Tony Blair’s “sycophancy” towards Washington involved Britain in Iraq war

More on Ummid: International l National l Regional l Politics l Sports l Religion l History l Culture l Education





Hyderabad Nizam's heiress saved from jail term by SC
Young Muslim Beacon Awards 2009 – Tuesday 15 December 2009
Dubai gets $10bn from Abu Dhabi to control crisis
Pro-Vidarbha activists halt train near Nagpur
Unrest in Andhra: No more hunger strike, police to Cong MP
'Political Islam, US imperialism need to be opposed strongly'
Israel withholding remains of hundreds of Palestinians
Kerala Govt. says NO to legislation against forced conversion

	BJP driving country in wrong direction, says Congress: Terming Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) position on demolition of the Babri mosque as a "national shame"...... Read Full Families of deceased kar sevaks slam RSS, Advani BJP fully responsible for Babri mosque demolition: Chidambaram
A New Muslim identity emerging in different regions and social classes: VP: "It can, nevertheless, be said that a new Muslim..... Read Full Islamic Banking more than Muslims beneficial for India: British Advisor


Grassroots media finds a voice: It is not yet 5 p.m. but the light has started fading in Rampur-Mathura, a village of barely 5,000 people, in Sitapur district. A group of village elders settle down....Read Full	Israel set to turn Aqsa museum into a synagogue: The head of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, has claimed there are Israeli plans to empty the museum...... Read Full
Thackeray’s sick mind unable to accept Muslim as PM of India: SDPI: The Social Democratic Party of India, (SDPI), has taken strong exception to the Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray's statement about Rahul Gandhi .... Read Full	Telangana and Muslims: As the Telangana cauldron boils over moves are already afoot to paint the dispute in communal colors and make the region's Muslims the proverbial sacrificial lamb. The mainstream media..... Read Full

More on ummid
'Decision to form Islamic Banking dangerous for India': Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy on Tuesday criticised the LDF government’s decision to accord sanction for formation.... Read Full	'Love Jihad' exists says Kerala HC, asks law to check it: The flip-flop on inter-caste marriages in Kerala that a section in the media terms as 'Love Jihad' or 'Forceful Conversion..... Read Full
‘Birth of Telangana can open Pandora’s box’: The government’s nod to a separate Telangana state while being a good thing democratically in meeting regional aspirations could.... Read Full	Zoya Hassan, three others bag awards at Singapore Film Festival: Debutant director Sona Jain’s feature film “For Real” has won four awards .... Read Full
AMU invaluable intellectual treasure of the country, says Rahul Gandhi: “Democracy has been flourishing in the country but no political party pays heed to the concept of internal.... Read Full	AFMI Sir Syed award for 2009 goes to Mumbarak Kapdi: The American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin (AFMI) today announced the recipients of its.... Read Full

Tony Blair’s “sycophancy” towards US involved Britain in Iraq war

Monday, December 14, 2009 10:05:50 PM, ANI

Britain initially was against the 'unlawful’ Iraq invasion: That the invasion of Iraq by George Bush led US military was illegal and deliberately designed on the pretext of Weapons of Mass Destruction.... Read Full

Britain, US talked of toppling Saddam in 2001

London: Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s “sycophancy” towards Washington and the failure of the governing class to speak the truth were cited as key factors for Britain’s involvement in the second Gulf war against Iraq in 2003.

A former prosecutions chief, Sir Ken Macdonald, told the Lord Chilcot Inquiry that Blair indulged and engaged in an “alarming subterfuge” with George Bush, and then misled and cajoled the British people into a war they did not want.

“Blair’s fundamental flaw was his sycophancy towards those in power. Perhaps this seems odd in a man who drank so much of that mind-altering brew at home. But Washington turned his head and he couldn’t resist the stage or the glamour that it gave him,” The Times quoted Macdonald, as saying.

In his most savage comment, he writes that the heart-rending sacrifices made by British forces would become the stuff of poetry and song in future years. But none of that would sprinkle any starlight on Blair.

“On the contrary it is entirely the work of warriors cast carelessly into death’s way by a Prime Minister lost in self-aggrandisement and a governing class too closed to speak truth to power,” he says.

Sir Ken’s intervention comes after Blair’s declaration in a BBC interview that he would have favoured removing Saddam Hussein regardless of whether he had possessed weapons of mass destruction.

The inquiry yesterday insisted that Blair would give evidence in public, after reports that he might not.

A spokesman for the inquiry said: “Mr Blair will be appearing very much in public and will be questioned in detail on a wide range of issues.”

Sir Ken suggests that the inquiry’s performance so far has been generally unchallenging and he goes close to warning of an establishment cover-up.

“In British public life, loyalty and service to power can sometimes count for more to insiders than any tricky questions of wider reputation. Disloyalty, on the other hand, means a terrible casting out,” he says.

He claims that Blair secured support from the Commons for the Iraq war largely on the ground that it was needed to remove weapons of mass destruction. (ANI)

Home | Top of the Page

Comment on this article

Name:
E-mail Address:
Write here...

Ummid Business: Advertise with us | Careers | Link Exchange

Ummid.com is part of Awaz Multimedia & Publications providing World News, News Analysis and Feature Articles on Education, Health. Politics, Technology, Sports, Entertainment, Industry etc. The articles or the views displayed on this website are for public information and in no way describe the editorial views. The users are entitled to use this site subject to the terms and condition mentioned.