2026-03-09 1145-1200

Shock and War: Iraq 20 Years On
1. The Decision

Why did the US want regime change in Iraq? Was it really about the threat of terrorists getting hold of weapons of mass destruction after the September 11th 2001 attacks, or was the desire much deeper? And what was the British government's reaction?

This series was first broadcast in March 2023, to mark the 20th anniversary of the war in Iraq.

Presenter: Gordon Corera
Series Producer: John Murphy
Producers: Ellie House, Claire Bowes
Sound Designer: Eloise Whitmore, Naked Productions
Production coordinators: Janet Staples, Brenda Brown
Series Editor: Penny Murphy

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19 minutes

#BBCRadio4 #GordonCorera #Iraq #GeorgeWBush #TonyBlair #SaddamHussein

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001k0cg

A recently published book, The #Spy in the Archive: How One Man Tried to Kill the #KGB, by the former #BBC security correspondent #GordonCorera, references the episode:

The book revealed - #CIA was concerned that #MI6 has a mole in it's senior ranks. That immediately sends chills through the spine of #CounterIntelligence officers, amid panic about ‘another #Philby’.

So #MI5 launched #OperationWedlock, & it lasted up to 20 years, but they found nothing in the end.

🔗 https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jun/27/uk-spy-operation-wedlock-suspected-russian-double-agent-mi6