http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20060327-124452-8052rWhite House downplays Britain's Iraq war memo
WASHINGTON -- The White House said Monday invading Iraq was "the last option" and was not the preferred course of action.
The statement, in response to a question in a news briefing, followed a New York Times story quoting a memo from British Prime Minister Tony Blair's foreign policy adviser that said at a private meeting between Blair and President Bush, the U.S. leader indicated he intended to invade Iraq even if United Nations inspectors found no weapons of mass destruction.
...
Spokesman Scott McClellan said he would not comment on private political conversations. However, "the use of force was a last option, but we recognized it might be necessary and we planned accordingly."
McClellan noted previous U.N. resolutions had warned Saddam Hussein of serious consequences if he did not comply with U.N. mandates over weapons of mass destruction and its compliance with the inspection regime.
Saddam had been given numerous opportunities to do so but chose not to, McClellan stressed.