UK Report Slams Iraq War; Blair Says He Acted in Good Faith
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - JULY 6: Former Prime Minister, Tony Blair speaks during a press conference at Admiralty House, where responding to the Chilcot report he said: "I express more sorrow, regret and apology than you may ever know or can believe on July 6, 2016. in London, United Kingdom. The Iraq Inquiry Report into the UK government's involvement in the 2003 Iraq War under the leadership of Tony Blair was published today. The inquiry, which concluded in February 2011, was announced by then Prime Minister Gordon Brown in 2009 and is published more than seven years later. Mr Blair said that the report contained "serious criticisms" but showed that "there were no lies, Parliament and the Cabinet were not misled, there was no secret commitment to war, intelligence was not falsified and the decision was made in good faith". Photo by Stefan Rousseau - WPA Pool/Getty Images
LONDON—Prime Minister Tony Blair led Britain into an unsuccessful war in Iraq through a mix of flawed intelligence, “wholly inadequate” planning and an exaggerated sense of the U.K.’s ability to influence the United States, according to a damning official report on the conflict that was published Wednesday.
The government-commissioned inquiry fell short of delivering what many bereaved families sought—a declaration that the 2003 war was illegal. But its 2.6 million words give the most comprehensive verdict to date on the mistakes of a conflict whose violent aftershocks still rattle the world.
Blair, however, stood by his decision to join U.S. President George W. Bush in toppling Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
“I believe I made the right decision and that the world is better and safer as a result of it,” he said.
A detail of a declassified handwritten letter sent by the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair, to former U.S President George W. Bush, is seen as part of the Iraq Inquiry Report presented by Sir John Chilcot at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London, July 6, 2016. Jeff J Mitchell/Pool via AP
