Britain: Tony Blair unrepentant as Chilcot gives crushing Iraq war verdict - by Luke Harding

A defiant Tony Blair defended his decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003 following the publication of a devastating report by Sir John Chilcot, which mauled the ex-prime minister’s reputation and said that at the time of the 2003 invasion Saddam Hussein “posed no imminent threat”.

Looking tired, his voice sometimes croaking with emotion, Blair described his decision to join the US attack as “the hardest, most momentous, most agonizing decision I took in 10 years as British prime minister”.

He said he felt “deeply and sincerely ... the grief and suffering of those who lost ones they loved in Iraq”.

The head of the Iraq war inquiry said the UK’s decision to attack and occupy a sovereign state for the first time since the second world war was a decision of “utmost gravity”. Chilcot described Saddam as “undoubtedly a brutal dictator” who had repressed and murdered many of his own people and attacked his neighbors.

But he was withering about Blair’s choice to sign up to a military plan drawn up in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 by the US president, George W Bush, and his neo-con team. Chilcot said: “We have concluded that the UK chose to join the invasion of Iraq before the peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted. Military action at that time was not a last resort.”

Overall, Chilcot’s report amounts to arguably the most scathing official verdict on any modern British prime minister. It implicitly lumps Blair in the same category as Anthony Eden, who invaded Egypt in a failed attempt to gain control of the Suez canal. Chilcot’s 2.6m-word, 12-volume report was released on Wednesday morning, together with a 145-page executive summary.

Note EU-Digest: Tony Blair needs to be put in jail together with Bush Rumsfeld and Cheney. They (the US) are the root cause for our European refugee and terrorism problems which came as a direct result of the IRAQ war and US's Middle East policies..

It is high time the US Congress also puts together an investigation committee to investigate Bush, Cheney and Rumsfelds role in the IRAQ war and their lies to the US population and the countries who were called upon to support the US in this disastrous war.

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Brexit: Michael Moore: "'Britain Is A Toxic Place... Should Vote To Stay In The EU'

Brexit: Watch your back Britain - 
Scotland will also take a slice of your pie

The Oscar-winning documentary-maker was promoting his new film, ‘Where to Invade Next’, which sees him visiting European countries to claim their best features for his home nation.

The UK does not feature in the film as it has nothing to offer against the likes of Italian holiday entitlement, Norwegian prisons and French school lunches. Michael Moore explained:

“It was a conscious and purposeful decision to not come to the UK. I mean this with respect, we didn’t feel like there was anything left to learn here. And that you had given up on yourselves.”

In particular, the Guardian reports, Mr. Moore cited Tony Blair’s support for allying Britain to the 2003 invasion of Iraq in the poisoning of the UK’s reputation, saying:

“You may be over Tony Blair. We’re not. We expected George W Bush to start that war. That wasn’t a surprise. But he was able to do it because you – the Brits, under Tony Blair – gave him back-up. You made it possible for him to say: ‘Hey, it’s not just me!’

“Honestly, if Blair hadn’t supported that war, I don’t know that [Bush] could have pulled it off. We’re not quite over the damage that this country has done to us and to the world by so-called liberals here voting and revoting for an individual who was anything but a liberal.

“This is a toxic place.
”
Mr. Moore did suggest that the election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour Party leader atoned for some of the country’s sins, claiming: “that’s getting back to what Labour stood for, its roots. I wish Tony Benn were still around to see this.”

Nevertheless he identified what he sees as a further blot on the UK’s record, namely people voting for “bonkers” Brexit in the upcoming referendum.

“Why would you do this? You saved Europe. Europe today is, in large part, because of you, the UK. Why would you want to leave?

“Because, see, what are the arguments I’ve had to listen to this morning already on the news?  ‘It costs too much money…it’s 50 billion pounds a day…immigrants, immigrants, immigrants, immigrants…’
“Really? You know, that’s not who you are.”

Mr. Moore went on to draw comparisons between the EU referendum and November’s U.S. Presidential Election. He believes it likely that Brexiteers are similar to Donald Trump supporters, being more dedicated to their cause and therefore more likely to vote.

“I’m guessing the majority of Brits don’t want to leave the European Union,” he said. “But on election day who’s going to be out there? The haters.”

Read more: Michael Moore: 'Britain Is A Toxic Place... Should Vote To Stay In The EU'