Blair beats around the bush

TEHRAN, Feb. 1 (MNA) -- Former British prime minister Tony Blair appeared at the Chilcot inquiry on Friday to testify about his illegal actions in regard to the invasion of Iraq.

However, at the inquiry session held to hear Blair’s justifications for joining the United States in a dubious invasion of Iraq in 2003, Blair leveled unfounded and false accusations against Iran.

He did not explain his mismanagement of the situation in occupied Iraq or his failure to heed his legal advisors' views on the legality of the war.

Saying that he was sure that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction at the time of the invasion, Blair claimed that Iran poses a similar threat to that of Saddam Hussein seven years ago.

Although it is said that the inquiry panel was comprised of impartial figures, it is strange that the committee remained silent when Blair digressed frequently to exaggerate about the alleged threat of Iran in a session which was arranged for another purpose.

In addition to its inaction, the panel didn’t even ask Blair, who had once said that Iraq possessed WMD, which later turned out to be a huge lie, if he could give a guarantee that he would not be forced to make the same confession about Iran in front of another inquiry panel several years from now.

In addition, it is paradoxical that Blair, with his warmongering nature, is currently the Middle East peace envoy. Undoubtedly, his policies will not create peace in the region but will only add fuel to the fire of the already raging conflagrations.

It was not expected that the inquiry panel would seek to hang Blair for his mistakes and his crimes against humanity, but it was expected that at least the shadow play of democracy would have been staged in such a way that would not bring about the opposite result for the British nation and government.


(By Ahmad Tavakoli, the chief editor of the Tehran Times daily)