Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair appeared in an interview last week announcing that he would still have gone to war if he had known that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Mr Blair appeared on the BBC program Fern Britton Meets where he said that he sympathizes with the people who were against the war and who are against it now, but that he had to “take the decision.†Critics have said that Blair tailored his argument to fit the circumstances, with Hans Blix, who headed the UN team searching Iraq for weapons of mass destruction saying that the WMD search was a “convenient justification†for war. Mr Blix is right; it was a convenient justification for an action that Blair was clearly going to carry out either way. It would, however, have been a lot harder to get his cabinet on board if the WMD cover was blown, if you’ll excuse the pun. The thing about Blair is that as much as I loathe him, I cannot help but think that he truly believes, albeit naively, in what he did. It is as though he seeks public approval and thinks that the only way to do it is with some grand, over-dramatized plan- In much the same way that your cat might bring you a dead mouse. Despite the foolishness of his quest for self-worth, saying he would still have gone to war is almost a retrospective air strike. Anybody remember the 45-minute claim? The allegation that warned of Saddam Hussein’s ability to deploy weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes that turned out to be bogus a and desperate attempt at convincing the UK to go to war. Unfortunately it worked and was the basis upon which the entire argument for the war was founded. It gets worse. Now every British politician is trying desperately to get their two-cents published, despite the fact that most of them supported the war in the first place. Conservative Member of British Parliament , Richard Ottoway, for example, speaking to the BBC, criticized Mr Blair, saying that the former Prime Minister is “trying to soften his approach to make himself look less guilty†with regard to the Iraq Inquiry . This is somewhat hypocritical considering Ottoway’s support for the war and is another testament to the old British political tradition of passing the proverbial buck. Mr Blair also attempted to justify his actions by mentioning respect for the “will of the majority†in Iraq with regard to their government. It is a pity that he couldn’t have shown regard for the attitude of the British majority towards the war in Iraq. Surely you elect your Prime Minister as a representative of the people? If one million people marching in protest against a government decision in London alone was not enough to change Blair’s mind, then that itself is proof enough that he never belonged in office. The former Prime Minister also commented on the upcoming election in Iraq, highlighting how Iraqis have “managed, at long last, to break out of the religious divideâ€. As much as we would like this statement to be accurate, at least six car bombs and about one hundred deaths so far this month indicate otherwise. What is insulting about Blair’s recent interview is that it highlights his perennial refusal to apologize for Iraqi deaths and a refusal to even acknowledge that he holds some responsibility for the phony 45-minute claim. The thing is that nobody wants a cat leading the country, however much they purr. It takes a true leader to recognize his shortcomings and it takes a man to apologize for them. Unfortunately for Britain and Iraq, Tony Blair is neither. I’m learning to boycott Tony Blair’s interviews, if for entirely selfish reasons, listening to him is like watching a Mr Bean movie, painful and pitiful, and you are just waiting for the next calamity. However ill-informed his decisions were, however angry you are with Blair, you can’t help feeling sorry for him now. He was like sagging has-been, still disillusioned and clutching at memories begging for a treat from his owner. Like an eighteen-year-old who still believes in Santa. BM
