![]() But I would have been a stronger advocate if I could have received any reassurance that US Vice-President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had a plan for 'the day after'. Make no mistake - I was in favour of the war, based on the information we were presented with. 'It's not clear to me that even if our policy did not work, subsequent policies have worked better.'įormer Labour Home Secretary David Blunkett has revealed that he challenged Blair before the warĭuring the Cabinet meetings we held in the run-up to the Iraq War, I warned Tony Blair that taking military action against Saddam carried risks.Īs the US embassy memo obtained by the Mail on Sunday correctly indicates, I was worried about the impact on our social cohesion if British muslims wrongly interpreted it as an attack on their community.īut I was also extremely concerned about what would happen after we had removed Saddam. 'And we've tried no intervention at all but demanding regime change in Syria. We've tried intervention without putting down troops in Libya. We have tried intervention and putting down troops in Iraq. 'This leads me to the broader point, which I think is so essential when we are looking at policy today. And two – ISIS actually came to prominence from a base in Syria and not in Iraq. 'But it's important also to realise – one, that the Arab Spring which began in 2011 would also have had its impact on Iraq today. 'Of course you can't say that those of us who removed Saddam in 2003 bear no responsibility for the situation in 2015. But we have got to be extremely careful otherwise we will misunderstand what's going on in Iraq and in Syria today. The former Prime Minister said: 'I think there are elements of truth in that. Mr Blair was then asked whether the invasion of Iraq was the 'principle cause' of the rise of ISIS. I think even from today 2015 it's better that he is not there than he is there.' 'But I find it hard to apologise for removing Saddam. 'I can also apologise, by the way, for some of the mistakes in planning and certainly our mistake in our understanding of what would happen once you had removed the regime. 'Because even though he had used chemical weapons extensively against his own people against others, the programme in the form we thought it was did not exist in the way that we thought. He replied: 'You know whenever I'm asked this I can say that I apologise for the fact that the intelligence I received was wrong. See more of the latest news and updates on the Islamic StateĪppearing on the US TV network CNN Tony Blair was asked directly whether the decision to enter Iraq and topple Saddam Hussein had been 'a mistake'. ![]() Blair's confession comes a week after The Mail on Sunday published a bombshell White House memo revealing for the first time how Blair and Bush agreed a 'deal in blood' a year before the invasion. In the 'trial by TV', respected US political broadcaster Fareed Zakaria accuses him of being President Bush's 'poodle' over the conflict. 'Of course you can't say those of us who removed Saddam in 2003 bear no responsibility for the situation in 2015.' ![]() 'I also apologise for some of the mistakes in planning and, certainly, our mistake in our understanding of what would happen once you removed the regime.'Ĭhallenged that the Iraq War was 'the principal cause' of the rise of Islamic State, he said: 'I think there are elements of truth in that. He replies: 'I apologise for the fact that the intelligence we received was wrong. In the exchange, Blair repeatedly says sorry for his conduct and even refers to claims that the invasion was a war 'crime' – while denying he committed one.īlair is asked bluntly in the CNN interview, to be broadcast today: 'Was the Iraq War a mistake?'
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