British Inquiry Slams Tony Blair’s Decision to Join George W. Bush in the Iraq War

“I will be with you, whatever,” the former British prime minister wrote to Bush in 2002.


On Wednesday, the Iraq Inquiry—also known as the Chilcot Commission—published its seven-years-in-the-making report examining the events leading up to the Iraq War launched in 2003. The inquiry concludes that then-Prime Minister Tony Blair ignored more peaceful options and relied on flawed intelligence to make the decision to go to war with President George Bush. The report notes that Blair made a public case for war based on false and exaggerated statements and that he inadequately prepared for what would come after the invasion. It also says the negative consequences of the military action—such as an increase in terrorism—were presented to Blair prior to the invasion.

The findings are not surprising, but they are a strong condemnation of Blair—and, by association, Bush and his crew.

British news reports have been headlined with a sentence from a 2002 note that Blair sent Bush: “I’ll be with you, whatever.” Blair’s critics have cited this as proof they were correct years ago to deride Blair as Bush’s lapdog.

“I express more sorrow, regret, and apology than you can ever believe,” Blair said in response to the blistering report. He insisted the British soldiers who died during the military action had not sacrificed their lives in vain.

The long-awaited, 2.6 million-word report cost British taxpayers nearly $14 million dollars to complete.

Read the report’s summary below. For a deeper dive into the consequences of the war, read Mother Jones‘ investigation here  along with our “Lie by Lie” Iraq War timeline:

 

 

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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