Tony Blair Admits Bush & Cheney’s Iraq War Led To The Rise of ISIS

[eridani]

http://www.occupydemocrats.com/tony-blair-admits-bush-cheneys-iraq-war-led-to-the-rise-of-isis/

As disturbing developments in the Syrian civil war prompt a discussion within American society about our role overseas, it is useful that some very interesting new information about the origins of the Iraq War and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is coming to light. Last week, an email from then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s server revealed that Blair had made a pact with George Bush pledging hisupport in the invasion conspiracy a year before the U.S. ignored the international community and destabilized the entire region.

Today, Blair grudgingly admitted to CNN’s Fareed Zakaria that there were “elements of truth” to the fact that the Bush/Cheney administration’s aggression led directly to the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/Da’esh), and apologized for “for some of the mistakes in planning and, certainly, our mistake in our understanding of what would happen once you removed the regime. Now, whether it’s right or not, that’s for — everyone can have their judgment about that.”

He also admitted that he was either lied to or purposefully misrepresented evidence that indicated Saddam Hussein’s Iraq held weapons of mass destruction and sophisticated delivery systems. “I can say that I apologize for the fact that the intelligence we received was wrong because, even though he had used chemical weapons extensively against his own people, against others, the program in the form that we thought it was did not exist in the way that we thought.”

The military action in Iraq and the utter mismanagement of the situation on the ground unleashed brutal power struggle aggravated by decades of ethnic tension. The disbandment of the military and government following the capture of Baghdad created a power vacuum that the occupiers never filled. The weakness of the government in Baghdad and the ineffectiveness of the Iraqi military created a space for ISIS to carve out a state with shuddering brutality, and all of those events can be traced back to Bush and Blair’s warmongering. These war criminals still have much to answer for.

[malaise]

1. Duh!!

To the Hague for all of them

[BelgianMadCow]

2. That is really all that needs to happen

the end of the beginning and the start of global consciousness.

[Baitball Blogger]

17. But is this info being carried by the big papers? By Fox?

Until is does get spread in those circles, the information is still not viable for the majority of Americans.

[dixiegrrrrl]

19. Blair is a chicken shit poodle who is even now making lots of money off his cronies.

Wikipedia reports:

In January 2008, it was confirmed that Blair would be joining investment bank JPMorgan Chase in a "senior advisory capacity"
and that he would advise Zurich Financial Services on climate change.
His salary for this work is unknown, although it has been claimed it may be in excess of £500,000 per year.

Blair also gives lectures, earning up to US$250,000 for a 90-minute speech, and in 2008 he was said to be the highest paid speaker in the world.

Blair's links with, and receipt of an undisclosed sum from, UI Energy Corporation, have also been subject to media comment in the UK.

his personal security guards claimed £250,000 a year in expenses from the tax payer

Blair has been subject to criticism for potential conflicts of interest between his diplomatic role as a Middle East envoy, and his work with Tony Blair Associates, and a number of prominent critics have even called for him to be sacked

So like the other criminals from the Bush era ( and like other past high ranking public figures) Blair is getting rewarded by helpful friends.

[malaise]

20. That war criminal also got loads of cash posing as

a peace envoy. Up is down - down is up!!!

[merrily]

3. Not sure what Blair means. Per wiki, Isil has a complicated history.

The following is all one paragraph in wikipedia. I broke it up for readability.

The group originated as Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad in 1999, which pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda in 2004. The group participated in the Iraqi insurgency that followed the March 2003 invasion of Iraq by Western forces. In January 2006, it joined other Sunni insurgent groups to form the Mujahideen Shura Council, which proclaimed the formation of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) in October 2006.

After the Syrian Civil War began in March 2011, the ISI, under the leadership of al-Baghdadi, sent delegates into Syria in August 2011. These fighters named themselves Jabhat an-Nuṣrah li-Ahli ash-Shām—al-Nusra Front—and established a large presence in Sunni-majority areas of Syria, within the governorates of Ar-Raqqah, Idlib, Deir ez-Zor, and Aleppo.

In April 2013, al-Baghdadi announced the merger of the ISI with al-Nusra Front and that the name of the reunited group was now the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). However, Abu Mohammad al-Julani and Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leaders of al-Nusra and al-Qaeda respectively, rejected the merger. After an eight-month power struggle, al-Qaeda cut all ties with ISIL on 3 February 2014, citing its failure to consult and "notorious intransigence".

In Syria, the group has conducted ground attacks on both government forces and rebel factions in the Syrian Civil War. The group gained prominence after it drove Iraqi government forces out of key cities in western Iraq in an offensive initiated in early 2014. Iraq's territorial loss almost caused a collapse of the Iraqi government and prompted a renewal of US military action in Iraq.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_State_of_Iraq_and_the_Levant

[deutsey]

6. What they did was help create the situation that has led to the current rise of Isis

not in its formation.

Invading Iraq and toppling Hussein--and, as despicable as he was, I cry no tears for his demise--left the field wide open for extremists to exploit the resulting chaos and the religious/ethnic factionalism that had been simmering there for a century or two.

Powell was able to convince Poppy Bush that toppling Hussein would destabilize the region during Gulf I. W, in his infinite stupidity, couldn't see that or didn't care in Gulf II.

[merrily]

8. I think Dimson wanted that war as badly as I want peace.

[Enthusiast]

9. I believe you are correct.

[cantbeserious]

4. We Now Know Blair Was Also Complicit - Major Case Of Backpedaling And History Revision

eom

[mdbl]

12. Blair was complicit before it happened

Everyone with knowledge told Blair (and Shrub) their reasons for war were inaccurate before going into Iraq. The facthe is trying to claim otherwise is disingenuous.

[Turbineguy]

5. I'm guessing that many people around here probably

do not think they are qualified to be Prime Minister of Great Britain. But as it turns out, we were more qualified than Tony Blair, because we saw this coming a mile away.

[Scarsdale]

7. Traitor

He ignored all the anti war rallies in the UK, too. He must have been paid royally for his co-operation. I am British and I used to think he was an intellgent man. Not when he colluded with Bush/Cheney. THEN it became obvious he is as crooked as they are. All the blood soaked money these traitors made will haunt them forever. I hope not a single one of them gets a peaceful nights sleep for all the evil they unleashed, all the lives taken for their greed.

[Enthusiast]

10. I don't know how they live with themselves.

The people of the world now know them for what they are.

[d_legendary1]

11. Iraq was the domino that not only started ISIS

It lead to the refugees, Syrian Civil war, and everything else that destroying the middle east. Obama should have reigned in the war criminals when he had the chance.

[Fred Sanders]

13. Will the RW media (and more than a few Sanders fans) now please back off Hillary? It was a silly

position that only made one look even sillier and even less credible, if that were possible, than normal.

[liberal N proud]

14. Can we prosecute them now?

[BeanMusical]

15. Kick and R

[FlatBaroque]

16. Yes, but when will Blair (and Bush et al) be forced to enter a plea???

[B Calm]

18. Fact: ISIS started as an al Qaeda splinter group in 2004.