Tony's half-assed mea culpa
Tony Blair makes qualified apology for Iraq war ahead of Chilcot report
"Former British PM admits ‘mistakes’ and conflict’s role in rise of Islamic State but defends armed intervention in 2003"
Too little too late, or just timely ahead of the Chilcot report, I ask? You know what? Doesn't matter. Because Blair's apology, just like UK's involvement in the Iraq War, is irrelevant. Self-serving, yes - but ultimately, irrelevant.
The problem with Blair's belated mea culpa is that it wasn't the UK who overthrew Saddam. Neither did it to any significant degree slaughter the civilian population, bomb cities, destroy infrastructure or desecrate holy places.
In fact, the UK did virtually nothing in the Iraq War after the initial capture of Basra - except maybe hand it over to pro-Iranian militias and retreat to the safety of its barracks at Basra airport as British war tradition postulates, to await relief from US forces there.
Blair's comments are an arrogant regurgitation of the lie that the UK made any difference at all in either the build-up to the war or in determining the outcome of that war. From the outset of hostilities, Blair's war aim was the avoidance of casualties on the UK side. The best (or worst; depends) that could possibly be laid at Blair's feet is that he gave moral cover to the US like the good puppy that he was, which made it clear that the so called Alliance of the Willing would proceed with the war no matter what the UK did or did not do in support. Blair should admit it: the UK's participation in the Iraq war was an irrelevance. He should then sleep sound in the knowledge that the only war crimes he was guilty of are hubris and cowardice.
And then, there's that:
Tony Blair's “apology” makes no sense
"What is evidently cynical and self-gratifying in the so-called apology are in defence of the West's periodic invasions of countries in the Third World since the end of World War II. Blair's blaming the so-called “faulty intelligence” for the 2003 Iraq invasion is not only a flimsy fig leaf, ominously, it is also an attempt to defend the ongoing Western involvement in Syria in the name of saving innocent lives from Assad's military. Amazingly, smart and intelligent Tony Blair undermines people's intelligence and assumes they suffer from some collective amnesia! It's time the world tries all war criminals, including Tony Blair and his patrons across the Atlantic."
Too little too late, or just timely ahead of the Chilcot report, I ask? You know what? Doesn't matter. Because Blair's apology, just like UK's involvement in the Iraq War, is irrelevant. Self-serving, yes - but ultimately, irrelevant.
The problem with Blair's belated mea culpa is that it wasn't the UK who overthrew Saddam. Neither did it to any significant degree slaughter the civilian population, bomb cities, destroy infrastructure or desecrate holy places.
In fact, the UK did virtually nothing in the Iraq War after the initial capture of Basra - except maybe hand it over to pro-Iranian militias and retreat to the safety of its barracks at Basra airport as British war tradition postulates, to await relief from US forces there.
Blair's comments are an arrogant regurgitation of the lie that the UK made any difference at all in either the build-up to the war or in determining the outcome of that war. From the outset of hostilities, Blair's war aim was the avoidance of casualties on the UK side. The best (or worst; depends) that could possibly be laid at Blair's feet is that he gave moral cover to the US like the good puppy that he was, which made it clear that the so called Alliance of the Willing would proceed with the war no matter what the UK did or did not do in support. Blair should admit it: the UK's participation in the Iraq war was an irrelevance. He should then sleep sound in the knowledge that the only war crimes he was guilty of are hubris and cowardice.
And then, there's that:
Tony Blair's “apology” makes no sense
"What is evidently cynical and self-gratifying in the so-called apology are in defence of the West's periodic invasions of countries in the Third World since the end of World War II. Blair's blaming the so-called “faulty intelligence” for the 2003 Iraq invasion is not only a flimsy fig leaf, ominously, it is also an attempt to defend the ongoing Western involvement in Syria in the name of saving innocent lives from Assad's military. Amazingly, smart and intelligent Tony Blair undermines people's intelligence and assumes they suffer from some collective amnesia! It's time the world tries all war criminals, including Tony Blair and his patrons across the Atlantic."