Greenpeace demands (legal) advice on Iraq war (UK)

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

The Government was facing fresh demands to release the Attorney-General's advice on the legality of the war in Iraq.

On Wednesday the trial of the former intelligence officer turned whistleblower Katharine Gun was dropped after her lawyers asked to see the advice.

Now the environmental group Greenpeace is demanding access to Lord Goldsmith's advice to ministers so it can defend 14 activists in court following an anti-war protest last year.

http://icscotland.icnetwork.co.uk/news/uk/today/content_objectid=13998274_method=full_siteid=50141_headline=-Greenpeace-demands-advice-on-Iraq-war-name_page.html

see also Clare Short's (front page) column in today's Independent:

Clare Short: Was Attorney General leant on to sanction war?

The suggestion, however, that the Attorney General's opinion may have been manipulated is very serious. There is no doubt that the way in which a truncated opinion authorising war appeared at the very last minute was very odd. Foreign Office lawyers disagreed on the legality of war. Senior officials in Whitehall worried that they were being asked to prepare for illegal action. I was informed that the military would not move without the Attorney General's authorisation. Then on the day Robin Cook resigned, the Attorney General came to the Cabinet, sat in Robin's seat and circulated two sides of A4 which said that successive UN resolutions provided legal authority for war. I tried to ask why he was so late and if there was any doubt but was told in no uncertain terms there was to be no discussion. No other advice was made available across Whitehall.

As I go over and over events leading up to the rush to war, I cannot help but conclude that the way in which the Attorney General's opinion was produced and handled was very strange. It is hard not to suspect that he had doubts and was leant upon.

http://argument.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?story=495919

& also:

I quit because the war against Iraq was illegal, says former government lawyer

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=495970

[Kagemusha]

1. Of course the AG simply made it up.

Serious experts knew this at the time. It's taken a year for the world to catch up, that's all.