Quotes of the Day
Alastair Campbell, Prime Minister Tony Blair's powerful communications director and the man accused of "sexing up" the British case for going to war in Iraq, did his best last week to get himself and his boss out from under that charge. Smooth and understated at the "investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr. David Kelly" — Senior judge Lord Hutton's inquiry into the apparent suicide of Kelly, the former government weapons expert who shared with a BBC reporter his doubts about the government's case for war, got dragged before parliamentary committees and then seemingly took his own life — Campbell had a nicely phrased denial ready. Asked whether he had influenced the words used in the British claim that Iraq could deploy WMD in 45 minutes, Campbell said: "I had no input, output, influence upon them whatsoever at any stage in the process."
So: case closed?
Far from it. The inquiry is offering the clearest view yet of the inner workings of the Blair government, through a welter of e-mails, memos and even extracts from Campbell's private diary ("it was grim for me and it was grim for TB and there is this huge stuff about trust"). There has been plenty of testimony about meetings, some including the Prime Minister himself, devoted to the persistent, worried search for evidence to harden up the case for war, speculation about how the media would react to the 45-minute claim ("Alastair, what will be the headline in the Standard on the day of publication?" Campbell was asked) and finally the persistent, worried search for the one who had leaked and what he would say next. Blair's government seems, in short, as obsessed with spin as its critics have always claimed.
And Downing Street does appear to have hardened the case for war. Last September, Blair's chief of staff Jonathan Powell argued to Campbell and Joint Intelligence Committee chairman John Scarlett that the government's dossier "does nothing to demonstrate a threat, let alone an imminent threat from Saddam." Campbell played down the significance of that e-mail and said he had not read others — such as one from Philip Bassett, a special Downing Street adviser, that fretted the government would be "in a lot of trouble" with the dossier as it stood. And despite his denials, Campbell, citing a need for consistency, apparently persuaded Scarlett to toughen the wording of the 45-minute claim. Scarlett changed "may be able" to "are able" so that the sentence read: "Iraq's military forces are able to deploy these weapons within 45 minutes of a decision to do so." So much for no influence, although Campbell insisted he made observations only, and that Scarlett had "ownership of the dossier."
was campbell the week's big news?
Everyone thought so — until another bomb dropped. A senior diplomat named David Broucher testified about a peculiar conversation he'd had with Kelly in Geneva in February, before Kelly had talked to the BBC. Kelly had told Broucher that if Britain invaded Iraq, he would "probably be found dead in the woods." Kelly was dismayed because he'd told Iraqi scientists nothing would happen if they cooperated with the U.N., and Broucher felt he was he agonizing that he had betrayed his contacts.
Even with the precise meaning of Kelly's remark
uncertain, the revelation brought the investigation face to face with Kelly's searing pain. The emotional pitch will remain high at least through Thursday, when Blair is scheduled to testify.
but What do we know at this point?
Last month, Kelly, Britain's foremost expert on Iraq's weaponry, was found dead in a field near his Oxfordshire home with his wrist slit. Kelly had been the source for bbc correspondent Andrew Gilligan's story about the government "sexing up" the document, and Kelly admitted to his boss that he had met the journalist (although he was vague about what he had told Gilligan). Kelly, as a civil servant, was supposed to brief journalists on technical matters only, but he expected his confession to be kept confidential and was horrified to have his name nudged into the open by the government — a tactic Campbell blamed on the Defense Ministry, whose boss, Geoff Hoon, may end up being Downing Street's designated fall guy. Kelly was not only grilled by the Defense Ministry, but also hauled before two parliamentary committees. Lord Hutton is investigating whether Kelly's suicide was the result of undue hounding by officials, and whether the government indeed stretched the truth about WMD.
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Certainly the government was under huge pressure to persuade a lukewarm public about the need for war, and the dossier was continually redrafted. And Blair, it turns out, was also anxious to learn what Kelly's views were about WMD and what Kelly might say to the M.P.s.
is the BBC vindicated?
Nope. Despite the Beeb's public defense of Gilligan's story, an internal e-mail from Gilligan's boss talked about his strong but "flawed" reporting. And a bbc colleague who also interviewed Kelly complained her bosses had tried to dragoon her into corroborating Gilligan's story, which she felt attributed to Kelly things he did not know — specifically, that Campbell personally inserted the 45-minute claim. Last week, it also appeared Gilligan had tried to coach two M.P.s who were preparing to question Kelly. What's not in doubt is the bitterness of this clash between titans.
Was Kelly mistreated?
So far there is no hard evidence that Kelly was hounded by officials. But Hutton repeatedly questioned witnesses as to why Kelly had to be named at all. Their answer was that Kelly's identity was bound to come out, given the media interest, and that, if not revealed, the government would have been accused of a cover-up. Campbell admitted the naming of Kelly was poorly handled.
So where do we go from here?
The next big act unfolds when Hoon gives evidence this week; he'll have to explain why Kelly's name was leaked. But the main event is Thursday's appearance by Blair.
Could this crisis bring down Blair?
Unlikely. This is an inquiry, not a trial, so no one is heading for jail. But Blair is losing ground in the court of public opinion. A Guardian/ICM poll last week found that 6% of those surveyed trusted the government to tell the truth (34% said they trusted the BBC) and 50% believed the government deliberately embellished the dossier. It will take all of Blair's formidable powers this week to restore some of that trust.
- HELEN GIBSON | London
- The inquiry into a weapons expert's death exposes the Blair government