Playing Defense

Blair Would Have Invaded Iraq

Even without WMD.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said that even if he had known Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction, he still would have led his country to war. In an interview with BBC's Fern Britton, the PM contextualized his decision by referring to a "major struggle going on all over the world... which is about Islam and what is happening within Islam." In Blair’s eyes, Saddam posed a "threat" to the region, one aspect of which was the development of WMDs. News of Blair's firm stance came along with accusations that the PM knew there were no weapons of mass destruction before he urged Britain's parliament to vote to authorize war, a charge bolstered by the fact that some 10 days before the war vote, Blair received an intelligence update clearly stating that Iraq had no long-range missiles. Blair is expected to be called to testify in front of the parliament's Iraq inquiry sometime early next year.