The Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the US changed the “calculus of risk” and meant it was no longer possible to contain former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein through sanctions, former British prime minister Tony Blair said yesterday, explaining why he backed the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.
Blair was appearing before an inquiry into Britain’s role in the war, to which he committed 45,000 troops.
It was the most controversial episode of his 10-year leadership, provoking huge protests, divisions within his Labour Party and accusations he had deceived the public about the justification for invasion.
Under close questioning, Blair said the Sept. 11 al-Qaeda attacks, and the threat of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), meant that the policy of containing Saddam could not continue.
“Up to September 11, we thought he was a risk, but we thought it was worth trying to contain it. The crucial thing after September 11 is that the calculus of risk changed,” Blair said. “The point about this act in New York was that had they been able to kill even more people than those 3,000, they would have. And so after that time, my view was [that] you could not take risks with this issue at all.”
‘WAR CRIMINAL’
Blair’s appearance has been hugely anticipated. Protesters chanting “Tony Blair, war criminal” gathered outside the building opposite parliament where the inquiry was taking place.
Relatives of some of the 179 British soldiers killed in Iraq joined about 100 anti-war demonstrators chanting and waving placards. Names of those killed were also read out.
Blair, who looked nervous at times as the hearing began, arrived early and entered by a back door amid heavy security with large numbers of police on standby.
“The real question Tony Blair needs to answer in the end will be at The Hague and before a war crimes tribunal,” said Andrew Murray, chairman of Stop the War Coalition. “He is an accomplished actor, but I think most people have long since seen through the script.”
Blair’s appearance will not only affect his personal legacy, but still has the potential to damage the Labour government of his successor Brown, who was chancellor of the exchequer during the war.
SOLDIERS’ FAMILIES
Meanwhile, families of British soldiers killed in Iraq voiced anger and frustration at Blair’s yesterday, with one labeling the whole process “a whitewash.”
“I would like him to look into my eyes and say: ‘I’m sorry.’ But he hasn’t got the guts,” said Theresea Evans, whose son Llywelyn died in Iraq in 2003, on the first day of the conflict.
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