Iraq war: Blair to the right of even Lady Thatcher

From the Google cache of Dear Kitty ModBlog.

Date: 10/14/05 at 9:13PM

Mood: Looking Playing: War, by Edwin Starr

It turns out that now in Britain, on the Iraq war, supposedly “Labour” Tony Blair is to the right of even his heroine and role model Margaret Thatcher.

From British daily The Independent:

Thatcher reveals her doubts over basis for Iraq war

By Andrew Grice

Published: 14 October 2005

Baroness Thatcher has criticised Tony Blair for taking Britain to war in Iraq on the basis of flawed evidence about Saddam Hussein’s weapons.

The former prime minister’s embarrassing criticism emerged as Mr Blair was among the 670 guests who attended a party to mark her 80th birthday.

Although Lady Thatcher remains a strong supporter of the decision to topple Saddam by invading Iraq, it is the first time she has questioned the basis for the war.

Yesterday’s Washington Post reported that when asked whether she would have invaded Iraq given the intelligence at the time, Lady Thatcher replied:

“I was a scientist before I was a politician.

And as a scientist I know you need facts, evidence and proof – and then you check, recheck and check again.”

She added: “The fact was that there were no facts, there was no evidence, and there was no proof.

As a politician the most serious decision you can take is to commit your armed services to war from which they may not return”.

Painful for Blair.

Painful for George W. Bush.

See also here.

Also from the Google cache:

UK: Blair loses election, doesn’t fire himself

Date: 5/5/06 at 1:17PM

As expected, Tony Blair heavily lost the English local elections.

Losing hundreds of seats, Blair managed to make Labour, once the biggest party, third party, with less votes than Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.

Congratulations … NOT!

Parties criticizing Blair’s pro war and anti civil liberties policies from the left, like the Greens and Respect, won seats.

Blair, in order to take media attention away from his own failure, sacked Interior secretary Charles Clarke, involved in one of many Blair administration scandals.

Something Blair had said he would not do.

However, opportunism being so prevalent …

See also: Conservative Clarke attacks Blair on Iraq war.

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