Anthony Seldon: Iraq Is Britain's Watergate
[Anthony Seldon wrote Blair, the biography and is Master of Wellington College.]
Today is the most important day in Tony Blair’s life since he left No 10 — hence his intense preparation, so desperate is he to clear his name of the accusations against him, and to show that his decision-making over Iraq was flawless in conception and execution. We will know by 5 o’clock today whether he has chosen to conduct himself as his own defence lawyer or as a statesman worthy of the high office he held. At stake is his reputation.
We have never seen a day like this in British history, with a former Prime Minister being publicly questioned about such a contentious policy. Once the Second World War was over, the key figures were not interrogated about the events of the Munich Crisis and the fateful events surrounding the appeasement of Hitler seven years before.
But seven years after Iraq, Mr Blair is being questioned, and the pressure on him is intense. As with Munich over Neville Chamberlain and the Suez crisis over Anthony Eden, so does Iraq cast a deep shadow over Mr Blair’s entire premiership, eclipsing all the achievements in his ten years in office.
Mr Blair believes that he acted morally and wisely, taking decisions in the interests of Britain and the people of Iraq, and also of world security. He will want to dispatch for ever any notions that he lied or behaved inappropriately, asserting instead that he acted courageously in a grave moment in our history.
But at issue is much more than Mr Blair’s personal place in history. Britain’s standing in the world and its moral authority have been stained by Iraq. The relationship between the Government and the British public has also been badly damaged. Trust in politicians has still not recovered from what many see as Britain’s entry into a controversial war on a false prospectus, with the Prime Minister lying to achieve it. This has engendered the pent-up fury with politicians that we saw unleashed last year in the expenses scandal.
Iraq parallels the great scandal across the Atlantic, Watergate, in the yearning of the public to see the leader accept responsibility, not evade it. In the US, President Nixon was in the dock. Now it is Mr Blair. He must not hide behind his traditional plea for clemency: “I did what I believed to be right.”..
Read entire article at Times (UK)
Today is the most important day in Tony Blair’s life since he left No 10 — hence his intense preparation, so desperate is he to clear his name of the accusations against him, and to show that his decision-making over Iraq was flawless in conception and execution. We will know by 5 o’clock today whether he has chosen to conduct himself as his own defence lawyer or as a statesman worthy of the high office he held. At stake is his reputation.
We have never seen a day like this in British history, with a former Prime Minister being publicly questioned about such a contentious policy. Once the Second World War was over, the key figures were not interrogated about the events of the Munich Crisis and the fateful events surrounding the appeasement of Hitler seven years before.
But seven years after Iraq, Mr Blair is being questioned, and the pressure on him is intense. As with Munich over Neville Chamberlain and the Suez crisis over Anthony Eden, so does Iraq cast a deep shadow over Mr Blair’s entire premiership, eclipsing all the achievements in his ten years in office.
Mr Blair believes that he acted morally and wisely, taking decisions in the interests of Britain and the people of Iraq, and also of world security. He will want to dispatch for ever any notions that he lied or behaved inappropriately, asserting instead that he acted courageously in a grave moment in our history.
But at issue is much more than Mr Blair’s personal place in history. Britain’s standing in the world and its moral authority have been stained by Iraq. The relationship between the Government and the British public has also been badly damaged. Trust in politicians has still not recovered from what many see as Britain’s entry into a controversial war on a false prospectus, with the Prime Minister lying to achieve it. This has engendered the pent-up fury with politicians that we saw unleashed last year in the expenses scandal.
Iraq parallels the great scandal across the Atlantic, Watergate, in the yearning of the public to see the leader accept responsibility, not evade it. In the US, President Nixon was in the dock. Now it is Mr Blair. He must not hide behind his traditional plea for clemency: “I did what I believed to be right.”..