Tony Blair apologises for mistakes over Iraq War

[czgibson]

Tony Blair apologises for mistakes over Iraq War

Millions of us told him the whole thing was a massive mistake at the time, but he would not listen. Now he's trying to soften the ground before the publication of the Chilcot report. He deserves to be tried for war crimes, but sadly I think that's unlikely to happen.

 

[BilalKid]

why he admit so late? ^o)

 

[Eric H]

Greetings and peace be with you czgibson;

I think George Bush should be on trial, he was the instigator of the war.

Mo Mowlam predicted that any war in Iraq would only breed terrorists, at the time she had been the secretary for Northern Ireland, and had first hand experience of terrorism. Her reasoning was extremely simple to follow, she knew human nature, I just cannot understand why her advice was so publically ignored.

Mowlam warns against Iraq action

Former Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam has launched an attack on Tony Blair's stance on Iraq, warning that it would boost the number of terrorists in the Arab world.

Ms Mowlam said a long, drawn-out war would be "catastrophic" for the Prime Minister within the Labour Party and the wider public and it was "silly, daft politics" to pursue military conflict.

She said there was "no justification" for war and would join next week's Stop the War coalition march in central London in protest.

"I don't buy the moral justification, I think it's more likely to be oil," the former Cabinet minister told Sky's Sunday with Adam Boulton programme.

"You don't beat terrorists by bombing them. All you do is act as a very good recruiting agent for them because more young people then turn towards the terrorists, and you alienate the complete civil population because you bomb them.

"Do you expect them to like us any more than they do now, which is not very much.

"You beat terrorists by talking to them. It's the only way you can do it. If not, if you attack with troops or bombs, all you do is increase more young people to join them.

"If you alienate the civilian population, they then hide the guns, and hide the terrorists much more, make it harder to find them.

"I still don't feel we have any right to attack a country like Iraq. There is more case to attack North Korea.

"We can't just start deciding that we're going to walk into countries because their leader is a bad man and attack them. That's not on."

In the spirit of praying for justice for all people

Eric

 

[Eric H]

Greetings and peace be with you all,

When Tony Blair stepped down, he founded an interfaith foundation and to my way of thinking, his mission statement had real meaning. If only he had founded this whilst he was the prime minister, and lived by these beliefs, this foundation would have some credible meaning, and Tony would have been remembered for striving to bring greater interfaith relations. Now we get the feeling, whatever the outcome, Tony Blair's name is going to be dragged through the mud, and this foundation will fall short of its potential.

Tony Blair Faith Foundation
We provide the practical support required to counter religious prejudice, conflict and extremism in order to promote open-minded and stable societies. We are fully aware of the scale of the task. Over recent years we have witnessed deplorable acts of violence in the name of religion. Conflicts between and within religious groups in countries across the world continue to rage, claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands and displacing millions of people. Those who distort religion for these ends are prepared to fight without hesitation, kill without mercy and die without regret.
http://tonyblairfaithfoundation.org/foundation/our-mission

In the spirit of praying for justice for all people

Eric

 

[Scimitar]

too late, sorry - one mans apology for the actions of a nation hardly cut the mustard, this late in the day.

Scimi

 

[aflawedbeing]

Eric, more than George Bush should be on trial - so many 'allied nations' followed him into the war - while, in Australia at least, the majority of citizens actively opposed our entry.

Too little too late.
I can't rob a bank, or assault someone and clean my slate by saying...'Well, in retrospect, sorry and all that.'

 

[Abz2000]

if he repents and submits to Allah, establishes regular prayer and gives regular zakah there is no justification to blame him for what is past, we see this in the Prophet pbuh's refraining from punishing Abu Sufyan despite having been given authority over him, also in Khaalid (ra), Wahshi, Ikrimah, Abu Bakr (ra)'s restrain when Tulayhah al Assadi of banu Assad submitted to Allah, and 'Umar (ra)'s restrain when Hurmuzaan of Persia submitted through guile.
Also in the fact that Musa pbuh commited murder in ignorance and repented.

6.*If one amongst the Pagans ask thee for asylum, grant it to him, so that he may hear the word of Allah. and then escort him to where he can be secure. That is because they are men without knowledge.
7.*How can there be a league, before Allah and His Messenger, with the Pagans, except those with whom ye made a treaty near the sacred Mosque? As long as these stand true to you, stand ye true to them: for Allah doth love the righteous.
8.*How (can there be such a league), seeing that if they get an advantage over you, they respect not in you the ties either of kinship or of covenant? With (fair words from) their mouths they entice you, but their hearts are averse from you; and most of them are rebellious and wicked.
9.*The Signs of Allah have they sold for a miserable price, and (many) have they hindered from His way: evil indeed are the deeds they have done.
10.*In a Believer they respect not the ties either of kinship or of covenant! It is they who have transgressed all bounds.
11.*But (even so), if they repent, establish regular prayers, and practise regular charity,- they are your brethren in Faith: (thus) do We explain the Signs in detail, for those who understand.
12.*But if they violate their oaths after their covenant, and taunt you for your Faith,- fight ye the chiefs of Unfaith: for their oaths are nothing to them: that thus they may be restrained.

Quran Chapter 9 Repentance, Verses 6-12

 

[Scimitar]

Bush and Blair should try to apologise to the babies that were born with missing limbs and warped bodies and low life expectancies - not to mention the number of babies born with cancer running into the millions in Iraq.

Those Depleted Uranium Bombs they Carpet Bombed Iraq with are monstrous weapons of mass destruction - the irony is that the USA and UK were there under the pretense of finding WMD's - let's not forget the Iraqi Super Weapon Lie we were sold during operation dessert storm in the 90's too.

How can one apologise for genocide? that is in effect, what the Iraq experiment was - a planned genocide - it will take generations but these evil people have a long term plan to retake Babylon, now that they've taken Jerusalem under the pretense of a biblical Israel.

Don't follow the politics - follow the eschatology.

Scimi

 

[Scimitar]

Basically Tony Blair feels cornered now that the Chilcot report will be published and - pragmatically - to protect his already dwindling reputation he has issued an opology - something he said he would never do in relation to Iraq, as we read above.


Another factor is, many members of parliament are now speaking up on the Blair issues regarding Iraq and WMD's.


For example, a former Labour MP has said he is “ashamed” to have trusted Tony Blair about the Iraq War after new evidence emerged about his views in the run-up to the conflict.


Andrew MacKinlay, who sat on the foreign affairs select committee in the run-up to the war, told LBC Radio that a new memo shows Tony Blair “duped” him along with the rest of the country.


“Looking at this these documents this morning and everything else that has gone before we know that this was a complete and utter deceit to me and to others,” he said.


“Obviously I feel both deeply ashamed and very stupid having trusted a British prime minister, but it was a British prime minister.


“One assumed that even allowing for exaggeration or inaccuracies in intelligence, I never thought it would be one hundred per cent untrue, but it was and myself and the British people, all of us, were duped.”


Mr MacKinlay was responding to the release of a memo that showed Mr Blair supported a war with Iraq in 2002, when he publicly claimed to be searching for a diplomatic solution.


At the time he told voters that Britain was “not proposing military action”, a claim contradicted by the memo, which was leaked to the Mail on Sunday newspaper.


The former Labour MP reported a private conversation with the then PM (Tony Blair), who he says had promised there would be no invasion if supposed weapons of mass destruction were removed from the equation.


Following that conversation, he voted for war in the House of Commons.


No weapons of mass destruction, the existence of which were used as the pretext for war, were ever found in Iraq.


Mr Mackinlay famously questioned MoD (Ministry of Defence) weapons specialist Dr David Kelly at a hearing of the foreign affairs committee, describing him as “chaff” – meaning a diversionary manoeuvre.


Mr Kelly died a few days after the evidence hearing, apparently as a result of a suicide. [i smell rats]


A spokesperson for Tony Blair told the Mail on Sunday newspaper, regarding the memo: “This is consistent with what Blair was saying publicly at the time and with Blair’s evidence given to the Chilcot Inquiry”.


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...abour-mp-who-voted-for-war-says-a6699901.html


So - which leaders do you trust? Which Prime Ministers? Which Presidents? Which? If any?


They are all lying as if their lives depended on it. All of them are zionists.


Scimi

 

[czgibson]

Greetings,

if he repents and submits to Allah, establishes regular prayer and gives regular zakah there is no justification to blame him for what is past

What an absurd outlook.

First, the likelihood of Blair becoming a Muslim is so remote that the point is not really worth making.

Secondly, if someone has caused the deaths of many people, their moral culpability under the law (or in terms of basic ethics) does not change simply because they adopt new religious beliefs. What a horrible world we would live in if all a murderer had to do to escape justice was to change his religion!

Peace

 

[Abz2000]

Greetings,
What an absurd outlook.

lol

Greetings,
First, the likelihood of Blair becoming a Muslim is so remote that the point is not really worth making.

someone said that the donkey of Al Khattab would become a Muslim before the evil tyrant 'Umar ibn Al Khattab would
it turns out that 'Umar won the race with the donkey.

Lauren Booth did well so who knows if she'll convince him to see sense?

Greetings,
Secondly, if someone has caused the deaths of many people, their moral culpability under the law (or in terms of basic ethics) does not change simply because they adopt new religious beliefs. What a horrible world we would live in if all a murderer had to do to escape justice was to change his religion!

Peace

The only ones who despair of God's mercy are the losers.
a tyrant repairing his life and walking straight is a blessing.
if you knew anything about politics you would have known that even racist nationalists have accepted that form of mindset when it comes to providing immunity and asylum to dictators and rebels who switch sides.
God obviously has more of a right than anyone to forgive if He sees a will to walk aright.

get the logic?

 

[Scimitar]

Greetings,



What an absurd outlook.

First, the likelihood of Blair becoming a Muslim is so remote that the point is not really worth making.

Secondly, if someone has caused the deaths of many people, their moral culpability under the law (or in terms of basic ethics) does not change simply because they adopt new religious beliefs. What a horrible world we would live in if all a murderer had to do to escape justice was to change his religion!

Peace

I agree, if the decision to become Muslim was pragmatically made to save his life - then no - completely wrong.

if on the other hand, he genuinely had a change of heart, felt terrible, and entered some kind of depression due to his bad self, then yes - he may have punished himself and shown a humility which is endearing and therefore - become a Muslim for genuine reasons - because he believed in God and divine judgement - but something tells me Blair and his crocodile smile are fixed.

Scimi

 

[Abz2000]

ponder upon the following:







flip a few pages:

 

[aflawedbeing]

if he repents and submits to Allah, establishes regular prayer and gives regular zakah there is no justification to blame him for what is past, we see this in the Prophet pbuh's refraining from punishing Abu Sufyan despite having been given authority over him, also in Khaalid (ra), Wahshi, Ikrimah, Abu Bakr (ra)'s restrain when Tulayhah al Assadi of banu Assad submitted to Allah, and 'Umar (ra)'s restrain when Hurmuzaan of Persia submitted through guile.
Also in the fact that Musa pbuh commited murder in ignorance and repented.

Absolutely agreed.
I'll PM you my phone number, and you can give me a ring when Blair does repent with more than just his image in mind.

 

[Abz2000]

Absolutely agreed.
I'll PM you my phone number, and you can give me a ring when Blair does repent with more than just his image in mind.

please be sure to pm me that number, the day may be close at hand.

 

[strivingobserver98]

A perspective from Yasir Qadhi:

"So, Tony Blair has finally come out and half-heartedly 'apologized' for the war in Iraq. Additionally, he has somewhat partially agreed that America and England are to blame for the creation of ISIS. How generous!

During my semester with him at Yale (in 2008), I saw first hand how arrogant and callous he was. Truly a 'diplomat' and 'career politician' in every negative sense of the word, he could mesmerize an entire audience with his false eloquence and superficial charms even as he justified the most maniacal idea.

I sensed in him an ego of megalomaniac proportions. Until the end, when I confronted him in the final session we had and told him that he would have to answer to God for what he had done in Iraq, he continued to defend the invasion and claimed that it was a necessary war and that more good had come out of it than harm.

Typically, our religion asks us not to think evil of people, but in some cases exceptions are allowed. I believe in his case an exception is warranted. It is my estimation that even this half-hearted apology is not in the least bit sincere. Rather, he fully realizes, after a decade and a half of criticism, that if he wants to at least preserve even a shred of dignity for his legacy, he will have to own up to what he has done in dragging the rest of the Western World behind America into the debacle of Iraq and Afghanistan.

This apology - far from coming from the heart (for I don't believe he has a heart or a conscience) - is merely a ploy to retain some honor and dignity in the writings of later historians, even as the rest of his legacy shall forever live in infamy.

May Allah give him what he deserves! Already, the level of hatred his own people have for him is a pathetic reality for him, and what the future holds will be even more disturbing."

 

[Scimitar]

Isn't Tony Blairs sister in law a Muslim? Lauren Booth or something?

Scimi

 

[Eric H]

Greetings and peace be with you czgibson;

Secondly, if someone has caused the deaths of many people, their moral culpability under the law (or in terms of basic ethics) does not change simply because they adopt new religious beliefs.

In your opening post, you feel Tony will escape the full force of justice here on Earth, he has money, influence and he comes across as a clever wheeler dealer. Laws are made to protect the rich and powerful, they are not made to give justice to the poor and oppressed.

What a horrible world we would live in if all a murderer had to do to escape justice was to change his religion!

I am guessing Tony Blair will be found guilty of making an error in judgement, he will not be found guilty, for all the deaths and misery in Iraq. Unlike Saddam, he will not be hanged. To my way of thinking, his judgement here on Earth will not be fair to the victims, how will thousands of families receive justice for the death of a family member? How will the two million refugees receive compensation for the loss of their homes? Any penalty Tony receives; will seem minor by comparison.

At some point he will have to stand before God, and without any clever lawyers to back him up.

Two hundred years ago, William Wilberforce fought parliament for twenty years trying to get slavery abolished, he lost every time. That is until he came up with, 'At some point, we shall all have to stand before God, how are you going to justify your stance on slavery?' He won a landslide victory. Fear of God is the start of wisdom.

Unlike man, God can restore all victims lives, unlike man, God can offer something better than the homes and possessions they have lost.

In the spirit of praying for justice for all people,

Eric

 

[Abz2000]

Isn't Tony Blairs sister in law a Muslim? Lauren Booth or something?

Scimi

it's likely due to the fact that she came to know a tiny part of what he knows, yet it appears to have been easier for her because she didn't have as many cobwebs blinding her mind.

the man in pharaoh's court:
41.*"And O my people! How (strange) it is for me to call you to Salvation while ye call me to the Fire!
42.*"Ye do call upon me to blaspheme against Allah, and to join with Him partners of whom I have no knowledge; and I call you to the Exalted in Power, Who forgives again and again!"

 

[greenhill]

Somehow, I've kept away from this thread because I know it was going to stir up some frustration in me. But many comments made helped me keep it together.

Yes, millions told him so. He knew it too. He had to do it. He had the opportunity to gain. He also knew the consequences and that he's not the one facing the sufferings. Just do it.. can always say 'Ooops! Sorry' later.

Do they need his apology?

eace: