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Blair’s stance comes in for wide criticism
LONDON: He is sorry, but would do it again – that is, take Britain to war in Iraq.
LONDON: He is sorry, but would do it again – that is, take Britain to war in Iraq.
That was the message from former prime minister Tony Blair during an over two-hour mea culpa on live television soon after the Chilcot report was released on Wednesday, piling more flak on his legacy.
Front pages of newspapers added to his agony on Thursday. “Weapon of mass deception,” splashed The Sun, while Daily Mail called him a “Monster of delusion.” Other newspapers used his now-famous 2002 quote to former US president George Bush: “I will be with you, whatever.”
Noting that Blair looked a broken man on live television – gaunt, hoarse and haunted – columnists wrote that for all his defence over the years and particularly after the Chilcot report, Blair will not be able to shake off his Iraq war legacy for the rest of his life.
Relatives of British soldiers called the television performance a carefully choreographed act and one called Blair the “world’s worst terrorist.”
