British Press: 'Blair lied, thousands died'

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/161535.html


British newspapers have unanimously blasted former Prime Minister Tony Blair for acting as a pawn in the hands of the former US President by invading Iraq on March 2003 under his command.

Blair was grilled, for the second time on Friday, by the official Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq war where he insisted he was deeply regretful for the loss of life in the conflict, sparking angry shouts of "too late" from dead troopers' families.

The Independent said Blair's "gung-ho" attitude showed the "folly" of his position on Iraq, adding that the "disastrous consequences remain clear for all to see."

The Guardian said "for the most part, the old stager belted out familiar tunes" in a display of "chutzpah".

"It is not a trial, but the inquiry must nonetheless settle whether the former prime minister swept three particular things away -- the truth, the law and proper decision-making. Of these three, Blair yesterday acquitted himself with least damage on the last," it added.

The Daily Mail said it was "a predictably polished, slippery" performance, full of "self-justifying claptrap".

"Mr Blair agreed in secret to wage the Iraq war -- then lied, cheated and manipulated to make it happen," the daily said.

"To this day, his actions stain the national conscience."

The Sun said "nothing divides Britain more than our part in the war against the evil regime of Saddam Hussein".

The Daily Telegraph said "so relentless is the chorus that the public has given up trying to listen to what he has to say, assuming that it is all glib self-justification".

The Times sketch writer Ann Treneman said "the whole place was a "virtual floatation tank of emotion".

According to the Times, Blair's expression of regret over the lives lost in front of bereaved relatives seemed "like some sort of reckoning. Imperfect and messy, yes. Dysfunctional, certainly. But a reckoning, nonetheless".

The Daily Mirror said nobody's mind would be changed by the inquiry.

"It is the process which was at fault rather than any preconceived mendacity on the part of Mr Blair, a politician motivated by good intentions who made a catastrophic error."

The Daily Express agreed, decribing the inquiry as "pointless".

"Everybody by now must have reached a settled view. Clearly Blair massively overstated the case for believing Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. Equally there was always a case for removing the monster on human rights grounds and for staying close to America."

"As it happens, the negatives heavily outweighed the positives," it said, adding "that is really all anyone needs to know."