Under cover of darkness, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived at Britain’s Chilcot Inquiry on the Iraq War today, using a side entrance to avoid the mass of antiwar protesters out front. He then delivered what was expected by many to be the key testimony moment of the inquiry.
Incredibly, the former prime minister was totally unrepentant over the war, insisting that 9/11 had changed everything and speaking of the “threat” posed by Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction insisted “you could not take risks with this issue at all.”
So Blair took what was to him the non-risky route, helping the Bush Administration start a war that killed upwards of a million Iraqis and which, nearly seven years later, still sees over 100,000 international troops occupying the nation.
He conceded that Saddam never had anything to do with the 9/11 attacks, but repeatedly turned to them as proof that “religious fanatics” couldn’t be allowed to have WMDs. It was unclear how Saddam’s largely secular state fit in to this model, but he insisted that the “absolutely key issue was the WMD issue.” Of course, after seven years, no WMDs were ever found and most officials have conceded they never will be.
But Blair, ever the supporter of devastating wars “just in case,” appeared quite contented with his decision, to the revulsion of the parents of slain soldiers, who sat quietly watching as the crowds outside called for the former prime minister to face war crimes charges.
Not content with starting just one major war on false pretense, Blair ended his talk by declaring that Iraq’s neighbor Iran posed a similar threat for its also illusory WMDs, and urged the leaders of today to not “take any risks” with Iran either.
That is the behavior that war crimes trials were intended to address. Hopefully the British and others will begin them shortly after ending this inquiry (and not leave ANYONE out).
<a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=blair+million+israel+leadership&aq=f&aqi=&oq=">blair gets million dollar "leadership award" from israel
cheap
Lets see, $I,OOO,OOO.OO for approx I,OOO,OOO killed… Yep it's $I.OO per person killed..
I'd say that Israel could consider it quite a bargain basement rate..for services rendered…
It would be nice if someother country would step up and add one year for every person dead, let see… Yup, that would be a million years in jail…. If he could live out the sentence it would still be quite short compared to what is generally given for one murder… In Illinois the average sentence is 35 years, which is 12,785 days.. So if tony was to get I,OOO,OOO yeare, it would be one twelve thousand seven hundred and eighty fifth of the typical sentence there….
And Lincoln, Sherman, Sheridan and Grant weren't punished for their war crimes because the South lost. Read War Crimes Against the Southern Civilians by Walter Brian Cisco and American Bastille (documented war crimes against thousands of Northern civilians who opposed Lincoln's war) by John Marshall to understand what I'm talking about.
My fucking God… Tony Blair's like Will Ferrel or Carrot Top, a one joke pony. "Hey everybody, how bout that 9/11? VA-VA-VOOM!"
He's as great a FOOL as Bush. A combination of peculiar religous belief and rationalization, just like Bush.
Supposedly attributable to Tacitus: "Crime once exposed has no refuge but in audacity."
Regardless of who said it, there's an obvious implication for criminal groups whose modus operandi is selling fantasy: That obvious fantasies are to become a legitimating basis for their crimes; that fantasies are to become sacred myths.
“absolutely key issue was the WMD issue:” That is certainly true! Wasn't that the 'slam dunk' that could not be disproven untill Iraq was occupied? How could we be sure they had none until a few tons of white phosphorous crisped Iraqi 'militants'?
Compare his brazenness to "well, we did do the nose:" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp_l5ntikaU
"Crime once exposed has no refuge but in audacity." Thank you, Persnipoles.
The facts are in. The whole world now knows the truth. Blair is a war criminal, as obviously guilty as OJ. Whether he has "internalized" his justifications, or knows them for the lies they are, the only thing for him to do now is to stick to his guns, brazen it out, and rely on the tradition of impunity from the law long enjoyed by the rich and powerful.
When the rich and powerful are as accountable to the law as are the poor, then humanity will have made a significant advance toward a just society.
More disturbing than this SOB trying to bullshit everyone with the same bullshit, is his attempt to bullshit everyone with the same bullshit about Iran.
If I lived in Britain I would walk up to this SOB, introduce myself, tell him why, and beat the fuck out of miserable coward.
Hitler felt threatened by his neighbors and used the same justification for invading Poland, France, and Russia as Bush and Blair are using for invading Iraq and Afghanistan. So why were so many Nazi war criminals executed for their war crimes while Bush and Blair are allowed to simply walk away from their war crimes as free men?
Because the Nazis lost.
WTF?
Tony, wake up, dude. There was a full inspection of Iraq's weapons programs wrapping up as you and the Chimp rushed to get the war started. This was not a war of necessity, unless by necessity you mean that you and Bush needed it for war profiteering, neocon insanity, and spiteful, murderous slaughter of Iraqi citizens.
I am ashamed to admit that I once thought that you and Bush would be held accountable for your war crimes, torture, murder, and destruction. I thought Obama would be forced to do something about it. I see that I underestimated the power of money to control the corporation press, which flooded the airwaves and newspapers with op-eds and articles about how innocent you and Bush were.
You will, sir, get your reward. Perhaps not in this lifetime, but bad karma like yours doesn't just go away. You are going to have to deal with it.
HOW A LEADER OF RESPONSIBLE COUNTRY GO ON WAR
JUST THINKING OR DOUBTING THAT SUCH AND SUCH
COUNTRY IS HAVING WMDS OR THEY WILL ATTACK
US OR SO SO JUST BECAUSE OF THINKING AND
KILLING MILLION PEOPLE AND STILL BELIEVE
HE WAS RIGHT . IS IT HUMAN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
UNBELIEVABLE !!!!!!!!!!!!!
sounds incredibly like saddam, milosevic, goering and other war criminals making their defense…..only difference is that blair got away with his crimes scott free.
His last comment about Iran only proves that the make is insane or insanely racist..
What about the British and their nuclear arsenal..?? As an aggressor nation with a rogue governance that pays no heed to the U.N. and international law shouldn't there be some sanctions against them too and also inspections of their rogue controlled nuclear weapons manufacturing facilities..?? How can anyone trust a nation that cedes the sovereignty of their war machine to an oilman from Texas to "liberate" the oil resources of another nation in a campaign of distortion and LIES…????
1- For Bush and Tony and rest of the gang to be tried in the war crime court the complaint needs to be filed from a country who is the member of UN like US or England Russia and others; however, locally a country can file such suit against its former leaders and that’s what is happening with the inquiry, they are looking into the matter to find a soled evidence which they could prove their case in court. That evidence will not be found nor is going to be said by Tony Blair or anyone that they lied to go to war, yet we the people know that they did lied and still lying to protect their own interests. NEXT on 2-
2- The main problem in middle east, the human tragedy, the coup d'état s, the regime change, wars and now occupation of Iraq and indirect the entire middle east by US and NATO militarism machinery is Israel and always has been, now this may sound anti Semitic, but what is not anti Semitic…? NEXT on 3
3- In the other hand Hitler did not wait for the right time and moment to invade Russia and crush the communism and then going south toward Persian gulf for its Oil, in that regard they waited fourteen years and bombed the hell out of Iraq before they went in, the difference between then and Iraq invasion is that Hitler was a fascist and a leader of such political party.., he wouldn’t wait to tell you otherwise, Tony Blair and George W. Bush or Paul Wolfwitz would never tell you that they are what is called the Neo Fascism, they will smile in a liberal or a democratic way but they would do the same thing that Hitler did. In the other hand I agree with Tony when he points all his reason going to war to never found Iraq WMD , he is frightened to be attacked for what the British and US has done to the people of middle east, otherwise only a stupid would think that without any reasons someone going to attack England and or US, but I am sure a crazy, psychopath or a paranoid man would do and pay Paul Wolfowitz to draw a plan.
It will only take short piece of rope for this fucking pencil neck…….
Tony Blair, in the classic war criminal tradition, attempts to justify the commission of blatant criminal activity. 9/11 is safe and hallowed ground for war makers to tread. Just a passing reference seems to mollify much of the dissention. History will not be kind to Blair, he will be seen as a sate-sponsored murderer as is his lap-dog, GW Bush. Blair, Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rumsfield and even Powell should be remanded to the Hague and tried for serial war crimes of which waging a "war of aggression" is the most serious.
England serves as a good example that once a nation aquires a taste for empire, they never really lose it. The real reason Tony Blair led England into the Iraq war was because it seemed to offer the possibility of restoring a portion of the vast empire they once possessed.
There is a very real possibility that the war with Iraq would never have occurred if tony hadn't lapped up what the shrub spew……. Powell too…
Do not forget that Blair got $1,000,000award from the Israeli government for invasion of Iraq,last year..
Yes, Blair lied the British people into a war that caused hundreds of thousands of innocents to be maimed and murdered. And the British people are rightfully holding his feet to the fire for his part in that crime against humanity. But he was just following the lead of Bush and Cheney who were even worse! Where is the outrage in America? Our despotic political-military-banking-corporate ruling establishment has been systematically destroying the principles of constitutional government, the economy, our standard of living and our god-given liberties for years; yet we hardly hear a peep of protest from the American people. Shame on us. We have squandered the blessings of liberty and prosperity that God and our forebears bequeathed to us. We deserve that wretched fate that will surely be ours. God forgive us.