The Scum at the Top
Commentary on the Rats in Washington
Blair's 'Iraq Disaster' Interview Provokes Storm
CNN.com
© November 18, 2006
British Prime Minister Tony Blair provoked a
storm Saturday after apparently admitting that
the invasion of Iraq by the United States
and Britain was "a disaster."
Blair did not use the words himself, but
appeared to agree with the assessment of
the interviewer Sir David Frost on Al-Jazeera's
new English-language channel.
Blair's Downing Street office insisted that
the British leader's views had been
misrepresented and that it was "disingenuous"
to portray it as an admission, the UK's
Press Association said.
During the interview, Frost suggested that the
West's intervention in Iraq had "so far been
pretty much of a disaster."
Blair replied: "It has, but you see what I say
to people is why is it difficult in Iraq? It's
not difficult because of some accident in
planning, it's difficult because there's a
deliberate strategy -- al Qaeda with Sunni
insurgents on one hand, Iranian-backed elements
with Shia militias on the other -- to create a
situation in which the will of the majority for
peace is displaced by the will of the minority
for war."
Opposition MPs seized on the comment as evidence
that Blair has finally accepted that his strategy
in the Middle Eastern state had failed.
British newspapers carried the story on their
front pages Saturday
"Iraq invasion a disaster, Blair admits on Arab
TV," was the headline in The Daily Telegraph.
"PM Tony Blair last night sensationally
admitted the Iraq War fallout has become
'disastrous,' reported Britain's biggest
selling daily, The Sun.
Blair's remarks came after former Iraqi Prime
Minister Ayad Allawi said he feared his country
was on the verge of disintegration -- a situation
he said he never anticipated.
"It's really quite alarming and dangerous,
where Iraq is now. It's quite frightening,"
Allawi told CNN.
"Iraq is slipping continuously into a
chaotic level of violence. "To be honest,
this is not something that I could have imagined
when we fought Saddam's regime."
Meanwhile in Iraq coalition and Iraqi troops
in southeastern Iraq continued their hunt
for five Western security contractors
abducted the day before.
Call for Blair to apologize
Reacting to Blair's comments, Liberal Democrat
leader Menzies Campbell said the prime minister
should now apologize for his actions.
He told PA: "At long last the enormity of the
decision to take military action against Iraq
is being accepted by the prime minister.
"It could hardly be otherwise as the failure
of strategy becomes so clear. "If the prime
minister accepts that it is a 'disaster' then
surely parliament and the British people who
were given a flawed prospectus are entitled
to an apology."
A Downing Street spokeswoman said Blair did
not believe that the violence in Iraq had
been a disaster.
"He was simply acknowledging the question in
a polite way before going on to explain his
view.
"To portray it as some kind of admission is
completely disingenuous," the spokeswoman
told the BBC.
Appeasement argument rejected
Blair used the interview to speak at length
about British foreign policy in the Middle
East and the continuing violence in Iraq.
He reiterated his appeal to Iran and Syria
to become partners of the West in the search
for peace in the troubled region.
Blair rejected any suggestion that his
readiness to work with the two countries
was appeasement.
Meanwhile, The Islington Tribune reported
that Trade Minister Margaret Hodge told a
private meeting of Labour supporters that
Blair was guilty of "moral imperialism."
Hodge told members of Islington's Fabian
Society that the Iraq war was Blair's "big
mistake in foreign affairs," the paper reported.
After her criticisms of the prime minister,
she added: "I hope this isn't going to be
reported," the newspaper claimed.
Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten, or redistributed. Associated
Press contributed to this report.
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January 15, 2007