This story, "US accused of deserting diplomatic path in Iraq", from the May 26 Financial Times (link here, but probably won't be for long; I think only the current day's stories are online for free) says that France concluded in January that the Bush administration was only paying lip service to attempting a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Iraq and had decided on "regime change". "I realised then that those who wanted to make war had a free hand," said French foreign minister Dominique de Villepin. And Jacques Chirac said on Monday, "A war that lacks legitimacy does not acquire legitimacy because it has been won."
As some people say, "Le sigh..."
More from the Times:
A senior aide to President George W. Bush says the critical "internal moment" in the White House came in the second week of December, when the president was briefed on Iraq's weapons declaration. "It was not even a credible document," the White House official said.
The president was told that the Iraqi regime appeared to have made a decision not to cooperate with the UN process of disarmament. "This was more of the same. It was checkmate."
"A tinpot dictator was mocking the president. It provoked a sense of anger inside the White House. After that point, there was no prospect of a diplomatic solution," said one person who worked closely with the National Security Council during the days after the declaration was delivered on December 8.
