West: Iraq War Planned Before Blair Told Public

The decision to invade Iraq was taken before Tony Blair publicly announced it "but they were looking for a reason" to do it, the naval chief at the time has said. Admiral Lord West, first sea lord when war began in March 2003, said he was told by "some b******" to ready his forces in preparation for the conflict. Lord West said: "I think there had been a decision that we were going to invade Iraq, that that was going to happen, but they were looking for a reason to actually do it.