Operation Iraqi Freedom: Strategic Lessons Learned

Operation Iraqi Freedom: Strategic Lessons Learned is an internal Pentagon briefing document that, according to British journalist Andrew Gilligan, was prepared for US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in August 2003. It was leaked to the London Evening Standard newspaper in September 2004. .

Amongst other things, the document reveals that a battle plan for the Iraq war, Full Operational Battle Plan 1003V, was published within the Pentagon on 31 October 2002. This was eight days before UN Resolution 1441, and a month before Hans Blix and his inspectors began hunting for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Furthermore, according to an account by PA News of the Evening Standard's report, the document also suggests "...that military commanders took part in a war planning conference with US counterparts as early as June 2002. At the time, Prime Minister Tony Blair was insisting that no decisions had been taken on military action." 

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Full Operational Battle Plan 1003V
 * Iraq War
 * Pentagon
 * Tony Blair

External articles

 * "War plans 'drawn up before vote'", This is London, 29 September, 2004.
 * Andrew Woodcock, "War planned 'months before vote'", PA News, 29 September, 2004.