Why Blair invaded Iraq: because he was able to

[muriel_volestrangler]

Twice, Blair has explained his decision to invade by saying the troops were ready:

In the end, I had a decision to make back in March 2003. We had 250,000 UK and US troops there; we had Saddam not in compliance with UN resolutions. I tried desperately hard to get a second UN resolution. I couldn't get one. Now I had a decision to make as to whether to leave Saddam there, in breach of UN resolutions, and end up in a situation with the international community humiliated and him emboldened, or to remove him. I decided to remove him. Now, you can go through these issues about my integrity, my character, the legal advice - because the legal advice, actually, the legal issue, was exactly the same as the political issue - or you can accept that in the end a decision had to be taken; there was no middle way, there was no fence to sit on. I took that decision.

Paxman interview, 20th April

The Prime Minister stressed that he had tried to secure a second UN resolution in the run up to the invasion, adding: "In the end therefore I had to decide.

"We had 250,000 UK and US troops down there. It was a tough decision. It was a difficult one. I don't expect everyone to agree with it. I don't disrespect people who take a completely different point of view. But I'm afraid this was an occasion I had no fence to sit on. I had to take the decision and I took it."

Question Time 28th April

He seems to be saying that having put 250,000 troops on the border, the US and UK would look bad if they didn't use them. That's the madness that led to World War I. And I think that madness comes straight from Bush - whose ego would never allow him to stop his war.

[Inland]

1. Sounds like Bush:

I was given a decision to make, and I made it, so you all have to accept it.

Which we do: they are in charge and have to make decisions. But we don't have to accept it as correct. We don't have to feel sorry for them because it's lonely at the top.

Rather, the reason why they have the authority is because we TRUST them to make GOOD decisions, and having failed in that, they should be judged as to whether that TRUST should continue.

For Bush, his constant invocations of his singular responsibility as Commander in Chief and Father of the Nation are supposed to cow us into silent reverence at the almost mystical position he occupies, as the protofascism now at work in the US. I don't think a brit PM can pull that off.

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. You're absolutely right: the PM does not command the UK armed forces

and so it's not true that 'he had to make the decision'. 'Prime Minister' has only been an official post for 100 years or so - before then the official title was just "First Lord of the Treasury". All precedent is that the Cabinet makes the decisions on war - led by the PM. It's becoming increasingly clear that the Cabinet did not know about the doubts of the Attorney General, and never saw his advice containing the caveats (which the chief of the defence staff had said was too ambiguous to allow him to go to war).

Blair stupidly promised in March 2002 that he'd support Bush in invading Iraq (who'd been aching to do it since Sept 11), thinkinh that they'd be able to find some WMD as an excuse - and then found there weren't any. But he didn't dare back out. So he kept his word the the Chimp, and led an illegal invasion. Traitor.

[Inland]

3. Well, Congress is only able to declare war in the US

But as a practical matter, Congress is expected to trust the president.

What I am talking about is the implicit argument that because somebody has to make the decision, nobody can say the decision sucks.

This argument is a secondary one, one that is only made after the "you are just using hindsight" argument failed when memos come out on both sides of the atlantic showing that the Bush and Blair people knew a whole bunch of things that mitigated against the decision to go to war, and didn't know a whole bunch of things they asserted were backed by intel, and withheld them to prevent opposition.

What gall it is--to withhold evidence that would have caused opposition, then asserting that its his decision and now that it is made, nobody can vote against him for it.

[vota]

4. Vintage Blair, eh?

"a decision to make" (= I'm decisive)
"I tried desperately hard" (I'm committed and hard-working)
"the international community humiliated and him emboldened" (I don't like Arabs waving their willies (N. Amer. 'penises') at me)
"my integrity" (I have integrity)
"my character" (I have character)
"the legal advice" (I'm law-abiding)
"the legal advice" (I'm law-abiding)
"actually, the legal issue" (I'm law-abiding, just in case you missed the point the first time! And I've an eye for exact detail when I use words - because I wouldn't want to mislead the British public, even in small matters, would I?)
"exactly the same..." (there, you can hear me looking hard!)
"...as the political issue " (of course it's the same! I mean, the legal issue is legal, and the political issue is - uh - political - which makes them the same, or something like that - see, I'm a deep thinker!)
"a decision had to be taken" (I'm decisive)
"there was no middle way" (Grim necessity. Yep, I have the guts to make hard decisions when the need arises - because I'm DECISIVE, don'tya know?)
"no fence to sit on" (I'm not one of those weak-willed people who just sit around when there's a decision to be taken. I'm decisive, d'ya hear, DECISIVE! Action man, that's me!
"I took that decision" (Told you I was decisive!)

"I had to decide" (well, sometimes you do, when you're a leader, don't you? I'm not a hasty man, I think things over - 'course I do - but I know deep down that when grim necessity means that you gotta decide, you gotta decide. Just like a leader should - 'cos I'm good - knew we could - and of course, I'm a leader)
"We had 250,000 UK and US troops" (me and my little brother. See how many men I - er, we - control! No time to say "Unit-ed King-dom", "A-mer-i-can" or "sol-di-ers". Action man, that's me!
"...down there" (I look down on Iraq, 'cos that's where my willy is - along with 250,000 or so men - aren't I powerful?)
"...tough decision" ('cos I'm tough - and decisive, of course!)
"a difficult one" (And I know how to make difficult decisions - even if I don't always make them the right way!)
"I don't expect everyone to agree with it." (I'm an independent-minded guy. No time for people who worry about their image - you wouldn't catch me doing that, now, would you!)
"I don't disrespect people..." (Big 'd', that's me! And a real man - hey, man, diss-respect!
"...who take a completely different point of view" (see how tolerant I am - I mean, I actually let them disagree with me! That's because I don't worry about how much power I got, 'cos I know I got enough!
"I don't d-d-d-disrespect people who take a completely different point of view" ('course not - I just ignore them)
"I'm afraid" (Yep, I know how to recognise grim necessity when necessary - and stare that bastard in the eyes - no reference to fear intended!)
"occasion" (Man Of, that's me! I rise to it!)
"I had no fence to sit on." (I recognise grim necessity, like the brave man I am. Because - did I tell you? - I like to be decisive!)
"I had to" (Yep, even a powerful man like me gets forced by grim necessity)
"take the decision" (Yes! YES! TAKE ME!!
"and I took it" (that's because I'm decisive, by the way!)