Tony Blair apologises for Iraq War mistakes

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Tony Blair apologises for Iraq War mistakes

Tony Blair has apologised for aspects of the Iraq War, sparking claims of attempted "spin" ahead of the Chilcot Inquiry findings.

The former prime minister used a US television interview to express regret over the failure to plan properly for the aftermath of the 2003 toppling of Saddam Hussein and the false intelligence used to justify it.

"I apologise for the fact that the intelligence we received was wrong," he told CNN.

"I also apologise for some of the mistakes in planning and, certainly, our mistake in our understanding of what would happen once you removed the regime."

Asked by host Fareed Zakaria if the Iraq War was "the principal cause" of the rise of Islamic State, he was reported by the Mail on Sunday to have conceded: 'I think there are elements of truth in that."

He added: "Of course you can't say those of us who removed Saddam in 2003 bear no responsibility for the situation in 2015."

Read more: http://home.bt.com/news/uk-news/tony-blair-apologises-for-iraq-war-mistakes-11364012753727

-- Press Association 2015-10-25

[arfurcrown]

And the sooner Tony Bliar and his cronies go on trial for war crimes the better.

Now due to their unwarranted actions the world and its peoples are experiencing the current mayhem and violence in the region concerned as well as an invasion of ''refugee's '' into Europe as other nations conduct their proxy wars on other nations ground.

Reminiscent of the Spanish Civil war rehearsal that lead to a full blown subsequent world war.

Bliar, Bush and their obnoxious cronies have much to answer for.

[boomerangutang]

I always liked Blair and appreciate his frankness in the recent interview.

Most posts on this thread will throw burning spears at him. So it goes.

Perhaps one mistake he made, besides believing CIA memos prior to the Iraq II, was assuming the Iraqis could form a government and police/army after the war. Maybe he's learned that you (a person in power) can't overestimate the screwed up ways controlling men in the M.East think. To even get to power positions, they must be mafia-like thugs - and it gets worse from there.

We, in the west, often assume that: once we lay the ground-work for a democratic / decent society, and plow in billions of dollars, that things will resolve to a relatively decent level. We should know by now, that just can't happen in the Middle East. Except for maybe Jordan and Israel, the type of men who rise to the top in the Middle East power structures, make mafia dons look like singing nuns.

Edited October 25, 2015 by boomerangutang

[NongKhaiKid]

In a re-election speech Blair said " politicians needed to learn the public are their masters and not the other way around. "

Prior to the Iraq war he said he knew the majority of the British public were against going to war but HE KNEW it was the right thing to do !

Imagine being moved to follow George W Bush anywhere, the only reason I would follow W would be out of curiosity.

Edited October 25, 2015 by NongKhaiKid

[Soutpeel]

Should have the lot of them including, Bush and his cohorts charged and jailed for war crimes

[pitrevie]

The one man who correctly predicted what would happen if they followed this course of action was Dick Cheney.

Once you got to Iraq and took it over, took down Saddam Husseins government, then what are you going to put in its place? Thats a very volatile part of the world, and if you take down the central government of Iraq, you could very easily end up seeing pieces of Iraq fly off: part of it, the Syrians would like to have to the west, part of it  eastern Iraq  the Iranians would like to claim, they fought over it for eight years. In the north youve got the Kurds, and if the Kurds spin loose and join with the Kurds in Turkey, then you threaten the territorial integrity of Turkey.

What a shame that he forgot what he said in 1994. Now he spends all his time blaming the debacle on Obama.

[willyumiii]

" I am so sorry we killed a half million innocent people and lied to the world about our reasons for invading."

That makes it all better.

Thank you Tony!

Now, would GW Bush and his Boss Cheney care to say anything?

I doubt they ever will.

[willyumiii]

The one man who correctly predicted what would happen if they followed this course of action was Dick Cheney.

Once you got to Iraq and took it over, took down Saddam Husseins government, then what are you going to put in its place? Thats a very volatile part of the world, and if you take down the central government of Iraq, you could very easily end up seeing pieces of Iraq fly off: part of it, the Syrians would like to have to the west, part of it  eastern Iraq  the Iranians would like to claim, they fought over it for eight years. In the north youve got the Kurds, and if the Kurds spin loose and join with the Kurds in Turkey, then you threaten the territorial integrity of Turkey.

What a shame that he forgot what he said in 1994. Now he spends all his time blaming the debacle on Obama.

Before the invasion, Cheney was asked what the exit strategy for the Iraq war was.

His answer: " There is no exit strategy. We stay"

The corporate profits will go on forever...and ever...and ever.

[willyumiii]

Should have the lot of them including, Bush and his cohorts charged and jailed for war crimes

They have been charged and convicted in an international court.

In what is the first ever conviction of its kind anywhere in the world, the former US President and seven key members of his administration were... found guilty of war crimes. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and their legal advisers Alberto Gonzales, David Addington, William Haynes, Jay Bybee and John Yoo were tried in absentia in Malaysia...At the end of the week-long hearing, the five-panel tribunal unanimously delivered guilty verdicts against Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and their key legal advisors who were all convicted as war criminals for torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment. Full transcripts of the charges, witness statements and other relevant material will now be sent to the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, as well as the United Nations and the Security Council.

[Suradit69]

In a re-election speech Blair said " politicians needed to learn the public are their masters and not the other way around. "

Prior to the Iraq war he said he knew the majority of the British public were against going to war but HE KNEW it was the right thing to do !

Imagine being moved to follow George W Bush anywhere, the only reason I would follow W would be out of curiosity.

"Imagine being moved to follow George W Bush anywhere, the only reason I would follow W would be out of curiosity."

Jeb Bush probably shares your view.

His wishy-washy, sometimes incoherent, attempts to defend/justify what his brother did, while he, Jeb, campaigns for the GOP presidential nomination almost make Donald Trump seem rational in comparison.

[eliotness]

There's a video on you-tube, made to the music of Bob Dylan's "Masters of War" featuring B_lair and Baby Bush. A must watch, really gives the chills.

[Lovekorat]

You grinning lying bastard.

Blood on your hands.

You knew all the time.

Sucking up to the moron from Texas who still thinks he's in the Alamo.

Prosecute him and send him to jail.

Middle East peace envoy my arse!

And the Bush brigade?

George W says.." The world is a dangerous place".... Yes thanks to you you moron.

What was it Rumsfeld said..."oh Iraq, terrible weapons, terrible weapons"

How did you know Donald.....did you look at the receipts from when you sold them to them a few years before?

And now the Yanks might vote in another cowboy Jeb?

Fluent in 2 languages I am told.( one of which is probably his own)

Well that's two more than George W.

Can just see them can't you....we need to start a war lads...get some kudos ( and some oil)

Who can we have a go at that can't fight back. That's much safer.

Don't see the yanks taking on China or North Korea do we....oh no let's go after some people that are going to throw rocks at us. Or maybe a few more My Lai's....yep let's murder some rice farmers and their families...that'll show 'em!

Politicians.......all the bloody same.

And we have the nerve to say that some others are a threat to world peace.

Some are but let's look in the mirror first.

[williamgeorgeallen]

well respect to tony blair admitting some mistakes. lets see bush do that.

[razer]

Tony got a revolving door of sorts. A very lucrative position as a freelance diplomat for ... well ... ????

Who cares? ... his post PM career made him very rich..

[emilymat]

Is not one of the big underlyng problems in the middle east, Africa etc the 'artificial' boundaries that were drawn up by various colonial governments during the 18/19 century?.

Look at any map and you will see straight line borders measuring hundreds of miles. These take no account of historical 'tribal' divisions.

The strong dictators manage to hold the 'country' together, whilst the problems 'simmer' underneath.

You can see that in Sudan where the worlds newest country of south Sudan was created.

Let'salso remember that we have seen it in Europe i.e. Yugoslavia atthe back end of the last century.

[taff33]

well respect to tony blair admitting some mistakes. lets see bush do that.

what was that music that Blair used when his Labour Party won the first election "things can only get better" well they certainly did for him.

[dexterm]

I always liked Blair and appreciate his frankness in the recent interview.

Most posts on this thread will throw burning spears at him. So it goes.

Perhaps one mistake he made, besides believing CIA memos prior to the Iraq II, was assuming the Iraqis could form a government and police/army after the war. Maybe he's learned that you (a person in power) can't overestimate the screwed up ways controlling men in the M.East think. To even get to power positions, they must be mafia-like thugs - and it gets worse from there.

We, in the west, often assume that: once we lay the ground-work for a democratic / decent society, and plow in billions of dollars, that things will resolve to a relatively decent level. We should know by now, that just can't happen in the Middle East. Except for maybe Jordan and Israel, the type of men who rise to the top in the Middle East power structures, make mafia dons look like singing nuns.

I hope the loved ones of thousands of allied service men and women (plus millions of Iraqis) dead and injured whose blood is on Blair's hands can share your appreciation for his frankness.

Edited October 25, 2015 by dexterm

[Daniel Boon]

And the sooner Tony Bliar and his cronies go on trial for war crimes the better.

Now due to their unwarranted actions the world and its peoples are experiencing the current mayhem and violence in the region concerned as well as an invasion of ''refugee's '' into Europe as other nations conduct their proxy wars on other nations ground.

Reminiscent of the Spanish Civil war rehearsal that lead to a full blown subsequent world war.

Bliar, Bush and their obnoxious cronies have much to answer for.

add John Howard and Tony Abbott (Australia) to that list

[Daniel Boon]

I always liked Blair and appreciate his frankness in the recent interview.

Most posts on this thread will throw burning spears at him. So it goes.

Perhaps one mistake he made, besides believing CIA memos prior to the Iraq II, was assuming the Iraqis could form a government and police/army after the war. Maybe he's learned that you (a person in power) can't overestimate the screwed up ways controlling men in the M.East think. To even get to power positions, they must be mafia-like thugs - and it gets worse from there.

We, in the west, often assume that: once we lay the ground-work for a democratic / decent society, and plow in billions of dollars, that things will resolve to a relatively decent level. We should know by now, that just can't happen in the Middle East. Except for maybe Jordan and Israel, the type of men who rise to the top in the Middle East power structures, make mafia dons look like singing nuns.

you are joking (aren't you???) ... a democratic system - like America, the UK, Canada and Australia (to name some of the coalition of the willing) - that arrange and take part in the illegal war in the first place?

[Rancid]

Tony got a revolving door of sorts. A very lucrative position as a freelance diplomat for ... well ... ????

Who cares? ... his post PM career made him very rich..

Asian politicians get rich while in the job, Western politicians get their payoff as speaking tours etc later on. Either way corruption wins.

[NickJ]

I had friends working in Iraq fixing air conditioners making 180,000$ a year. Great for them. Not so for the US Taxpayer. It used to be when the US was at war it fixed its own stuff and cooked its own food. Iraq was about money. Profits for corporations.

[Thaidream]

You will never hear Bush or Cheney admit any wrongdoing. They are arrogant beyond belief. At Least Tony Blair admitted there were mistakes. The Bush Cheney Administration is one of the worst in History. Their misuse of power will have robbed generations of Americans jobs and a decent retirement. In addition, they protected big business by bailing out bankers that should have gone to jail for stealing . Their passage of the Patriot Act ( a misnomer for sure) will one day be reviewed in History as a mistake akin to slavery, the treatment of Native Americans and the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. You can add in the concentration camp that is still in use in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. These people have destroyed any credibility the United States had and has made a mockery out of the Us Constitution . Sadly, but aptly, you can add most of the members of the US Congress who participated in this charade. Billions and Billions of Dollars spent on this nonsense while middles class and poor Americans are going bankrupt-trying to pay their hospital bills; keep their mortgaged houses and send their children to college. It is beyond disgusting- It is criminal..

[klauskunkel]

He added: "Of course you can't say those of us who removed Saddam in 2003 bear no responsibility for the situation in 2015."

It's nice to see the 'double negative' at work in the hands (mouth) of a skilled politician. Now, what did he really imply? Probably doesn't know it himself.

[goatfarmer]

In a re-election speech Blair said " politicians needed to learn the public are their masters and not the other way around. "

Prior to the Iraq war he said he knew the majority of the British public were against going to war but HE KNEW it was the right thing to do !

Imagine being moved to follow George W Bush anywhere, the only reason I would follow W would be out of curiosity.

... and at a safe distance.

[lucky11]

Should have the lot of them including, Bush and his cohorts charged and jailed for war crimes

They have been charged and convicted in an international court.

In what is the first ever conviction of its kind anywhere in the world, the former US President and seven key members of his administration were... found guilty of war crimes. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and their legal advisers Alberto Gonzales, David Addington, William Haynes, Jay Bybee and John Yoo were tried in absentia in Malaysia...At the end of the week-long hearing, the five-panel tribunal unanimously delivered guilty verdicts against Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and their key legal advisors who were all convicted as war criminals for torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment. Full transcripts of the charges, witness statements and other relevant material will now be sent to the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, as well as the United Nations and the Security Council.

.........to be thrown in the bin.

[wabothai]

Apology not accepted.

[sgtsabai]

Cheney/Bush et al, that includes the poodle B-liar, should face a Nuremberg trial and GitMo should be the least of their worries. Oh, and please, Bush is no Texan (they are some good people there) he is a damn yankee.

One thing for sure if there really is a heaven (if it's like the biblical/christian version it would be hell for me) they can't get in, you see if they "Ever look on Heaven's scenes;

They will find the streets are guarded

By United States Marines" , the ones they murdered.

May they rot in in hell. Keep GitMo open, for those that really belong there.

[faraday]

I remember before he was pm, & I was still in blighty, every one believed the rubbish that csme out of his mouth: "All things to all people" was something that was said to him during thd election.

He fooled so many people, & lied so much.

Never mind, he said he was sorry. Of course, as he's a catholic now - converted just before his middle east job, he can go to confession & have his sins absolved

Nice work Tony....let's not talk about Cherie eh?

Did she have an affair with Carole Caplin, or was that him?

Plonker!!!

[Thaidream]

SGT Sabai has hit the nail on the head- these people keeping sending our military into harms way without any accountability and what makes me even angrier when they are injured or disabled the US veterans administration takes forever to pay them what they deserve. I know many who have had Disability and Compensation claims outstanding for years. In addition, I am not against keeping true terrorists in jail but they should be tried and convicted and have real evidence not some of the innuendo that was developed by the CIA.

In addition, Obama continues this ridiculous war. Both Iraq and Afghanistan seem willing to fight to the last American or British life but do nothing for themselves. I say get the troops the hell out of the Middle East. Let the Russians die and spend their money on a losing adventure and let the Israelis take care of themselves.

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

I always liked Blair and appreciate his frankness in the recent interview.

Most posts on this thread will throw burning spears at him. So it goes.

Perhaps one mistake he made, besides believing CIA memos prior to the Iraq II, was assuming the Iraqis could form a government and police/army after the war. Maybe he's learned that you (a person in power) can't overestimate the screwed up ways controlling men in the M.East think. To even get to power positions, they must be mafia-like thugs - and it gets worse from there.

We, in the west, often assume that: once we lay the ground-work for a democratic / decent society, and plow in billions of dollars, that things will resolve to a relatively decent level. We should know by now, that just can't happen in the Middle East. Except for maybe Jordan and Israel, the type of men who rise to the top in the Middle East power structures, make mafia dons look like singing nuns.

you are joking (aren't you???) ... a democratic system - like America, the UK, Canada and Australia (to name some of the coalition of the willing) - that arrange and take part in the illegal war in the first place?

Canada did NOT join the coalition, get your facts straight!!!