Re: UNCOVERED: THE WHOLE TRUTH ABOUT THE IRAQ WAR
Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2015 8:33 pmThe Rt. Honorable Clare Short, Former UK Cabinet Minister in Labor Government
"My own view now is that Tony Blair decided on his own, in the summer sometime, that he was going to go to war with the U.S. come what may. He was going to encourage going to the U.N., but if there was a war, he was going with the U.S. And he set out to kind of get the country there behind him, but I think he'd given his word. There's various books come out, but there's one by a former editor of the Times, Peter Stothard, called Thirty Days, who was allowed to work with the Blair entourage, and he got Blair's Six Point Plan, and it includes post September 11th, America is going to go to Iraq anyway. It would be disastrous if they went alone. I mean, the logic is clear. He decided Britain was going with the U.S. And I think that explains what happened.
So a lot of people in Britain, including me, thought we were trying to encourage our prime minister to be a friend of the U.S., but restrain those who were intent on war at any price, and try to keep the international community together. And yes, deal with the problem of Iraq, but deal with it wisely.
I'm afraid our Prime Minister had already made his mind up, and given his word. And therefore, I think he lost any leverage with the U.S. administration, because he had promised them. And he, therefore, had to engage in a series of sort of half-truths and deceits with the people of Britain, to persuade us to go there, because most people in Britain didn't want it. And he's paid a terrible price in the loss of trust in him as a Prime Minister in the country is very great indeed.
"My own view now is that Tony Blair decided on his own, in the summer sometime, that he was going to go to war with the U.S. come what may. He was going to encourage going to the U.N., but if there was a war, he was going with the U.S. And he set out to kind of get the country there behind him, but I think he'd given his word. There's various books come out, but there's one by a former editor of the Times, Peter Stothard, called Thirty Days, who was allowed to work with the Blair entourage, and he got Blair's Six Point Plan, and it includes post September 11th, America is going to go to Iraq anyway. It would be disastrous if they went alone. I mean, the logic is clear. He decided Britain was going with the U.S. And I think that explains what happened.
So a lot of people in Britain, including me, thought we were trying to encourage our prime minister to be a friend of the U.S., but restrain those who were intent on war at any price, and try to keep the international community together. And yes, deal with the problem of Iraq, but deal with it wisely.
I'm afraid our Prime Minister had already made his mind up, and given his word. And therefore, I think he lost any leverage with the U.S. administration, because he had promised them. And he, therefore, had to engage in a series of sort of half-truths and deceits with the people of Britain, to persuade us to go there, because most people in Britain didn't want it. And he's paid a terrible price in the loss of trust in him as a Prime Minister in the country is very great indeed.