Former British PM Tony Blair Says Sorry For Iraq
Critics of the former British PM accuse him of “spin” to sway official inquiry into 2003 war.
By JULES JOHNSTON
October 26, 2015
Politico EU
Tony Blair offered a couched apology for the Iraq war.
Speaking to CNN, the former U.K Prime Minister expressed regret over the “huge political problem” created by the war, adding that what happened in Iraq after the ouster of Saddam Hussein in 2003 was a “mistake in our understanding of what would happen once you removed the regime.”
Blair’s critics, particularly vocal in his own Labour Party, characterized the interview as attempted “spin” ahead of the conclusions of the Chilcot inquiry, which was created in 2009 to look into the U.K. role in the conflict. The head of the panel is to update the government on progress by November 3, but according to the Sunday Times the final Chilcot report will be delayed until 2016.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wrote on Twitter that “The Blair spin operation begins but the country still awaits the truth.”
The Daily Mail last week reported on a U.S. government memo in which Blair appeared to agree to take part in the Iraq war in 2002, reigniting the debate about Blair and the war.
The interview will be broadcast as part of a one-hour special, “Long Road to Hell: America in Iraq” which will air globally on Monday on CNN International.
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