented public ney-general's origin;!1advice. !ban 18 months to \!o befon~ the M16? Her erstwhile colleagues gate when it has taken her n.ine that would draw-him"int'lJ,"a use of"intellig~nce material, The Gun case and the Short likely date of the general elec- . in Cabinet report that Ms. Short months since her resignation to game" which would.c,omP1.o- followed by the growing evi- allegation will be footnotes in tion, the prime minister is des- was never timid about ventilat- make this allegation. mise their effectiveness. He dence that crucial elements.of it the accounts of future histori- perate to persuade the nation to ing her opinions. So why did Why delay until now to lob insisted that thesecnrirv ser- 'were wrong, that has opened up ans when they make the hig Il'u\'e Iraq ulone. Like Basil in ~he not express her horror to such a stink bomb at Tony vices had to "remain entirely the intelligence services to judgments about the invasion til,' Germans episode of Fawlty Blair himself? If she had so Blair? Some think she chose secret and not open to public debate and demands for more of Iraq. They will ask whether Towers, "don't mention the much respect for Annan. why last Thursday because it was discussion or debate". He could accountability, Which is pre- it was. on balance. in the war" has been the instruction did she not alert the secretary- the morning that the prime hear voices.<tllevoices ofmem- ,cisely what the intelligence ser- British national inLerest.Did it. from No. 10, general that his phone conver- minister had scheduled to bers of the public wondering vices feared would happen. in the main, make the world a For a few days. the prime sations were being tapped? Not unveil his chairmanship of a "what on earth are we doing Little truly astonishing has safer place? Did it establish a minister was hopeful that most been learned from Clare Short, more free and democratic I~aq~ of the country was as tired as The even supposing her allegations and help spread liberty and 11imwith a subject that he did to be accurate. Much more that democracy 10 the res! or the not even menti9n in his big trouble for Blair is that the per- was unknown and 4uite sensa- Middle Eas!'! speech on Friday. He believed son who has most exposed the operations of tional about the intelligence The prime minister remains that the capacity to damage him services and how they interact supremely confident of eventu- of Iraq generally and of Clare the intelligence services to "this type of public ques- with the politicians was al vindication from the court of . \ Short. in particular was declin- tioning and scrutiny" stares him in the face each time he exposed by the Hutton inquiry history. His more immediate \ mg. Battle-fatigue seemed to be which the prime minister him- problem is the judgment of vot- setting in among much of the looks in a mirror. The prime minister "put them in the firing self set up, ers about the integrity and ~har- media and the public. As for line", to borrow one of his phrases at his news conference, when The partial disclosure of tra- acter of himself and his govern- Ms. Short. having called the ditionally secret information to ment at the next election. prime minister a deceiver with he used intelligence material to sell the case that Saddam was a make the case for war has got All these Iraq controversies a messiah-complex, and done threat. They have been "dragged through the mud over the past few the prime minister into a simi- - who knew what about the so with such shrill and sour lar predicament over the attor- 45-minute daim; who llIay regularity. what further harm months" - to borrow another of his phrases - because of the pub- ney-general's advice. By long have bugged whom at the UN: . ,.ould this diminished figure lication of the dossiers in the run-up to the conflict. It was the convention, the advice of the what the attorney says in the do" She seemed to be matching government law officers is kept document they won't let LISsee the description applied to her unprecedented public use of intelligence material, followed by confidential. As is his Third - all feed into what Alastair by Blair aides after her hokey- the growing evidence that crucial elements of it.were wrong, Way habit, Blair half-broke Campbell lamented to his diary cokey resignation from the with that convention when he LabineL The former interna- that has opened up the intelligence services to debate was "this huge stuff about tional deve;lopment secretary published a summary of the trust". had become, they joked. and demands for more accountability. Which is attorney-general's counsel Th~ collapse of trust in Blair «depleted Claranium". Depleted maybe. but still precisely what the intelligence services about the legality of invading expressed in the opinion polls highly toXIC Her radioa<.:tlve Iraq on the eve of the bleeds across into everythi ng daim that BntlSh Intelligence feared would happen. Commons vote on the war. else, from his assertions about hul?lled the sc<.:retary general 01 19 This issue has re-erupted improvements in public ser- the UnIted Naho"" has nco under Blair because of the ,he led around the "orld. vices to his wrecked ambition ~~I "nnan. a man wise to the grand new international com- having a situation where people abandonment of the prosecu- to make this the Parliament in prompting further clalm~ from I es of the world. would real- tion of Katharine Gun, the I , wcarom 1n'fX"'lors about mission to help Africa. She are talking openly about the which Britain would enter the \J fda.Cd telling that the UN simply I::ouldnot stomach the GCHQ linguist who revealed euro. ,urvetllance operations against ~.. work of our security services... I.,.1. lj1g in New York is a nest pros)?ect of her foe in No. 10 them and a renewed furor about SPXin . when this country is under ~he through The Observer newspa- Tony Blair has been anxious c Is g threat of terrorism?" Iraq. Ald.winJ1\l1gany plaudits for Blair per that Americanintelligence to move on from the war rI'u ? per allegation anyway The trouble for Blair is that was targeting swing voters on bel'ause he knows that en'r~ To the deep dismay of ) e. Even Robin Cook. her Dow 01ng Street. yet another If her intention was to ruin the person who has most the Security Council. Ms, controversy about Iraq brings mr ;lde-in-anti-arms. has. week has been dominated by an Ise... b f his day - indeed, wreck his exposed the operations of the Gun's lawyers were seeking with it another cluster of ques- , . tV a gInger eye row 0 week she succeeded, He tion marks about trust. The aend fug of questions about the ~ intelligence services to "this full disclosure of the attorney- legality of both the war and the ~fd jcism about the claims. called it a "very dangerous situ- type of public questioning and general's ruling on the legality operation to topple Saddam build up to the invasion. The III",n pn Brown, her patron ation" if people thought they scrutiny" stares him in' the face of the war. I put it mildly when was one of the swiftest mili~ary former II1ternational develop- ~.II e, she was In government, could sitnply "spill out secrets each time he looks in a mirror. I say it would be acutely campaigns in the history .01' ment secretary Invited upon : ~ ;\ it be known that he dis- or details of security opera- The prime minister "put them embarrassing to the govern- combat Not so the politics..For n. her. sending Ms. Short tions. Whether false or true" herselt a dumper truck of fury in the firing line", to borrow ment if the attorney's original a Tony Blair tormented. by the \~ to t,fie <.:oldas a spymaster and "get away with it", Yet get one of his phrases at his ncws advice proved to be more quali- unquiet ghosts of the contlie-t.

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