Mr Blair and his wife visited President and First Lady Bush in their ranch near Crawford, Texas, from April 5 to April 6, 2002. The main object of the meeting was to discuss the continuation of the war on terrorism. In clear this means, "When will the US, with its British lackeys, attack Iraq?" They probably decided to attack Iraq, but they did not tell us when and how. Their main argument to go to war with Iraq is that this country is building an arsenal of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. What they forget to say is that between them, the US and Britain, have the biggest arsenal of these weapons in the world! Moreover the US will not accept any controls on its nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. The US and Britain also say that Saddam Hussein is a war criminal, while at the same time the US refuses to accept the jurisdiction of an international criminal court! But of course as Jean de la Fontaine, a French writer said more than three hundred years ago: "La raison du plus fort est toujours la meilleure" (The stronger is always right!)
- On September 9, 2002, the day before his appearance at the Trade Union
annual congress, Blair was called a sycophant, and anti-war jibes from left-wing
members get personal. It is believed that union leaders will give him a hostile
reception as they too ask proof of Iraqi threat.
- On September 24, 2002, Mr Blair presented to the British Parliament his
dossier "justifying", in his words, an attack on Iraq. He said it
shows that Saddam Hussein is building an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction.
In fact the dossier does not present anything new and credible. It is true
that Saddam is a cruel dictator that we, and his people, could do without.
This could justify a war, but the unproven accusations of weapons of mass
destruction and of collaboration with al-Qaida are not enough. These days
people, with the exception of the Americans, do not necessarily believe their
politicians if they do not present some proofs of what they affirm, or if
they believe that they are telling lies.
- At the Annual Congress of the Trade Unions in Blackpool, Tony Blair did
his best to convince the union leaders that Iraq has to be dealt with, hopefully
through arm inspections, if not, by war. He succeeded but only in part. Tony
Blair enlisted the help and the presence of the ex-president Clinton who did
what he does best: praising Blair and telling the delegates that they must
trust him as he is the only man in the world able to bring America and the
rest of the world to a common position. It looks that he succeeded and that
Blair came out of the conference stronger.
- Tony Blair initiative to renew the Middle East peace talks has suffered
an embarrassing setback at the hands of president Bush only a few days after
he described it at the Labour party conference in Blackpool. Mr Bush has vetoed
it and he added that he does not want any such conference in the near future;
his priority now is Iraq and only Iraq. Will Blair finally understand whom
he is dealing with?
- Mr Blair went to Moscow on October 11, 2002, to try to convince president
Putin to join Britain and the USA getting a tough resolution against Iraq
through the security council of the UN. He did not appear to have convinced
the Russians who still believe that no new resolution is required as they
have not received any proof that Iraq is planning to use its weapons of mass
destruction or to attack the US -and this is well known they cannot do.
- Tony Blair met President Jacques Chirac in Le Touquet in the north of France
for their annual meeting. Blair tried to bring France closer to the joint
US/British view on Iraq but apparently he failed. President Chirac wants to
give more time to the UN weapon inspectors to look for weapons of mass destruction
in the whole of Iraq. France believes that there is no justification at this
stage to invade Iraq, as there is no proof that Saddam Hussein has forbidden
weapons.
- Blair is aware that he is playing his political future for backing the USA
on a war with Iraq, especially if the UN does not approve it. However on February
13, 2003, he said again that he was ready to back-up the Americans whatever
they decide to do.
- Tony Blair complained on February 18, 2003, that much of Europe's anti-American
rhetoric is a parody of reality. He warned the critics of his Iraqi policy
that those seeking to divide the EU from the USA were playing a dangerous
game. He said that some of the critics of America, our ally, seem to him more
savage that those directed to Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi regime.
- On February 25, 2003, Blair defended his Iraqi politics in the Parliament
and his decision to follow the Americans. It was not received too well. Tomorrow
there will be some votes and although there is no way he could be voted out
of power, many members of his party will vote against him as they are not
convinced, like most of the nation, of the necessity to go to war. After all,
Iraq is not threatening and is not attacking Britain.
- Blair said that it is not too late to avoid war but he repeated that Saddam
Hussein must disarm. The trouble is that the Iraqi say that they have no weapon
of mass destruction anymore. So, how can they disarm? And the UN inspectors
on the spot have not yet found any weapons. But war there will be, if not
Bush who has already sent more than 200,000 troops in the region would loose
face.
- On February 26, 2003, the British Parliament stunned Blair when 198 MPs
-121 Labour, 52 Liberal Democrat, 13 Conservatives and 12 Nationalists- presented
an amendment against war with Iraq. The amendment was defeated by 393 votes
to 193 but, all the same, it was a moral defeat for Blair who was saved only
by the Conservatives. Such a rebellion against a prime minister is unheard
off on Britain. The only comparable rebellion occurred in 1885 when 93 Liberals
voted against Gladstone's first home rule bill.
- Blair needs a second resolution approved by the UN Security Council before
going to war. Britain will do most of the diplomatic work to have such a new
resolution approved. The Americans limit themselves to write the cheques,
and the price is not cheap. Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Guinea, Mexico, Pakistan
and Turkey are the main targets. Experts in international law say that the
new resolution, as it is written, does not authorise the USA and Britain to
claim that the UN authorised them to invade Iraq.
- On Sunday night, March 9 2003, Clare Short the British cabinet Secretary
for International Development said on the radio that she would resign if Tony
Blair were to join the Americans in the invasion of Iraq without UN authorisation.
Blair decided not to throw her out of his government hoping that she would
leave of her own will. Throwing her out would make her a political martyr,
and Blair has already enough problems these days. After talking to Blair,
she decided to make a complete U-turn staying in the government and making
a fool of herself for not knowing what she wants, and where her principles
lie.
- Andy Reed, the Parliamentary aid to Margaret Beckett, the Environment Secretary,
resigned over the Iraq policy. According to the media between 10 and 30 junior
ministers are ready to follow; among them Ann Campbell the Parliamentary aide
to Patricia Hewitt, the Industry Secretary; Michael Foster, Parliamentary
Secretary to Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney General; Tony Wright, Parliamentary
Secretary to Ruth Kelly, Financial secretary to the Treasury; Ken Purchase,
Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the House, Robin Cook (himself said
to be preparing to leave too if there is no second UN resolution). Others
will follow and it is believed that about 150 Members of the Parliament could
revolt against Blair.
- Blair is looking more of a fool everyday as Bush's lackey. For instance,
the British took over the harbour of Umm Qasr and they hoped to have it operated
by the Iraqi. No, said the Americans, we have already given a contract to
an American firm to do it.
- On April 2, 2003, it became known that Blair has been nominated by two Republican
members of the US Congress to receive the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest
civilian honour the Congress can bestow. The nomination proposal says that
this medal would be for his "commitment to secure then world from the
threat of terrorism". Among the foreigners who received this medal are
Winston Churchill, Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa. The company is nice.
- On April 28, 2003, Tony Blair warned France and other critics of the US-led
war in Iraq that any attempt to create "rival centres of power"
to compete with the USA would restore the disastrous divisions of the cold
war era.
- On April 29 there will be a meeting of head of government and prime ministers
of France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg in Brussels to reinforce military
ties. Nothing much is expected of this meeting but it is a sign that continental
Europe has had enough of Britain getting closer and closer to the USA.
- Tony Blair went to Moscow on April 29, 2003, to convince President Putin
to support the US and the British new resolution they presented to the UN
Security Council. This resolution proposes to lift the sanctions against Iraq.
Well, the answer was not the one expected. Putin insisted that the sanctions
should only be lifted after the UN inspectors have declared that Iraq is free
of weapons of mass destruction as written in the UN resolution defining what
is expected from them. This implies that the UN inspectors must be allowed
to resume their work in Iraq.
- Putin mocked the British and the Americans for not being able to find Saddam
Hussein and any weapons of mass destruction, the reason to start the war.
He went on saying "If the decision-making process is democratic, then
there is something we could agree with, but if decisions are being made by
just one member of the international community, and all the others are required
to support them, that is something we could not find acceptable." A new
bi-polar world order is established with the US on one side and Russia, France
and Germany on the other.
- On May 4, 2003, in an interview to the Times of London Tony Blair reveals
his inner feelings about sending soldiers fighting in Iraq. He sees himself
as messianic, a man who believes himself driven by a higher calling, a man
who put God at the heart of his politics. He went as far as saying that he
will be judged on the Iraq war not only by the electorate and history, but
also by "his Maker". This could explain why he is so close to the
"Born Again Christian" George W Bush. In fact both are "fundamentalist"
Christians.
- Clare Short, the British cabinet Secretary for International Development
finally resigned on May 12, 2003. She justified her action by saying that
Tony Blair had promised her that the UN would run post-war Iraq and, obviously,
this will not be the case as the Americans have decided to do it alone. Later
in the Commons and to the media, she attacked Blair in quite a vicious way
saying that Blair should resign and let Gordon Brown take his place.
- On May 21, 2003, we were told that the British Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith,
warned Tony Blair that reconstruction of Iraq by the occupiers would be unlawful
without a further UN resolution approving it. According to him, the longer
the occupation the harder it will be to justify this occupation as lawful.
He added, "any military action must be limited to achieve Iraqi disarmament".
- The British government was relieved to hear that France, Russia and Germany
would not oppose a resolution to let the British and the USA run the country
until a recognised Iraqi government takes over. It is now also clear that
there will be no opposition to the lifting of the 13-year-old sanctions against
Iraq.
- On July 9, 2003, Tony Blair is attacked from all parts for doing nothing
to help the new British subjects, Moazzam Begg and Feroz Abbasi, who are prisoner
in Guantanamo Bay and who will soon be tried by a military court. One hundred
and sixty three members of the Parliament signed a petition asking that they
be tried in Britain where they would get a fairer trial. Blair wants to keep
his so-called "special relationship" with the US -independently
of who is in the White House- and for this he must behave like a good little
dog, licking the boots of his master and doing what he is told to do.
- On July 17, 2003, Tony Blair was invited to give a speech to a joint meeting
of the US Congress. It was a big success because he is a very good talker,
hundred times better than George Bush.
- On July 28, 2003, Tony Blair, Jack Straw and Geoff Hoon were accused of
crimes against humanity and war crimes for the war in Iraq. Greek lawyers
lodged a case against them with the International Criminal Court (ICC). They
say that the US and British governments violated the four 1949 Geneva conventions,
the 1954 convention of the Hagues, as well as the charter of the international
criminal court. They specifically accused the US and Britain to attack and
kill needlessly many civilians and to destroy non-military targets, towns,
villages and buildings. It is not certain that the ICC will accept to hear
the case.
- On August 11, 2003, The Guardian reported that some ministers agree that
the chances of Tony Blair recovering the trust of the British electorate is
linked to the results of the Hutton's inquiry that is beginning today. If
the BBC is shown to have been right in saying that the government "sexed"
the dossier used to justify the war in Iraq then Blair will certainly have
to resign.
- On August 18, 2003, a poll showed that Blair is loosing the trust of the
British voters. Half the people believe that the Iraq dossier was "embellished"
by the government and 68% say that Dr Kelly was badly treated (8% believe
that he was treated fairly). However Labour lead over the Conservative has
increased by 1% to 37% with 32% for the Conservatives and 22% for the Liberal
Democrats.
- A poll in the Sunday Telegraph of August 24, 2003, shows that two third
of the public and 62% of labour voters feel deceived by the government over
the issue of the Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. 55% of Blair's supporters
blame the government for Dr Kelly's death, but only a third believe that he
should resign while 52% say that Geoff Hoon should go.
- On August 29, 2003, as foreseen, Alastair Campbell, special adviser to Tony
Blair, resigned. David Hill, a veteran former Labour press officer who had
good relations with the media, will succeed him, however he will not have
the same power that Mr Campbell had. The row with the BBC is only part of
the reason for the resignation. Blair, in fact, after the controversies about
the Iraq dossier, is obliged to create a "spin-free" media operation
in which civil servants will take an important role in directing Downing Street
strategy and communication. In other words, Campbell, with the Prime Minister
backing, had gone too far.
- Alastair Campbell resigned as director of communications at Downing Street
but the Observer reported on August 31, 2003, that he would still be working
for the Labour Party, especially during the next election campaign. He will
also keep in touch with Tony Blair, and will be a member of the "kitchen
cabinet" that will also include Peter Mandelson and Philip Gould, Blair's
personnel pollster. Campbell is considering work offer from broadcasters,
media groups and publishers for which he could ask for a salary of around
£500,000 (his present salary is £120,0000). Moreover the publication
of his diary could bring him something between £1 and £5m.
- On September 13, 2003, we were told that Blair agreed to go to war with
the Americans in a meeting with Bush in his ranch in the spring of 2002. All
that was said at the UN, in the Parliaments, and in public were just "covering
up" attempts as the decision was already taken.
- On October 19, 2003, Tony Blair was admitted in hospital in London for irregular
heartbeat's treatment. He soon recovered and was resting at Downing Street.
He complained of chest pain while at the Chequers, his official countryside
residence. On October 20 he was back at work.
- In a speech in London on November 10, 2003, Tony Blair defended his special
relationship with the USA. However, he added that the British Foreign policy
rests on two pillars, the USA and Europe. In his opinion, it is Europe's interest
to be friendly to the US and this is the reason why he is doing his best to
mend the rift between the two sides of the Atlantic.
- On November 18, 2003, Bush and Blair will talk about the future of the war
in Iraq, the fate of the eleven British men held at Guantanamo Bay, and the
steel tariffs imposed on the importation in the USA.
- On January 4, 2004, Tony Blair visited the British troops in Basra, southern
Iraq for the second time since the war ended officially. He spoke to several
hundred soldiers and congratulated them for what they did. There are still
about 11,000 British troops in Iraq and 52 have died until now.
- One February 7, 2004, a senior British minister, the Leader of the Commons
Peter Hain, admitted that the British government had fallen into very rough
waters due to the backbench revolts and the row over weapons of mass destruction.
- On February 10, 2004, Prime Minister Tony Blair, received the Libyan foreign
minister, Abdul Rahman Mohammed Shaigam at Downing Street to talk about the
dismantling of the weapons of mass destruction in Libya but also about future
collaboration. Tony Blair will visit Libya, and meet Colonel Muammar Gadafy
at a date to be decided soon.
- On February 13, 2004, the Guardian told us that the British government is
very surprised -and upset- by the fact that British firms did not until now
win any big contracts for the reconstruction of Iraq. It is true that the
US government finances them, but they had thought, wrongly again, that the
US would, in this way, pay them back for licking Bush's boots.
- On March 5, 2004, Tony Blair gave an important speech in Sedgefield, his
constituency. In it he defended his decision to go to war in Iraq saying that
Britain would be in "mortal danger" if terrorism was ever underestimated.
He said that international laws should be adapted to the new circumstances.
He added that as prime minister, he had to take into consideration terrorism
and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. He did not mention that
Iraq had none.
- On March 10, 2004, a British court judging 14 Greenpeace activists refused
to oblige Lord Goldsmith to reveal the legal advice he gave to the government
justifying the Iraq war.
- On March 12, 2004, the British Ministry of Defence had to admit that a Royal
Marine commando, Christopher Maddison, was not killed by the Iraqis, but by
friendly fire in a poorly planned operation in Iraq. The BBC first revealed
that he was killed by friendly fire while the British military authorities
were insisting that the Iraqis killed him.
- On March 30, 2004, The Guardian told us that the British government is going
to introduce some more restriction on the release of information to the public
as part of the "war on terror". The concept of national security
will be widened and "open government" restricted.
- On April 1, 2004, Tony Blair said that identity cards will have to be introduced
much sooner that foreseen due to the terrorism threat in Britain. Apparently,
there are still technical problems to be solved.
- For those who believed that the invasion of Iraq was decided at the last
moment The Observer of April 4, 2004 must be a revelation. According to Sir
Christopher Meyer, the former British ambassador to Washington, in a dinner
at the White House nine days after the September 11, 2001, attacks, George
Bush asked Tony Blair to support the removal of Saddam Hussein from power.
At that time Bush had already decided to invade Iraq, not because of its weapons
of mass destruction but to change the regime. And Blair agreed with his American.
All that Blair said afterwards until March 2003 "that no decisions had
been taken yet" were pure lies!
- Extracts of Clare Short's diary are to be soon published. In it she is saying
that Blair tried to persuade Bush to ask the UN Security Council's agreement
to invade Iraq in exchange promising British's support. He did not inform
the Cabinet of his decisions, on the opposite, he misled his ministers. According
to her the French told Blair to invade Iraq without a second UN resolution,
assuring they would keep quiet. But Bush had already promised Blair to go
to the UN, and he went on as agreed because Blair was afraid that without
UN approval he would be thrown out of office. This could explain the French
attitude later on. If we believe Clare Short.
- On April 6, 2004, the British Ministry of Defence had to recognise that
the eight Chinook helicopters they bought from the USA for more than £250m
are so unreliable that they can only fly about 500 feet high, and only in
good cloudless weather, because the software for their guiding instruments
are not safe.
- On April 9, 2004, Tony Blair had to give a copy of the Attorney General's
advice on the invasion of Iraq to the Parliamentary Ombudsman, Ann Abraham.
She will decide if it must be published.
- On April 10, 2004, Blair wrote an article for The Observer newspaper in
which he repeated that he will go on backing the US military campaign tactic
in Iraq. Blair said ex-members of Saddam Hussein's regime, al-Qaida-backed
terrorists, and followers of the radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr made
the recent attacks against the coalition forces. According to him, most of
Iraq is not affected, and most Iraqis reject the uprising. He did not explain
how the insurgents were able to take control of a few cities. Britain, he
insisted, together with the US, will not abandon Iraq until there is stability
in the country under a democratic government. He confirmed that power will
be transferred to an interim Iraqi government on June 30.
- When Blair meet Bush next week in Washington he will ask his full support
for another UN resolution giving a mandate to the new Iraqi government. He
will not ask the UN to send peacekeepers, but to oversee the future democratic
elections and the writing of the constitution.
- On April 17, 2004, The Guardian told us that Tony Blair, in March 2003,
refused President Bush's keep-out option of the Iraqi war for the British
soldiers. The information came from a book, Plan of Attack, by the well-known
Watergate journalist Bob Woodward. Bush's offer was due to his fear that Blair's
government would fall, but Blair refused. Woodward also reveals that Bush
asked the Pentagon for plans to invade Iraq as soon as November 2001 without
informing the CIA and his national security staff, including Condoleezza Rice.
- Britain planned to send home hundred of Iraqi refugees who fled to Britain
to escape persecution by Saddam Hussein. Now on April 18, 2004, the decision
has been postponed due to the chaotic and dangerous situation in Iraq where
safety is still a long time option.
- On April 17, 2004, Blair goes on repeating that his decision to follow the
USA in the invasion of Iraq was right, and that the majority of the English
people who think the opposite are wrong, of course. He forgets that it is
now certain that President Bush planned to do it in November 2001, two months
after the September 11 attacks in which Iraq was not involved. Moreover Iraq
was not supporting al-Qaida. All the talk about weapons of mass destruction,
and the statements that no decision to invade Iraq were taken until the beginning
of 2003, were pure lies and the recourses to the UN were just a way to try
to cover their mischief. These two, Blair and Bush, will go down in history
as being nothing more than liars.
- At the end of their press conference at the White House on April 16, Bush
told Blair, "Good job, Prime Minister, Well done". Blair gave an
efficient defence of the war in Iraq; something that Bush has never been able
to do.
- Things went differently when Blair met Kofi Annan who said clearly that,
as long that the coalition could not guarantee a better security in Iraq,
the UN's role would remain very limited.
- On April 20, 2004, a poll financed by The Guardian indicates that the British
people's support over Iraq is going down the drain following the recent fighting.
While 53% of the British thought that the invasion of Iraq was justified in
January, now only 41% agree, and 48% disagreed. In addition two third of the
people do not trust the way the Americans are handling the situation and 79%
believe that this country is too dangerous for civilian workers. Although
there is still a slight majority that believes that the American and British
troops should stay there, a strong minority (42%) believe that Britain should
follow the example of Spain, and pull its troops out. On the other hand the
Labour party has regained a five points lead over the Conservative's.
- On May 10, 2004, Tony Blair said that he would resign as prime minister
if he became an electoral liability to the Labour party. According to him,
it is not the case now. His resignation would open the doors of Number 10,
Downing Street, to Gordon Brown.
- On May 12, 2004, the pressure for Blair to resign over Iraq is growing,
and Gordon Brown and his friends are readying themselves to take over. Blair,
of course, try to defend himself using his record on internal policies especially
employment, but it is not easy. He added that he wants to pull back the British
soldiers out of Iraq as soon as possible, but not before the "job"
is done, and that could be as far away as 2006 at the earliest.
- On June 17, 2004, Blair agreed with president Bush saying that Saddam Hussein
had allowed al-Qaida to have a camp in Iraq. This is against the views of
the British and US intelligence services and the US commission investigating
the September 11, 2001, attacks. It is evident that they are lying.
- On July 6, 2004, Tony Blair admitted to the Common Select committee that
weapons of mass destruction may never been found in Iraq, but he refused to
apologise for the invasion that was still justified in his opinion, with or
without these weapons. He added that Saddam Hussein may have "removed
them, hide them or even destroy" these weapons.
- On July 10, 2004, we have been told that Blair thought seriously of resigning
when strongly criticised lately. He believed that he had become a liability
to the Labour party. His closest minister friends in the cabinet, as well
as his wife Cherie, persuaded him to stay on.
- Despite the Government's efforts to push domestic issues into the spotlight
this week, the British Prime Minister will have to defend his stance on the
war in Iraq once again. On July 19, 2004 a survey suggests that a majority
of voters now believe Mr Blair lied over Iraq but they still want to see him
in Number 10. According to the poll 55% of those questioned believe he lied,
while only 37% said he told the truth, 56% now saying the war was unjustified.
Mr Blair is personally seen as tough by 47%, arrogant by 52%, experienced
by 72%, honest by 37%, competent by 57% and trustworthy by 36%. His overall
rating is slightly better than Tory leader Michael Howard's, whose rating
has gone down since the beginning of the year. The number of people satisfied
with Mr Blair's performance is up 4% to 36%, while those happy with Mr Howard's
performance is 35%.
- On September 5, 2004, Tony Blair is coming under growing pressure from some
of his closest aides to apologise for mistakes made during the Iraq conflict
and its aftermath. While the Prime Minister has so far resisted the calls,
aides in his inner circle believe a speech clarifying his view on weapons
of mass destruction, and an admission that the aftermath of the war has not
gone entirely as planned, would help win back public trust and heal a fractured
Labour Party. Some close to the Prime Minister believe there could yet be
a way of apologising to the public without admitting errors of judgment over
the key decision to overthrow Saddam Hussein. President Bush has admitted
that mistakes have been made in Iraq since the official end of hostilities
in April 2003 and it is thought that a Blair clarification might take a similar
form.
- On September 18, 2004, we were told that Jack Straw warned Tony Blair there
could be post-war problems in Iraq. The foreign secretary's warning came over
a year before coalition forces invaded.
- On September 29, 2004, we were told that Britain started to plan the Iraq
war months ahead of the conflict, even as Prime Minister Tony Blair was denying
he was on a course for war. Senior British and US commanders met at a war-planning
session in June 2002 and orders to prepare actual military operations were
given on October 7, 2002, more than a month before a UN resolution giving
a final warning to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Full battle plans were issued
on October 31, 2002, eight days before UN Resolution 1441 called for the resumption
of arms inspections in Iraq and warned Saddam of "serious consequences"
if he were still seeking weapons of mass destruction.
- Tony Blair insisted on September 29, 2004, the Iraq war was justified despite
his admission that no weapons of mass destruction were present. Mr Blair disputed
the UN secretary general Kofi Annan's claim the war was illegal, saying it
was justified on the basis of broken UN resolutions. But Conservative leader
Michael Howard has for the first time directly accused Mr Blair of lying.
"I think people hold the view pretty firmly now that they were lied to
over Iraq.
- The prime minister has gone to Chequers on October 2, 2004, for a quiet
weekend after hospital treatment for an irregular heartbeat. Tony Blair, who
underwent a procedure, sparked speculation about his future after he said
he intends to serve a full third term if elected. But he ruled out running
for a fourth.
- Tony Blair has come under fire on October 7, 2004, after the Iraq Survey
Group found Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction, chemical, biological
or nuclear weapons when Iraq was invaded. The Liberal Democrats called on
Mr Blair to make a Commons statement on the report. The Tories said it showed
the prime minister had not been honest. But Mr Blair highlighted that Saddam
hoped to revive a WMD programme once sanctions were lifted.
- Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt, speaking on behalf of the
entire Cabinet, has made the government's first direct apology for using inaccurate
intelligence to justify the Iraq war on October 8, 2004. "All of us who
were involved in making this difficult decision are very sorry and do apologise
for the fact that that information was wrong." But she added: "I
don't think we were wrong to go in."
- The British prime minister has been urged by the main opposition parties
on October 12, 2004, to make a statement to MPs on Iraq, and to apologise
for flaws in intelligence in the run up to the war. The call to Mr Blair follows
the official withdrawal by Foreign Secretary Jack Straw of the claim that
Saddam Hussein could use weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes. Straw
added the war in Iraq was right, even though he now accepts some intelligence
was wrong.
- A defiant Tony Blair refused to apologise on October 13, 2004, over claims
that he "misrepresented" the case for war with Iraq; he rejected
the accusation from Tory leader Michael Howard at Prime Minister's Questions
in the Commons. Tony Blair has apologised for mistakes in pre-war intelligence
on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, but has denied deliberately deceiving
anyone.
- The US had asked Britain to redeploy troops stationed in the UK-controlled
zone in southern Iraq, the Ministry of Defence confirmed on October 17, 2004.
The spokesman gave no further details of the American request, but widespread
media reports have claimed Britain is considering sending about 600 soldiers
to bolster US operations near Baghdad. Several newspapers have reported that
Britain could send its reserve force - the Black Watch regiment - from the
southern port city of Basra to Baghdad to fill in for US troops expected to
launch a major offensive against insurgents in Falluja.
- On October 19, 2004, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw tried to quell backbench
fears UK troops will get "bogged down" in Iraq if they provide back-up
for US forces. About 650 UK soldiers could be moved to an area south of Baghdad
to free US troops for an assault on Falluja. Several MPs are worried the plan
could increase risks for UK troops but Mr Straw said it was right in principle.
- On October 20, 2004, Prime Minister Tony Blair was unable to calm the controversy
over a US request to redeploy British troops in Iraq; he is facing dissent
from within his party ranks. A motion requesting a House of Commons vote on
the issue was signed by 45 MPs, all but one, members of his own Labour Party.
The motion calls for a vote on any transfer of troops in central Iraq.
- On November 23, 2004, British Prime Minister said that his government would
speed the introduction of identity cards in Britain. According to him, they
are a useful tool to fight crimes and especially terrorism.
- On December 21, 2004, British Prime Minister Tony Blair visited Baghdad
and Basra. He talked to the British soldiers as well as to the Iraqi interim
prime minister, Ayad Allawi. He said, "I am confident democracy will
prevail in Iraq." Unfortunately, until now, together with President Bush,
they have always been wrong in their predictions about Iraq. In the press
conference held by Blair and Allawi, Blair said that Iraq will be soon a democratic
country.
- The right questions the journalists should have asked are: "Mr Blair
you are talking about democracy, but are you sure you are following the right
approach. Mr Allawi was appointed interim prime minister by you and the Americans,
bypassing completely the UN envoy who resigned in protest. Mr Allawi is a
former exile, was paid by the CIA, is considered as an American puppet, and
not a representing the Iraqi people. Moreover, you and the Americans killed
more Iraqis in two years that Saddam Hussein in his nearly 30-year dictatorship
and it is still going on. Can the Iraqi people really believe that killing
so many of them will bring democracy to their country? Of course, this is
nothing new to the Americans. After all they killed most of the Native Americans
with the justification that "A good Indian was a dead Indian." The
real reason for killing them was to steal their land. The real reason to kill
Iraqis is to steal their oil, and not to bring them the American-style of
democracy?"
- Tony Blair was accused of a "cavalier" approach to war in Iraq
on February 23, 2005, after a leak suggested his office drafted the Attorney
General's crucial advice on the legality of invading Iraq. Lord Goldsmith
apparently told an official inquiry the verdict presented to Parliament in
his name was "set out" by the Prime Minister's ex-flatmate, Lord
Falconer, and top aide Baroness Morgan. The Attorney General warned Mr Blair
less than two weeks before the invasion that military action could be deemed
illegal.
- The attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, on February 24, 2005, rejected accusations
that Downing Street had drafted a parliamentary answer summarising his advice
to the government on the legality of the Iraq war. In a written statement,
he rejected claims that the answer of March 17 last year had been drafted
in No 10 by Lord Falconer of Thoroton, then a Home Office minister, and Baroness
Morgan, the prime minister's director of political relations. He said that
the answer had been prepared in his own office with the involvement of the
solicitor general, Harriet Harman, two of his own officials, three Foreign
Office officials and a QC, Christopher Greenwood.
- New evidence suggests that the British Prime Minister Tony Blair committed
himself to Iraq invasion nearly a year before the US launched its assault
in 20 March 2003, the Independent reported on Sunday February 27, 2005.
- British Prime Minister Tony Blair faced renewed criticism over his Iraq
policy on Saturday March 5, 2005, when the leader of the opposition Liberal
Democrats Charles Kennedy urged him to withdraw British troops from Iraq.
The Liberal Democratic Party was the only major political party in Britain
to oppose the Iraq war and the decision by Blair's government to make British
forces a key part of the US-led coalition.
- On March 10, 2005, Tony Blair has warned opponents of the government's controversial
anti-terror bill: "It's time to be strong". He accused the Tories
of "messing around" with the measures and claimed Michael Howard
was using "poor judgement" in his opposition to them. Mr Blair said
a "sunset clause" to limit the bill's lifespan would send a "signal
of weakness" to terrorists. The Tories and Lib Democrats say they want
further changes before backing plans for new restrictions on suspects.
- On March 10, 2005, we were told that the Attorney General did not give Tony
Blair a separate legal opinion on the legality of the war, Britain's top civil
servant, Cabinet Secretary Sir Andrew Turnbull, said today. According to him,
and he should know, the summary given to the Cabinet was the full extent of
Lord Goldsmith's advice. It is in direct contradiction to the Butler Report
that said the Prime Minister's office had asked Lord Goldsmith to put his
view on the legal situation in writing, which he did in a formal document
10 days before the Cabinet meeting.
- Lord Goldsmith initially thought the war was illegal without a new UN resolution
but changed his mind 10 days later according to Elizabeth Wilmshurst's letter
of resignation as a Foreign Office lawyer. Opposition parties are now pressing
Mr Straw for a full explanation about the issue in Parliament.
- The British government was challenged on March 24, 2005, to publish the
"entire paper trail" of the legal advice it received about the war
against Iraq in light of the disclosure that the attorney general, Lord Goldsmith,
believed it would be unlawful less than two weeks before the invasion.
- The decision to prevent disclosure of Attorney General Lord Goldsmith's
legal advice on the Iraq war the object of an enquiry by the Information Commissioner
on March 25, 2005. Richard Thomas received complaints when details were withheld
despite requests under the Freedom of Information Act.
- Downing Street published the full advice received by the British government
on the legality of the Iraq war, after fresh media leaks. It shows that the
attorney general told Tony Blair on 7 March 2003 a second UN resolution was
the safest legal course. Ten days later Lord Goldsmith's final advice was
published, but included no concerns about the legality of the war.
- Tony Blair's finance minister Gordon Brown re-ignited the unpopular Iraq
war as an election issue on Saturday April 30, 2005. Brown, widely seen as
Blair's rival and successor, kept Iraq in the headlines by saying parliament,
not the prime minister, should decide on whether Britain goes to war.
- On May 1, 2005, Tony Blair played down a leaked memo indicating he was looking
at ways to justify war with Iraq in July 2002 - eight months before the conflict.
The Sunday Times has published a leaked memo dated 23 July 2002 by Matthew
Rycroft, a former Downing Street foreign policy aide. In it, Foreign Secretary
Jack Straw is quoted as saying US President George Bush had "made up
his mind to take military action even if the timing was not yet decided."
He added: "But the case was thin as Saddam was not threatening his neighbours,
and his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea or Iran. Mr
Blair told BBC One's Breakfast with Frost the decision had not been taken
at that point to attack Saddam Hussein.
- On Sunday May 1, 2005, Prime Minister Tony Blair admitted Britain discussing
supporting the United States to bring about a change of government in Iraq
eight months before the March 2003 invasion. He confirmed he discussed removing
Saddam in a July 2002 top-level Government meeting. The Prime Minister built
his case for war on the basis Iraq's banned weapons were a threat, and has
said "regime chance" was never his aim.
- Tony Blair secured a historic third straight victory on Friday May 6, 2005
but Labour lost many seats. Mr Blair became the third of the key global allies
in Iraq -after US and Australian leaders George W Bush and John Howard- to
win re-election post-war. Although abandoned by some former supporters as
untrustworthy, Mr Blair won his place in British history, becoming only the
second premier after Margaret Thatcher to win three elections in a row. He
is also the first leader to win three successive terms for Labour, the socialist
party founded a century ago.
- On June 13, 2005, we were told that a staff paper prepared for British Prime
Minister Tony Blair eight months before the invasion of Iraq concluded that
US military officials were not planning adequately for a post-war occupation.
The eight-page memo was written in advance of a July 23, 2002, meeting at
Blair's Downing Street offices.
- Britain could start scaling back its military presence in Iraq over the
next 12 months, Secretary of Defence John Reid said on Sunday July 17, 2005.
However, he declined to set a timetable, claiming it would encourage militants
waging a bloody insurgency in Iraq. Britain has about 8,500 troops in Iraq,
mostly in the generally peaceful Shiite south. Ninety-two British servicemen
have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003.
- British Prime Minister Tony Blair came under pressure on July 18, 2005,
for supporting the US-led invasion of Iraq after an influential think-tank
linked the war to the London bombings. Security experts at the Royal Institute
of International Affairs, known as Chatham House, said in a study that Iraq
war made the United Kingdom more vulnerable to attacks. The report contradicts
Blair's claims that there was no link between the July 7 attacks and Britain's
role in Iraq or Afghanistan.
- Tony Blair faced further pressure over the Iraq war on July 19, 2005 as
war crime charges were laid against three British soldiers, and opinion polls
confirmed that British voters believed the war has encouraged terrorism against
Britain. In the most serious allegations yet against British officers in Iraq,
British army prosecutors have charged 11 soldiers over the deaths of two civilians
detained in Basra in 2003. Three of the soldiers face the war crime charge
of inhuman treatment of detainees, which might have ended up in The Hague's
International Criminal Court if Britain's own military prosecutors had not
pursued the charges.
- The charges came after an independent report found that almost 25,000 Iraqi
civilians had been killed in the two years after the launch of the war, meaning
a toll of 34 a day - the equivalent of a Bali bombing each week, or a central
London bombing every two days. An opinion poll has suggested that most British
voters feel Britain's role in Iraq was one of the factors behind the July
7 central London bombing, leading to angry denials by Mr Blair and his Foreign
Secretary, Jack Straw. The terrorists and their supporters use Iraq as an
"excuse" to justify their actions, but their hatred of the West
pre-dated the Iraq war, Blair said.
- In a video -obviously recorded previously- broadcasted on the Qatar-based
satellite TV channel Al Jazeera on Thursday September 1, 2005, Mohammed Siddique
Khan, one of the July 7 bombers said the attacks were a direct result of Tony
Blair's foreign policy. Mohammed Siddique Khan promised that Britain would
suffer more suicide attacks and said: "We are at war and I am a soldier.
Now you too will taste the reality of this situation." Khan also praised
Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, calling
them heroes. He was followed by a video message from Osama bin Laden's deputy,
the Egyptian doctor Ayman al-Zawahiri. This video suggests that al-Qaeda was
more involved in the London bombings than previously thought. The video is
being viewed as al-Qaeda claiming responsibility for the attacks.
- On November 28, 2995, Blair said he did not know of any American plan to
bomb the al-Jazeera television studios in Qatar. The Daily Mail said that
he opposed Bush doing it.
- On February 2, 2006, a book -Lawless World- written by Philippe Sands, QC,
showed that Blair had agree to invade Iraq with George Bush about two month
before it started. Sands got a copy of a secret memo following a meeting about
the two leaders at the White House on January 21, 2003. Bush wanted to invade
Iraq with or without the UN Security Council agreement or even if the UN Inspectors
found no trace of weapons of mass destruction and Blair agreed to go on with
him. On February 25, 2003, Blair told the British Parliament that his government
was giving Saddam Hussein one final chance to disarm three weeks after decided
to invade Iraq whatever Saddam Hussein would do. To describe Blair as a liar
is too soft a word!
- Prime Minister Tony Blair has told on March 3, 2006, how he prayed to God
when deciding whether or not to send UK troops to Iraq. Anti-war campaigners
attacked Mr Blair's comments as "a joke". Mr Blair added: "In
the end, there is a judgement that, I think if you have faith about these
things, you realise that judgement is made by other people... and if you believe
in God, it's made by God as well."
- Anti-war campaigners have criticised Tony Blair on March 4, 2006, after
he suggested his decision to go to war in Iraq would ultimately be judged
by God. Reg Keys, whose son was killed in Iraq, said Mr Blair was "using
God as a get-out for total strategic failure" and his comments were "abhorrent".
- There is no need to change the strategy police use to deal with suicide
bombers despite the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, senior officers British
police said on March 8, 2006.
- Britain's ambassador to Washington warned Prime Minister Tony Blair to prepare
for war in Iraq almost two months before the US-led invasion began, the now
former diplomat said on Wednesday April 19, 2006. Christopher Meyer told a
committee of lawmakers that "the die was cast for war" before Blair
met US President George W Bush on January 31, 2003.
- George Bush on April 22, 2006, revealed the extent of the political gamble
Tony Blair took over Iraq, disclosing that he had spurned the offer of a get-out
clause on the war even amid fears that it would cost him his government. In
a rare glimpse inside the so-called special relationship, the US President
disclosed how he had offered to release his 'close friend' Blair from the
military coalition because he feared that domestic opposition to the war would
actually bring him down. But the Prime Minister retorted that he would rather
lose his government than retreat. A stupider decision is rarely seen.
- Tony Blair's policy in Iraq is what, ultimately, fatally undermined his position as Prime Minister and forced him to step down, said the deputy secretary general of the United Nations, Mark Malloch Brown on September 28, 2006. He said the Prime Minister's failure to call for an immediate ceasefire during the Israeli bombing of Lebanon was the final nail in his coffin, triggering the final rebellion by many previous loyalists, and he suggested that Mr Blair had learnt no lessons from his earlier unquestioning support of the United States.
- Britain intends "to hold its nerve" in Iraq, Prime Minister Tony Blair told Iraq's deputy prime minister on October 23, 2006. No 10 denied that Mr Blair had pressed Barham Salih, during talks in London, for assurances his forces could take over policing south Iraq within a year. Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said there would be no "rash" deadlines, adding that the UK would only leave once the Iraqi government could "cope".
- On October 25, 2006, the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, was resisting
calls for a parliamentary debate on Iraq.
It has been two years since the House of Commons had a full-day debate on
Iraq. British Prime Minister Tony Blair dismissed calls for a formal debate,
saying he will answer questions at any time. He says pulling out of Iraq would
be a "betrayal" of the sacrifices already made by British troops.
His Armed Services Minister, Adam Ingram, was heckled after he suggested,
"some would say" the anti-war movement was more "pro-dictator".
- On October 31, 2006, Downing Street has warned of "very real consequences" for British troops in Iraq if MPs defeat the government over calls for an inquiry into the war. The Commons will debate a Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru call for a probe now into the war and aftermath, backed by Lib Democrats and Labour rebels. The Tories say they may also support it, if ministers do not agree to hold a broader inquiry once troops leave. No 10 said an inquiry now would be seen by the enemy as a sign of weakness.
- On November 13, 2006, Tony Blair is to call for dialogue with Iran and Syria to secure peace in the Middle East, as Defence Secretary Des Browne said change is "under way". The prime minister believes the two states should be warned of the consequences of failing to help. In a major foreign policy speech in London he will also defend the UK's close relationship with the US. The Syrian ambassador to the US told the BBC his country was willing to "engage" with the US and the UK.
- On November 18, 2006, Tony Blair publicly agreed with the opinion that the violence in Iraq since the 2003 invasion has been a disaster. The Liberal Democrats said Mr Blair had finally accepted the enormity of his decision to go to war in Iraq. But Downing Street insisted his views had been misrepresented and that he had not made "some kind of admission".
- UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has arrived in Iraq on December 17, 2006, for his fifth trip to meet British troops in Basra. He told troops it was vital to "stand up and fight" for people of tolerance and moderation. Earlier in Baghdad, Mr Blair said Britain would stand "four-square" behind the Iraqi government in its battle to defeat terrorists.
- The "disaster" of Iraq and Tony Blair's failure to influence US policy will overshadow his time as prime minister, a leading UK think tank, the Chatham House, said on December 19, 2006. The invasion and the post-war "debacle" have damaged the UK's global influence, said their report.
- Moderate Muslim states must form an "alliance of moderation" to counter Iran and challenge its influence, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said on December 20, 2006. He called on the world to "wake up" to the monumental struggle between the forces of moderation and extremism. Mr Blair said the ideological battle was the challenge of the 21st Century. His call comes as he was criticised by Iraq's vice-president on the issue of troop withdrawal from Iraq.
- Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday January 2, 2007, British troops must remain in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007. Blair gave no indication of when exactly he plans to step down, which he has said he will do by September, in remarks focused mainly on his government's domestic policies over the past decade.
- On February 8, 2007, Tony Blair has rejected claims that the UK is a "police state for Muslims" as "categorically wrong". Abu Bakr, who was arrested, questioned and then released without charge over an alleged kidnap plot, made the remarks. But the prime minister's official spokesman said anyone arrested in a police state would not have been freed and allowed to appear on television. He said: "It is a gross caricature of the political process in this country."
- Tony Blair said on Sunday February 18, 2007, that the British and American armies were not to be held responsible for the killings in Iraq, but it was their duty to end the violence there. Blair added that he was "devastated" by the number of deaths in Iraq's violence, but "it's not British and American troops who are killing them, rather, the bloodshed was brought by those "deliberately using terrorism to try to stop the country getting on its feet." "We have absolute responsibility to put things right." He dismissed suggestions that he should bear responsibility for deaths in Iraq. Dream on, dream on, but nobody believes you since these killings happen since you invaded the country as a poodle to Bush. You are both responsible for the killings. History will remember both of you for this.
- Tony Blair warned on April 24, 2007, that terrorism continues to be a "global" threat and needs to be fought whether it is in "Iraq, Afghanistan or anywhere else". He said his view was "not popular", but the "large part of the Western world" which blamed George Bush was wrong. "This is a very deep-rooted problem right round the world... if we don't fight it it's going to come after us."
- Since Tony Blair took office a decade ago -we are now in May 2007-, he has committed British forces to action more often, and in more conflicts, than any Prime Minister since 1945. Britain's military has implemented Mr Blair's policy of "humanitarian intervention" from Kosovo to Afghanistan, Sierra Leone to Iraq. It is stretching the military depleted resources to the limit. And the cost in lives goes on: in the past week another two soldiers have died in Iraq, bringing the total there to 147, and one more in Afghanistan, where 54 have been killed on operational duty.
- Tony Blair has announced on May 10, 2007, that he will stand down as prime minister on 27 June.
- Four years ago British Prime Minister Tony Blair could probably have been
voted into any elective office in the United States, had he been born in America.
It was then that Blair made his memorable speech before the US Congress on
July 17, 2003. Britain agreed that going to war with Iraq was justified, and
the bond between Blair and George Bush had never been stronger. The US and
Great Britain were convinced that Iraq either had weapons of mass destruction,
or was about to acquire them. Last Thursday march 10, 2007. Tony Blair announced
that he will step down on June 27. He is leaving without having been removed
by his own party in fact he jumped before he was pushed. Blair leaves behind
a Britain that is more prosperous and more vigorous than when he took office.
He laid the foundation for an enduring peace in Northern Ireland. He helped
create separate legislatures in Scotland and Wales. After ten years in office,
his country has seen continuous economic growth, low employment, and a cap
on inflation. Yet Blair is viewed as a liability, alienated from his political
base -but most of all, tainted by his connection to George Bush whom he followed
into Iraq.
- British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Thursday May 17, 2007, that Britain will remain a US ally in the war in Iraq in the months ahead despite his plans to soon step down from office. "We will remain a staunch and steadfast ally in the fight against terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere," Blair said during his farewell visit with US President George W Bush at the White House.
- Bush and Blair stood by their decision to topple Saddam Hussein's regime and to keep US and British forces in the country to fight what they consider the central front in the war on terrorism.
- British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Thursday May 17, 2007, that Britain
will remain a US ally in the war in Iraq in the months ahead despite his plans
to soon step down from office. "We will remain a staunch and steadfast
ally in the fight against terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere,"
Blair said during his farewell visit with US President George W Bush at the
White House.
Tony Blair used a keynote speech in South Africa to say on May 31, 2007, there
is a "moral obligation" to use political action "to make the
world better". Mr Blair, who promised more training for African peacekeeping
forces and continued aid to the region, defended his interventionist foreign
policy.
- British Prime Minister Tony Blair worried that the US had no plans for the Iraq invasion aftermath, his aides and friends have told on June 18, 2007.
- Tony Blair has spoken to President Bush and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about becoming a Middle East envoy, a White House official said on June 21, 2007. The PM's aides have indicated he is interested in the role. The president would reportedly like him to be an envoy for the quartet of the US, European Union, UN and Russia. The administration said that both Israel and the Palestinians had signed up to the proposal.
- Tony Blair stood down as UK prime minister on June 27, 2007, after 10 years in the job. He handed in his resignation to the Queen during a private meeting at Buckingham Palace. Earlier, Mr Blair received a standing ovation from MPs in the Commons in unprecedented scenes at the end of his final prime minister's questions. Conservative, Lib Dem and DUP leaders all paid tribute to Mr Blair, who is expected to stand down as an MP to take up a job as a Middle East envoy.
- Tony Blair had no doubts about committing British troops to the Iraq war or, if he did, he hid them even from his closest advisers, Alastair Campbell revealed on July 8, 2007. Mr Campbell, who was the former prime minister's spokesman and one of his closest confidantes, is publishing his diaries today. Yesterday, Random House, his publisher, released a series of tantalising extracts to raise interest in a book which is expected to be one of the biggest political volumes in Britain for years. The extracts reveal extraordinary details about Mr Blair's approach to policy and people, particularly on the invasion of Iraq, which has come to define his premiership
- The world owes a debt to the United States for its leadership in the fight against international terrorism, Gordon Brown said on Sunday July 29, 2007. The prime minister described the link with the US as the UK's "most important bilateral relationship" ahead of his first talks with President George Bush.
- Gordon Brown was accused on August 28, 2007, of being unrealistic in his determination to sustain Britain's twin-track military strategy in both Iraq and Afghanistan despite growing concern that the armed forces are seriously over-stretched. In the wake of a spate of criticisms of the lawless state of the four southern Iraqi provinces which are under British oversight, the foreign secretary, David Miliband, insisted that UK military deployments will be based "on the situation on the ground in Basra, not the situation on the ground in Baghdad".