British Prime Minister Tony Blair told US President George W. Bush eight months before the 2003 invasion of Iraq “I will be with you, whatever”, and relied on flawed intelligence and unsatisfactory legal advice to proceed with the war, a seven-year inquiry reported on Wednesday.
In a scathing critique of Mr Blair’s leadership, the inquiry said the threat posed by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s supposed weapons of mass destruction had been over-hyped and the planning for the aftermath of war had been inadequate.
As the inquiry’s findings were being delivered, protesters chanted “Tony Blair, war criminal”. However, the report stopped short of calling the illegal.
More than 13 years since the invasion, the war remains a deeply emotive issue for Britons. There are many who want Mr Blair to face criminal action over the military action that led to the deaths of 179 UK soldiers and more than 150,000 Iraqi civilians over the following six years.
In a memo dated July 28, 2002, eight months before the invasion, Mr Blair told Mr Bush: “I will be with you, whatever. But this is the moment to assess bluntly the difficulties.”
Critics say it fueled a deep distrust in politicians and the ruling party. In a lengthy and passionate defence lasting almost two hours, Mr Blair justified his decision to back Mr Bush and go to war alongside the US in March 2003, at a time when the inquiry said peace options had not been exhausted and Saddam posed no imminent threat.
“I did not mislead this country. There were no lies, there was no deceit, there was no deception,” the former prime minister told reporters, looking gaunt and strained but growing animated as he responded to questions.
“But there was a decision, and it was a controversial decision... to remove Saddam and to be with America. I believe I made the right decision and the world is better and safer as a result of it.”
Families of slain soldiers said they were considering whether to take legal action against him.
