Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
On 31 January 2003 US President George Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair held an historic press conference at the White House, following a secret meeting between the pair, in which they warned Iraq's Saddam Hussein to 'disarm for peace or we will make you'.
It is alleged that before the press conference, during the private meeting, the two leaders had conspired to invade Iraq regardless of whether Weapons of Massive Destruction (WMDs) were found by UN weapons inspectors - and that a date for the invasion had already been planned. The memo was written by Blair's foreign policy adviser, David Manning, who was in the room.
Just over 6 weeks later, the surprise military invasion of Iraq began. There had been no declaration of war by either country. More than 100,000 people would die as a result of the eight-year long war in Iraq.
#iraqwar #Bush #Blair #SaddamHussein #WMD #IraqInvasion
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On 31 January 2003 US President George Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair held an historic press conference at the White House, following a secret meeting between the pair, in which they warned Iraq's Saddam Hussein to 'disarm for peace or we will make you'.
It is alleged that before the press conference, during the private meeting, the two leaders had conspired to invade Iraq regardless of whether Weapons of Massive Destruction (WMDs) were found by UN weapons inspectors - and that a date for the invasion had already been planned. The memo was written by Blair's foreign policy adviser, David Manning, who was in the room.
Just over 6 weeks later, the surprise military invasion of Iraq began. There had been no declaration of war by either country. More than 100,000 people would die as a result of the eight-year long war in Iraq.
#iraqwar #Bush #Blair #SaddamHussein #WMD #IraqInvasion
To search the ITN Archive collection on Getty Images, follow the link below:
gettyimages.co.uk/footage/itn
🎥 Subscribe to our YouTube channel (tap the bell icon and stay up to date with all the latest ITN Archive videos!) - youtube.com/@FrontlinebyITN
🎥 Follow us on Twitter - twitter.com/ITNArchive
🎥 Like us on Facebook - facebook.com/ITNArchiveITNP
🎥 Check out our TikTok - tiktok.com/@itnarchive1955
