Iraq war inquiry day three throws up a few gremlins and evidence that Bush and Blair may have agreed on the invasion at private talks in Texas 11 months before the war began, writes the Iraq Inquiry blogger for Channel 4 News.
First things first – apologies for the technical gremlins today. Between the inquiry’s sound problems and Twitter’s sudden work-to-rule the live tweets may have been rather confusing at times. All resulting omissions and non-sequiturs entirely my fault.
Which is a shame, because it was a variously chilling, engaging and at times even entertaining session, despite the obvious gravity of the subject at hand.
If you get the time that should be clearer in the official transcripts.
Some good lines too. Meyer witnessing first-hand a US administration riven by warring factions; meetings with Bush officials who refused to drop “rubbish” evidence of links between Saddam and Al-Qaida; his belief that the US-UK “special relationship” could have survived the UK “sitting out” the Iraq war, the jibe that Thatcher would’ve handled post-war planning much better than Blair.
Vulcans by the way, fell victim to the initial sound SNAFU and didn’t make it into the live-Tweet. This was the name given to the foreign policy advisers with whom Bush surrounded himself during the 2000 presidential election campaign after it was suggested that his grasp on overseas events was, well, marginal.
Favourite moment: Meyer engaging Ferrero Rocher-levels of ambassadorial tact when suggesting that a power imbalance between Vice President Cheney and his theoretical opposite number here, John Prescott.
Second favourite: when someone texted saying that the Twitter feed got a mention from Glinner. I retire for the day a very happy chap. More tomorrow.