Ex-PM Blair says US-UK relationship would have ‘suffered’ if Britain abandoned Iraq invasion
The relationship between the US and UK would have suffered if Britain had not fully engaged with the invasion of Iraq, former prime minister Tony Blair has said.
In a new radio series looking back on the invasion of the Middle Eastern country in 2003, Blair spoke about Britain’s importance to the US in the lead-up to the war.
George W. Bush had told Blair that the UK did not need to the participate in the early stages of the assault on Iraq out of fear that his ally would lose a vote in Parliament on the night before the war, but Blair persisted with the invasion, the Daily Telegraph reported.
The former Labour prime minister said he viewed confronting Saddam Hussein as a matter of principle and was “sure that our alliance depended on us doing this together.”
Retired CIA operations officer and chief of Iraq operations Luis Rueda was also interviewed for the series and admitted that “we were wrong about the weapons of mass destruction.
“But I got to tell you, my personal belief, we would have invaded Iraq if Saddam Hussein had a rubber band, a paperclip, and somebody would have said, ‘Oh, he’s going to put your eye out. Let’s take him out’,” Rueda said.
Blair also said the UK’s relationship with the US has deteriorated since he was prime minister.
“When I was prime minister, there was no doubt either under President Clinton or President Bush, who the American president picked up the phone to first.
“It was the British prime minister … today we’re out of Europe and would Joe Biden pick up the phone to Rishi Sunak first? I’m not sure,” he said.
George W. Bush had told Blair that the UK did not need to the participate in the early stages of the assault on Iraq out of fear that his ally would lose a vote in Parliament on the night before the war, but Blair persisted with the invasion, the Daily Telegraph reported.
The former Labour prime minister said he viewed confronting Saddam Hussein as a matter of principle and was “sure that our alliance depended on us doing this together.”
Retired CIA operations officer and chief of Iraq operations Luis Rueda was also interviewed for the series and admitted that “we were wrong about the weapons of mass destruction.
“But I got to tell you, my personal belief, we would have invaded Iraq if Saddam Hussein had a rubber band, a paperclip, and somebody would have said, ‘Oh, he’s going to put your eye out. Let’s take him out’,” Rueda said.
Blair also said the UK’s relationship with the US has deteriorated since he was prime minister.
“When I was prime minister, there was no doubt either under President Clinton or President Bush, who the American president picked up the phone to first.
“It was the British prime minister … today we’re out of Europe and would Joe Biden pick up the phone to Rishi Sunak first? I’m not sure,” he said.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
