This unaltered story [1] was originally published on OpenDemocracy.org.
License [2]: Creative Commons 4.0 - Attributions/No Derivities/Int'l.
------------------------

The unpublished memos that warned Blair against military action after 9/11

By:   []

Date: 2021-09

In the days after 9/11, the Bush administration was sabre-rattling, and the prospect of a war in Afghanistan looked ever more likely.

But in the UK, Tony Blair was warned not to support US military action, according to a 20-year-old briefing published for the first time by openDemocracy.

The five-page document, written in the immediate aftermath of the al-Qaida attacks, warned that invading Afghanistan would be “counterproductive” and would be “precisely what the group wants”.

The briefing was penned by an unofficial policy adviser, Paul Rogers, who had been encouraged by Downing Street to write briefings for Blair’s government.

Get dark money out of UK politics Sign our petition to tell the government to tighten electoral laws and shine more light on political donations. We need to know who is giving what to our political parties. Show your support

The memo was sent six days after 9/11, and shortly before President Bush declared his “war on terror”. Copies were also sent to 12 other senior ministers, including the then foreign secretary, Jack Straw.

One of the former ministers who received the briefing two decades ago today admitted that it had been “full of foresight and should have been acted on”.

Military action would be counterproductive

The briefing said: “Vigorous military action by the US, on its own or in coalition, will be counterproductive... It is particularly important for states close to the United States to endeavour to influence the Bush administration away from military action.

“If the US takes any such action it will be precisely what the group wants. [It will] weaken the position of the more moderate elements of the Kabul regime… [and] enable the group to gain more support and recruits.”

Rogers, who wrote the memo, is emeritus professor of Peace Studies at Bradford University and a regular contributor to openDemocracy.

Rogers had previously provided briefings for the Labour Party in the 1980s and 1990s. David Miliband, the director of No.10’s policy unit at the time, agreed that these should continue when Tony Blair came into office in 1997. Between then and 2010, Rogers had multiple meetings with senior officials in No.10 and his memos were regularly circulated among ministers.

However, the briefings were written in an unofficial capacity, and Rogers viewed himself as an outsider.
[END]

[1] Url: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/unpublished-memos-warned-blair-against-military-action-after-911/
[2] url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/

OpenDemocracy via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/opendemocracy/